372

Bombshell
Posted on January 22, 2024 by David M Willis

372 thoughts on “Bombshell”

  1. NGPZ

    Whatever you say, Paula Deen. ??

  2. twig

    HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLY FRICK

    1. David DeLaney

      “some of my best Presidents were black!”

      –Dave, no, it most definitely did NOT fix the problerm. in some ways it exacerbated it to levels unknown for half a century at that point

  3. newlland(Henryvolt)

    Again, I think walky did love Lucy. Just wasn’t in love with her

    1. HueSatLight

      Ya, he was fond of her, and it was worth seeing if that could have developed into something more. But he would have had to have communicated that.

      1. Comic.phile

        He did at church when she confronted him about not saying it back.

        1. HueSatLight

          sorry, I forgot this was the internet.
          “within a reasonable time frame and of his own volition”

        2. Allen Alberti

          arguably the time frame was not bad, considering that months of this comic are only days in walkytime

    2. Animedingo

      And Lucy needs higher self esteem and a better understanding of love

      1. Coatl

        Both showed that things did not work out, Walky with that insistence of “I like Lucy” but without real facts and Lucy with her innocent vision of love, also the interaction of this pair felt like good friends, but in the romantic aspect. ….just no

        1. Rook

          Its probably Lucy first time a guy actually paid attention to her so she more likely mistaken her feelings for Walky as being in love. It usually ends like the way it did in Church when she realize who Walky really is.
          Walky like Lucy because she gave him structure and pushed him to do the things he would procrastinate through. He didn’t love her, but he really like her.
          Methinks he gonna wind up with Jennifer (you know, opposite attracts) heh.

        2. Johnny Posadas

          Yeah, it really felt like they just had absolutely no chemistry the whole time. Seems like they learned a lot though, so that’s nice!

    3. StClair

      Same.

    4. Dday

      She is objectively the sweetest character in the Dumbiverse, that’s just a statement of fact.

      1. Arillius

        Lucy? She’s a narcissist with delusions. Joyce is objectively the sweetest because every time she hurts someone she tries to do better and be better. Lucy doesn’t care when a friend group tells her she’s wrong, she’ll still try and belittle Sarah in private. She also doesn’t care that Walky is only 50% of the blame here in that date with his parents happening, she blamed him entirely.

        It doesn’t bad her a bad character to read, but it does make her ‘not a sweet person’. She’s pretending to be one.

        1. I Know Why the Mowed Lawn Screams

          That’s uhhhh… A really ungenerous take, if I’m being honest. Like, Lucy is by no means a saint, and I do really like the fact that her desire to be popular is at constant odds with her desire to be a good person, but it’s clear Lucy isn’t… Pretending to be a nice in some grand machiavellian scheme to satiate her ego. Stuff like thinking Walky was at the same level of romantic interest as her or being openly frustrated with Sarah aren’t being framed as acts of intentional manipulation. Part of what makes Lucy so compelling is that she has a very black & white way of thinking when it comes to how *relationships work, and so whenever it gets challenged or broken it dosn’t register as a learning moment, as much as it does a moment of extreme embarrasment and shame. Throughout the text there’s multiple examples showing that she’s a kinda a lonely person who wants to be liked by everybody, and just because she’s dumb and young enough to believe that being liked by everybody is something that’s totally feasible and do-able, whenever it doesn’t work out it just puts more strain on her relationship with other people in her life. Ultimately this is just my read on her character, but Lucy’s whole thing isn’t that she doesn’t care about other people, it’s that she cares too much, to the point where it’s sabotaging her ability to form those close, intimate relationships with her peers that she wants.

          *(Social, Platonic, and Romantic)

        2. Bibliholic93

          “You use that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.”

          Narcissism: self aggrandizing, gaslights, love bombs and love withholding.

          Lucy: about as far from self aggrandizing as you can get. Has no chill for love withholding. Gaslights herself with love yous.

          Ummm….

          I hate people overusing this word, because it is a problem! Look no further than… Billie! And what she is doing to her relationship with Asher.

          Accusing Lucy of all people of this? Okay, they are both sweethearts lets be clear, but even Walky has it worse with those traits than Lucy.

          It is not WRONG to want your friends to be nice to you, as per Sarah. It’s perhaps misguided. Nice friends can mean that they merely talk about you behind your back and between the lines. But wanting kindhearted support rather than unmitigated vitriol is not in any way a bad ask.

          ^^the above says it best. She’s very right and wrong oriented.

        3. Mark

          Best. Sarcasm. Ever.

        4. spriteless aunty

          I’d sooner armchair diagnose her with borderline pd than narcicism pd. But if you’ve got triggers from dealing with a narcicist then I can understand why you would put up defensive boundaries so fast. So, no worries.

        5. zee

          God damn im curious about the alternative universe where Lucy’s white. I’m so curious what the comments look like over there.
          And I don’t mean Joyce, fully Lucy with all of Lucy’s quirks. Tho I do feel like people were way more charitable to Joyce in her worst moments than this

        6. GholaHalleck

          Joyce has decades of content to hold up her nonsense, not that she was the greatest person even in the old days either.

        7. Drain

          I think about this a lot too lmfao

        8. Rabisch

          I would love to see that universe’s comments too.

      2. Azhrei Vep

        Objectively false: Riley exists.

    5. anon

      i mean it was literally like a week or two into the relationship even if they were friends beforehand, even if he was more ‘into her’ i think that’d still be soon for ‘love’. even high schoolers wait a bit longer to say i love you, depending

    6. Rabisch

      Dunno if it’s true. But I’m starting to think we are at a point where Walky could fight a fire-breathing dragon for save Lucy. Using a sword with a hand while using his other hand to cling to a rock on a terrible clif and people would still say that he’s not in love with her.

      1. TerribleTransit

        Well yeah, he didn’t enthusiastically have sex with her at the first opportunity, he obviously had zero interest in the relationship.

    7. David DeLaney

      honest opinion? right now I think sweetest is a tie between Becky & Joe

      –Dave, though Joe has indeed only recently emerged from a prolonged non-sweetened era

  4. Ana Chronistic

    “I can’t be racist! I did things that racists do to demonstrate they’re not racist!”

    1. newlland(Henryvolt)

      So fucking the nearest black person?

      1. Jo_cubstar

        The nearest well off black person, cause she’s also classist

        1. Taffy

          The nearest well-off-but-not-too-well-off Black-but-not-too-Black person, even. Oops.

        2. Amelie Wikström

          The nearest moderately but not too well off Black man, even. Okay she may just be straight but let’s say the intersection of sexism and racism means if Linda’s choices was either dating a Black woman or being single she’d feel the need to be celibate in order to maintain her social standing.

        3. GholaHalleck

          Nah, I can see her embracing political lesbianism in a heartbeat if it got her higher up the pecking order. Being in a lesbian relationship with a poc woman could earn her massive kudos in the right social circles. She just needed heirs first.

        4. Amelie Wikström

          Well, it’s a question of how small those circles are. Just to make a ballpark guess, I figure being in a mixed race lesbian couple might make her Mayor of a medium sized city at best whereas the Governor’s chair could not be out of question for an unmarried woman, if you see what I mean. I could have that the wrong way around of course.

          How to best exploit prevailing prejudices in Indiana, USA. . .

        5. David DeLaney

          we do not yet know whether he’s also well-hung

          –Dave, so maybe an interaction with Asher? Slipshine title: “Person voted most unlikely to appear in a Slipshine”?

      2. anon

        i mean there are some racists who are into hooking up with other races, tho other than fetishists and them both being into ‘raceplay’ idk how that’ convo would happen naturally like “i don’t htink you should have rights but i’m still willling to have a drunken one night stand with you?” XD

        1. clif

          Yeah, who could resist that.

        2. Thanatos Lives

          Ah, I see where you’re coming from, but the answer is very simple. They don’t explain their point of view. It would be like a hunter approaching a deer and saying “hey, I actually believe in not abusing animals, but nature is about predator and prey. It’s my right as a human to hunt and eat you, so you should be 100% ok with this because if it wasn’t me, it’d be some other predator and at least I’m going to make it quick and relatively painless.”

          Racists who have sex with other races don’t explain their viewpoint because they feel it doesn’t need to be explained or rationalized. They believe their way of viewing things is correct. Additionally, they feel that people of other races are lesser. Very often in the view of racists, other races are there to serve the “superior race” and satisfying sexual urges falls under that category.

      3. Da Boy

        You could make a horror movie out of this.
        Some black guys hanging out when one of them yells
        “RUN! THERE IS A WHITE CHICK WANTING TO PROVE SHE IS NOT RACIST! SHE WILL RIP YOUR PANTS OFF AND RIDE YOU!”

        1. Schpoonman

          Sounds more like a horror comedy.

        2. zee

          Isn’t that just get out?

        3. David DeLaney

          black men reading this: “but for me, it was Tuesday”

          –Dave, they have over 99 good reasons to watch out for white Karens and this is one of them

  5. Reltzik

    Alt-Text: Given how many First Children have run for the office themselves, this might not be anachronistic even in 2038.

    1. saltchocolate

      No more dynasties!!

    2. ahecht

      Three? JQA, Robert Taft, and GWB are the only ones I know of. Teddy Roosevelt Jr discussed running but never mounted a campaign. Do you count Benjamin Harrison since it was his grandfather who was president?

      1. Thomas

        Was his full name Benjamin Harrison Ford? That would make him a twofer.

      2. TheStranger

        Jeb! ran in 2016.

        And there have been plenty of political dynasties in the country that weren’t specific to the White House.

        1. Needfuldoer

          Just look at the Kennedy family.

    3. David DeLaney

      Walky’s superpower in this timeline is mental control of Unix time-systems

  6. Jamie

    Well, now I want to hear Charles’ reaction.

    Because that is a helluva way to point it out, and I’m here for it.

    1. Reltzik

      I’m predicting we’re not going to hear his reaction, because it’s just going to be silence.

    2. TulipKitten

      Especially since he now has had it thrown in his face that he can’t deny it, double down, or defend Linda. Because he already lost a child doing that, and he could very well lose another one.

      1. DudeMyDadOwnsADealership

        He chose Linda. He lives with Linda.

        1. KiaStirling

          fingers crossed for another explosive DOA parents divorce

    3. anon

      He seems to look receptive to it. Tho idk if he ever self identified as an ‘oreo’ and like ever disowned/never considered himself ‘part of the community’ or whatever

  7. Sirksome

    No. Not the I voted for Obama excuse. She’s could’ve just said some of her best friend’s are black!

    1. Coatl

      I think that has become a pretty annoying excuse.

      1. David DeLaney

        it was pretty annoying right from the start, believe me

        –Dave, and I’m white. well, pinkish-orangey with white flecks

    2. Proxiehunter

      Some of her best husbands and best presidents were black.

      1. David DeLaney

        DANGIT

    3. Envy

      I mean, she did literally say her husband is black right before that, so…

    4. anon

      can’t imagine her having a best friend unless it’s just some echo chamber that all agree/feed each others ego

      and even if there wasn’t any racism with her against black ppl, i think it’d still be an overall issue (i’m not sure what marcie’s ethnicity is but i think it was alluded to that she was an illegal immigrant so i imagine hispanic?)

      1. BBCC

        Yeah, she’s Latina.

      2. Needfuldoer

        IIRC, Marcie’s family’s status hasn’t been definitively confirmed in the comic, but there have been a couple hints:

        Charles thinks they’re illegal immigrants, but that could be a biased assumption:
        https://www.dumbingofage.com/cowgirl/

        The principal of Sal’s school also made that assumption, when they tried to downplay the incident that took her voice:
        https://www.dumbingofage.com/liability/

        Linda could just not like Marcie regardless, because she’s Latina (or due to her socioeconomic status).

        1. BBCC

          Yeah, the only people we’ve seen say it have been racist pricks so it’s hard to say for sure. I don’t think it matters though because I don’t think Linda would like her regardless.

  8. shadowcell

    next book i’m going to ask for a doodle of linda voting for obama

    1. Needfuldoer

      Did she vote for him the first time, the second time, or both?

      1. J.Gawain

        Just in the primaries perhaps?

        1. Schpoonman

          Nah, Linda’s definitely the White Moderate who votes for the DINO in primaries and then follows the party line.

        2. jflb96

          Which side of the spectrum are we talking about for the DINO?

          I’m pretty sure I can guess, but there might be some wacky curveball hijinks going on.

  9. elfroyalty

    and how many other black people do you talk to on a regular basis who aren’t your family, linda? anyone who would consider you a friend? y’know. just wondering

    1. M!a

      And no counting co-workers… does she work?

    2. anon

      Oh, don’t you know? Marrying another race and having mixed babies gives you exemption from ever talking to another race 8D; /s

    3. GholaHalleck

      You damned well know they only allowed one black family in their town.

  10. TrueVCU

    Ah yes, “I voted for Obama”, the lowest bar of racist evasion.

    Reminded of that from Get Out and now wondering if Charles is about to realize he’s in the sunken place

    1. NGPZ

      ???

      *plays “Sikiliza Kwa Wahenga” by Michael Abels on hacked muzak*

    2. anon

      just gives me cringe flash backs to some white teenagers/fresh adults trying to pick up black chicks

  11. AY

    Walky is handling this very well so far and I applaud him

    1. Schpoonman

      Yeah, I got nothing to add, well done.

    2. Coatl

      Step by step, slowly, but the details are here.

    3. Arillius

      He could do one thing better.

      He could not do this. Milk her for all of her money, get through college, get a stable position and then tell her she’s racist, he’s known for years and that he’s no contacting her.

      Right now he’s still risking the possibility that she might financially punish him.

      1. MM

        If she financially punishes him, he’ll drop out of college. If he drops out of college, she’ll have nothing to brag about. My guess is she decides this is a phase and ignores it.

        1. Archieve

          I think your right, Linda is alot like Joyce’s mother on that when she sees her children disagreeing with her she dismisses it. Financially punishing him would mean she’d have to first take his words seriously.

        2. khn0

          Sadly no, she always could tell that it was for his own good, to allow in to get his shit together rather than blaming someone else…

      2. anon

        i don’t think walky has the patience to play the long game but even so i imagine with his grades dropping he can’t exactly be like , ‘i need 10k as an investment for my career’ or so

        and becky was able to get a job so i’m sure he can do something/maybe robin can pull some strings lol

        1. BBCC

          His grades are fine now, last we heard. Even then it was a grade in one class. His spot in school is safe for now.

  12. newlland(Henryvolt)

    Linda trying to change the subject in the first panel seemed predictable but it actually was a master level manipulation move. She can tell he’s afraid to have this conversation just as much as she doesn’t want too, so she left him a Subtle out to talk about old news.

    1. Archieve

      Less a subtle out more her goading him into saying “this isn’t about my grades!” Just so Walky can argue on that particular point and lose control of the conversation. Good on walky for ignoring her and keeping on topic, especially since he has a history of accidentally wandering off topic.

      1. David DeLaney

        in this case it IS possible that he accidentally wandered
        from the topic she was trying to push him towards
        back on topic where he started off

        –Dave, not going to try to diagram their argument, especially with the needed extensions for implicit hypothetical phrases

    2. Needfuldoer

      Deny
      Attack
      Reverse
      Victim and
      Offender

    3. Bryy

      She’s giving herself an out. Not walky.

  13. Carla's #2 Fan

    Does he mean Billie as the 3rd kid?

    1. Schpoonman

      Almost certainly.

    2. drs

      Yes, Billie has been “the third Walkerton” since practically the beginning of the comic.

    3. AbacusWizard

      I think Tony is Walky’s half-brother? Maybe?

      https://www.dumbingofage.com/2018/comic/book-8/03-faz-is-great/plebs/

      1. Envy

        No, Linda was married to the Dean/Tony’s dad, but they didn’t have kids together.

      2. cbwroses

        Walky didn’t even know she used to be married to the dean.
        I think recognizing Tony as a third sibling he never knew he had would have been brought up since then, even despite the time skip.

    4. Radiance

      He forgot about what universe he’s in and included Beef.

      1. Needfuldoer

        Beef: “>grunt<"

        (Translation: "After everything I went through in the old continuity, I'd rather be forgotten here.”)

        1. Diane

          I’ll never forget you Beef, and your grunts of approval in the pounding of Danny after Dorothy dumped him day 1 of collage.

    5. NGPZ

      I cannot think of any alternative explanation.

      Walky is a stand-up artist, and Linda got a front row seat. ?

      *plays “Rubber Bazooka!” from One Piece Soundtrack CD on hacked muzak*

  14. Animedingo

    Not the Obama card

  15. Yotomoe

    “And I would’ve voted for him a 3rd time!”

    1. NGPZ

      Get out man. GET OUT!!!! GET OUT!!!! GET OUUUUT!!!!

  16. Qube

    “I can’t be racist, I fetishize one of them regularly”

    1. Taffy

      “It’s not racist unless the balls touch, and I don’t have any!”
      “Neither does Dad, this proves nothin’.”

      1. zee

        Once again I curse the lack of an invite system

  17. Azu

    “I can’t be racist, all of my husband is non-white” oh dear oh dear…

  18. AbacusWizard

    oh no she doubled down

    1. Needfuldoer

      Why wouldn’t she double down? It’s always worked out for her, after all.

      /s but only a little bit

  19. Kyrik Michalowski

    Is Charles starting to realize he married a monster?
    Not even a respectable monster, just one who wants to eat kids and break stuff.

    I’d have more sympathy for a monster with fangs and claws where I can see them.

    1. Sirksome

      They’ve been married at least a decade. He knows who he married. I think he’s starting to realize that doesn’t keep him clean. His kids will still call him out.

      1. Coatl

        And it seems that he is aware that the fact that he was Linda’s accomplice and never gave his opinion that contradicted his wife, made him react that he is also really guilty.

      2. Archieve

        Hard to tell if he’s reacting with guilt and regret or just pulling a Linda and becoming offended and defensive.

        1. MM

          Those disapproving eyebrows look more directed at Walky than Linda to me.

        2. lyzyrdwyzyrd

          Interesting. I saw it as internalized shame with the big eyes.

        3. Mark

          +1

        4. Archieve

          That’s what I’m afraid of, that Charles is angry with his son for starting an argument and not at his wife for treating their marriage as a get out of racism free card.

    2. StClair

      In the modern-fantasy MMO The Secret World (and “Legends”, its relaunch), one of the zones is a version/section of Tokyo that’s in the middle of something rather like a zombie apocalypse. At one point you have to make your way through an apartment building that’s been booby-trapped, Home Alone style, to make contact with a teen brother and sister with information you require. The latter opens the door a crack to verify that you’re not one of the monsters. The player character is a silent protagonist, but I still have a very clear mental image of how one of mine – an Illuminati agent – would respond:

      “You know what a real monster would say? ‘Yes. I’m a friend. Trust me. Let me in.'”

      (And when the girl flinches back, the sudden intensity and charm would fade, and the fake smile would become more sincere, pleased with having taught someone a valuable lesson about (mis)trust. “Good.”)

      1. morleuca

        Well just great. Now I have to put Secret World back on my laptop

    3. DashWallkick

      I think he’s just realizing that playing Good Cop to Linda is just serving his own interests, not actually smoothing things over.

    4. DudeMyDadOwnsADealership

      More like that he shares responsibility in everything wrong with Linda, and everything she did wrong. This is not something people like him take well.

    5. saltchocolate

      If she’s a monster, then this country is teeming with monsters. White liberal racism is alive & well & gentrifying a city near you. Linda hasn’t been held accountable for her racism — except by Sal — until now, it would seem. Maybe she’ll learn something, especially if her husband doesn’t blow off his child (again!) to keep the peace. I like to hold out hope that most people like her aren’t “evil,” just misinformed about what racism is & what they would need to do to work against it. (Hint: voting for Obama is/was not the solution.)

    6. Scruffy looking nerfherder

      I think it’s starting to hit home to him that his jocular good cop act isn’t the saving grace he thinks it is and that it’s putting a strain on his relationship with his kids that he seeming does actually care about alot. First Sal and now Walky, and Walky’s hits hard because he’s right, they are just alike and use tomfoolery to try and deflect from things inconvenient to them and it don’t work forever.

    7. Lan

      Between this and Sal telling him she feels like he never stuck up for her, it seems like he’s being confronted with this a lot this weekend, possibly more than he has before

    8. Needfuldoer

      I think his eyes are doing the extra-shiny-high-emotion dot eye thing in that beat panel focusing on him, so Walky’s barb must have struck a nerve. I don’t think he’s going to shake this one off so blithely.

    9. Bryy

      Charles has been around for all of Linda’s rants. He knows.

      1. Puppeteer Nessus

        Yes, I’ve seen this in IRL many times. Charles will side with Linda even though he knows the truth

  20. JessWitt

    And she would have voted for him a third time. Get out, Charles.

    1. Jon

      I would’ve voted for Obama for a thir—dang it!! Beaten to the punch! 😀

    2. Regina phalange

      How do you know Charles hasn’t already been brain-swapped? He was the one riding Sal about her hair after all, not Linda.

      1. Regina phalange

        *isn’t already in the Sunken Place

        (Damnit I know there was inside-joke phrasing I was missing, and I remembered it the second I clicked “Post.”)

        1. Taffy

          Does this sunken place thing have to come up every single time Charles is in a panel or even just mentioned?

        2. The Oracle

          Do you have to fucking criticize everything anyone ever says?

        3. Taffy

          Who are you, again?

        4. milu

          XD

        5. David DeLaney

          obviously he/she/both/neither is a Lurker from somebody’s Supporting Emails, freed momentarily to have a chance at being Unsupporting for a change

        6. Bryy

          I mean it’s a pretty good pop culture analogy.

        7. NGPZ

          Yeah! Get Out is a really great movie that literally turns systematic racism into a horror plot, definitely recommend if you can handle it.

  21. Suet

    Ah, a boll weevil– THREE kids?! Jenny doesn’t count! Jenny doesn’t count!!!

    Walky is this close to tears, all because of Linda’s problematic standards. 2038 standards. I’m not waiting for 2038, Willis!

    1. anon

      well he did call her ‘family’ once and that jen hung around them long enough to accidentally call her mom, but if anyone needs more parental figures it’s her

    2. Regret

      Why doesn’t Jenny count? THey grew up and were raised together.

    3. k

      They literally took her and her boyfriend out to lunch like an hour ago. Just like they took the other two kids and their dates out earlier in the weekend. Jennifer definitely counts

  22. Kyrik Michalowski

    Alt-text: I expect this comic to continue far beyond 2038. Spring and summer will never bother us if we delay them hard enough.

    1. Mark

      In 2038 the clock rolls over to zero and the world ends in fire. Or ice. I forget which.

      1. OBBWG

        With a banging wimper.

    2. Bobcat2022

      2038 is about as far from today as today is from the start of the comic. If “about 14 years” got them from about mid-August to about mid-January of freshman year, in 2038 it’ll be about Halloween of sophomore year.

      Block your calendar for a change-everything time jump in 2034!

      1. David DeLaney

        oh, there’s gonna be drama that continues over the summer

        –Dave, maybe week-at-a-time five-strip summaries?

      2. Tesset

        We could get another Halloween?? Willis could break up my second favorite sapphic relationship of the comic! Sign me up for 2038!

      3. jflb96

        I am once more begging Yanks to just use numbers like the rest of the world, please

  23. Mr. Random

    He’s being very articulate here.

    1. Taffy

      Unusually so, tbh

      1. James

        He’s probably had this sort of prepped or mentally rehearsed specifically because he HAS to be articulate about it or Linda will just write it off even harder than she’s already likely to.

    2. HueSatLight

      That’s what she said.

    3. Needfuldoer

      Walky can be flippant, avoidant, and immature, but he’s not stupid.

    4. David DeLaney

      … I’m assuming you KNOW how that sounds in the US when spoken about a non-pale person. just sayin’

  24. Theozilla

    Couldn’t Linda simply be older than 44? (44 is how old a person who was 18 in 2012 would be in 2038)

    1. Sterling

      You don’t have to be exactly 18 to vote.

      1. Taffy

        In fact, you can (and should) keep doing it for as long as possible afterwards!
        Remember, kids (and jaded adults): Your vote definitely doesn’t matter if you’re too much of a whiny cynical pessimist to bother in the first place!

        1. HueSatLight

          If you’re J.B. Pritzker, you have to tell us.

        2. Taffy

          I’m not sure who that is, so I guess I can’t say for sure it’s not me.

        3. David DeLaney

          just make sure when you look in the mirror that you don’t see Scelto of the Provenance looking back at you

          –Dave, that never ends well for mortals

        4. PirateTawnee

          Vote early! Vote often!

        5. Taffy

          Also probably look up when the voting is happening near you, because sometimes we forget things and it’s not such a big deal. It’ll only take a few minutes, and you can set an alarm (or twenty, if need be) to let you know when and where you should go do it. No pressure, but a little pressure. Don’t be a crybaby about how it won’t count, that’s pathetic and weak and you’re making shitty excuses so you can mope about how unheard your voice is!

        6. khn0

          Lol, sure.

          Go vote and it will change. If it doesn’t it’s not because beforehand you’d have to organize and create a situation where whoever is elected has to cope with the power of an organized force.

          Seriously, vote or don’t, but if people would use for striking and blocking half the power, energy and money they use to secure votes for so-called “liberal” politicians, even reactionary politicians would have to make change happen in a good direction.

        7. Taffy

          I’m sorry, I’m high off my ass right now, and that first but looks like complete gibberish to me. Can you explain it simpler?

        8. HueSatLight

          Voting is only the first step. If you don’t pressure the lesser of two evils you elected, then their primary constituency will never be you.

        9. lyzyrdwyzyrd

          Striking assumes one can financially handle not working.

        10. thejeff

          If voting didn’t matter, they wouldn’t try so hard to disenfranchise minorities.

          And sure, other forms of activism can be more effective, but voting is the least you can do – especially if you’re not one of the groups they try to make it harder for . It’s vastly easier than “striking and blocking”. And frankly, unless you’re doing it to unionize (or fight for a better union contract) more effective.

        11. Dee

          That’s an interesting oversimplification of disenfranchisement and low voter turn out.

          There is a loud minority of nonvoters like that, but far more feel that things will get worse and they’re damned no matter which party, and losing interest, especially if faced with much barrier to register or vote. It’s why in the US those less likely to vote are on low incomes, particularly Latinos. Insulting them makes them less likely to vote, and most swings happen from a voting base choosing not to vote rather than changing who they vote for. This is a big part of why some of the Midwest that used to swing a lot has got firmly red, as Democrats can’t seem to learn to stop dismissing and insulting that voter base so those who would vote for them stay at home and just get on with things.

          For Americans living abroad, beyond the barriers to voting, there is also the added issue of not wanting to be on the US’s radar because it can lead to bank accounts being closed, insurance voided, losing homes, jobs, and pensions. Since Obama’s policy change, the US now threatens financial institutions if they don’t give over the financial information on ‘US persons’, including those with green cards. It’s simply deemed safer by a significant portion of the over 9 million living abroad who could vote to avoid that kind of connection. That and because Americans abroad vote count in the last place registered in (or lived in for those who left as minors or before registering) and can only vote at the national level, the impact is spread out and see less impact, which is why parties generally ignore or insult this group, leaving little desire to vote even for those willing to get past the barriers and those willing to take the risk are more likely to not vote out of wanting to be separate and focus their civic efforts on court cases and direct funding of challenges to the government, which have had far more success compared to the pushes to vote.

        12. Taffy

          I don’t have to say the whole thing every time.

        13. Mark

          +1

        14. SeanR

          I thought I nearly missed an election earlier this year. There was nothing about it that penetrated my awareness.
          Turns out that it was an election in some places, but not in my immediate area. Some towns had school board elections. Some had tax referendums. But not where I live. I heard nearly nothing, until I HAPPENED to see a tag trending on Twitter.

          Still, I was 48 hours from not even being aware that SOMEONE, SOMEWHERE NEARBY, was voting, because I don’t watch TV, take the paper, or hang out on FaceBook.

          I mean, I’m glad I don’t. The paper, or what’s left of it, is a joke, the TV stations were all bought by big conglomerates, and given their marching in step orders, and I’m not exactly a fan of Zuckerberg.
          And my county’s election board’s website hasn’t been updated in awhile. Since well before the last presidential election, in fact.

          I guess if I listened to how I’m supposed to vote, then I’d also get information on when and where to vote.

          That said, I definitely intend to quit voting around the time I quit breathing. No absentee ballots from the cemetery for me.

        15. David DeLaney

          I just the other day saw Super Tuesday stuff going by, and I checked and the TN primaries aren’t till I think next month

          –Dave, at least DePantsless is out of the race already. but man, the clown car that’s left on that side

      2. Regina phalange

        That’s…not what they’re saying? They’re saying 44 is the minimum age in 2038 to have voted for Obama.

  25. Jon

    C’mon, Charles. Put the pieces together. You can do this.

    1. Archieve

      As much as I hope he does I’m not sure he will chose to do the right thing. As Walky points out he always takes the easy way out and turns into a bystander whenever there’s a conflict in his own family.

      1. Jon

        Hopefully the One-Two punch of both Sal AND Walky calling him out in back-to-back confrontations will pierce the mental defenses…

    2. DudeMyDadOwnsADealership

      But does he want to?

  26. HueSatLight

    Walky is doing very well today, I take back my judgment about him reverting to a joke in yesterday’s strip.

    I’ll even give him the breaking point being this because it knocked all the shine off of him, so the leading her on re: love became apparent. But I think he does owe her two apologies.

    1. Formedras

      No, no, he definitely started badly in this conversation, but he recovered quite well.

  27. Marvelman

    All THREE of her children? Is Walky talking about Billie?

    1. cbwroses

      Yes, he’s talking about Jennifer.

    2. RassilonTDavros

      What, weren’t you here for the arc where it turned out that Beef was the long-lost third Walkerton Triplet?

    3. Archieve

      I think it’s an elegant way to let tell Linda that Jennifer also acknowledges Linda’s racism without turning the conversation into Linda insisting thst Jennifer never said anything like that to her, it gives Linda one less biracial person to hide behind.

    4. HueSatLight

      maybe they have another sibling that nobody’s ever mentioned.

  28. Angel

    I’m really proud of Walky here.

  29. Derek

    I have to argue against Walky here, I don’t think Linda is the reason he and Lucy broke up, I think the reason they broke was that they were a mismatched couple. She was ready to plunge into saying “I love you” and have sex and he was extremely hesitant and only seemed to go along with it to please her but not because he was interested in her.

    Linda or no Linda, Lucy would have eventually realized that Walky was not interested in her the way she was interested in him. How many times should Walky say “sure I’ll have sex with you! ….unless I fart too much, then we’ll have to postpone. But I’m totally into the idea. Maybe”

    1. Sirksome

      It can be two things or even more than two things. Not standing up to Linda is just a part of a whole. He had no problem speaking up for Amber likely for many subconscious reasons that didn’t apply to Lucy.

    2. Coatl

      That constant insistence that he gave over and over again gave the impression that there was nothing, but it seems that he did understand it before things with Lucy exploded.

    3. Regina phalange

      I think he’s using Linda as something of an excuse. He is taking SOME accountability, but it’s easier for him to say his behavior was ultimately borne of his upbringing because it’s easier than understanding and admitting one of his deepest character flaws.

      But frankly, it doesn’t matter. He should acknowledge this dynamic, and Linda should hear about from someone she cares about. Maybe he’s blaming her for too much, but (at this point) there is a lot that he hasn’t explicitly laid at her feet that belongs there (her treatment of Sal vs. Sal-dating-Danny, for example). I ain’t too pressed about putting extra things on her if it gets his point across.

      1. Coatl

        It seems that he already wants to take off those chains that bind him to Linda, although he is already facing her, the fear is notable and it seems that he wants to get everything out but he doesn’t know how to express it.

      2. Chubseus

        I’m going to give you a little pushback on this; because one of Walky’s main flaws that he’s struggled with is not standing up for those he cares about. It’s something that strained his relationship with Sal, and it’s something he was trying to be better at with Lucy (see when he told Lucy’s brother to chill out and be a better brother). I don’t think it’s a mere “excuse” or a cop out for him to look at his family dynamic and recognize where and why he learned these behaviors. I think that’s taking what Lucy (and others) have told him to heart, taking a look at himself, and trying to be better. Personally, I’m beginning to wonder if Walky and Lucy might patch things up after all, because this is some Mr. Darcy level of: “A woman told me I was being an asshole, time to turn my life around.”

    4. Archieve

      Walky and Lucy had problems before Linda but her behaviour took the new couple into the deep end of the relationship pool before they had a chance to learn to properly swim.

    5. anon

      it was inevitable but it was def a factor/something walky would have to deal with in any future non white partner he dates

    6. TerribleTransit

      It wasn’t the reason. It was the breaking point. Walky acknowledged there’s a lot wrong with him, but that was the last straw. And yeah, sometimes the last straw isn’t acting major, but in this case it was definitely a major contributor.

  30. Derek

    I guess I am also annoyed at how this conversation is centered around Lucy, who is at best a tangent compared to how Linda treats her own daughter and how she’s been doing that for nearly two decades.

    Sal is mentioned her but she should really be focus of Walky’s comparison

    1. Plain Marie

      Sometimes you need a side angle to get into the topic, and then pivot to a more salient angle.

      1. David DeLaney

        i see wut u did thar

    2. Switchchris26

      As much as she has Hurt Sal, thats been a ongoing thing for a while and its been a conversation that has happened many times most likely, maybe not from Walky but 100% from Sal herself. The most Recent thing and the thing that has Effected Walky the most so far is what happened with Lucy. Its not the worst thing she somewhat caused by a longshot, but its the only thing that has effected Walky in a big enough way to give him the kick in the butt he needs to do this. Its a still open Wound while the Sal situation is a several year old Scar, the Wound will heal and disappear eventually if dealt with, but a Scar will always be there and while it is at risk of tearing if your not careful, the open wound is the most important issue.
      There is also the fact that if Walky brought up Sal, the conversation would end there. Linda will not listen to anybody talk about Sal as any kind of Victim, since she blames her own mistreatment of Sal as something Sal did herself through “purposeful mistakes” and refusing to listen to her mother.

      1. MM

        Yep, it’s too easy for Linda to defend her treatment of Sal as being based on Sal’s behavior. Lucy did nothing but not be the white girl Linda expected.

      2. lyzyrdwyzyrd

        Also, his relationship with Lucy, is from his perspective, over.
        Meanwhile Sal still has a relationship with the parents… For now.
        Not kicking the hornets nest when it comes to Sal might be a good idea.

        Plus Sal is right there. She can stand up for herself or join in.

        1. Schpoonman

          Sal is at her dorm, Jennifer was meeting her there to talk about intel on Linda and Charles she picked up over lunch. Walky was supposed to meet them but apparently found where his parents parked and was waiting to finally let Linda have it.

    3. Jon

      A) We’re two comics into this scene, give it time
      B) Walky has already obliquely referenced Sal’s mistreatment several times. Everyone in this scene knows the accusations he’s leveling at Linda about Sal even if he doesn’t pause to rehash them.
      C) Lucy is the source of Walky’s recent breakthrough: he was already aware of Linda’s shittiness thanks to his argument with Sal last semester, but this conversation isn’t about LINDA’s shittiness. It’s about Walky’s and Charles’s complicity in enabling her. In that regard, talking about Lucy is the best way to illustrate his point.

    4. Mark

      It’s been maybe ten seconds. Give the conversation time to develop.

  31. Pocky

    Oh; she’s a real Virginia Thomas, huh?

    1. Taffy

      Alexa, who the fuck is Virginia Thomas?

      1. Vanessa

        The white wife of Black Supreme Court judge Clarence Thomas. A real MAGA-head who actively and logistically supported the January 6th invasion of Congress and it’s attempted murder and insurrection. Clarence Thomas himself has indicated in interviews and speeches that he’s willing to undo about all settled law (aside from Loving which legalized interracial marriage lol.)

        1. PirateTawnee

          It’s a 6-3 court, they don’t need Thomas.

        2. Taffy

          You coulda just said “some worthless mayoborn in need of a shutting-up”.

        3. The Oracle

          Speaking from personal experience?

        4. Schpoonman

          Jesse, what the fuck are you talking about?

    2. Li

      Nah, Virginia Thomas is a full-on right-winger. Linda seems more like a White Moderate type. She’s said some things that indicated Liberal-ish views (in the American sense of the word). Maybe Neo Liberal, which itself is fairly conservative, or maybe just unexamined-privileged-white-liberal. She votes for center-left policies but has a lot of biases she doesn’t think much about and isn’t used to having confronted.

  32. EmTaya

    God that fucking expression.

    1. Schpoonman

      I’m amazed I’m keeping my cool. Not looking at it too much is helping.

  33. sakamism

    Walky is being surprisingly direct and articulate, Linda is being…predictable. I’m mostly interested to see how Charles reacts to all this.

    1. MK15

      Same thoughts!

      Seems like he’s hearing David, at the very least…

  34. Taffy

    I like her comment in the first panel. It’s very “Everyone is always talking about what I’ve decided they’re talking about, and anything else is an attempt to avoid the topic.” I’ve talked to a good number of people who do that, recently, and I guess the natural end-point of not following their script is that they just ban you from their space for not playing their stupid little games.

    1. Archieve

      There a good chance Linda wil drive away writing it off as Walky being too emotional to think clearly like Carol when Joyce called her out and revealed she was an atheist.

      1. Taffy

        Emoshuns mean ur not think good lol

      2. Bryy

        Yup.

    2. pyrock_mania

      It’s part of her strategy in the game of “waiting for you to say something she can dismiss, and thus dismiss your whole argument.” If she can just decide what you’re REALLY talking about, she can steer you into one of these dismissals.

  35. RassilonTDavros

    Well he finally seems to be getting through to Charles, at least. The look on Charles’s face in panel 5 is genuinely wounded.

  36. Lightweight Baybee

    Ah c’mon might as well have a t-shirt that says i misunderstood get out on it

  37. Bobcat

    “I’m not racist, I have black friends”

    1. Taffy

      “How can I be racist? My husband is 50% Black!”

  38. OnyxIdol

    Time for another divorce eh?

    1. The Oracle

      Divorces are like pokemon cards. Gotta collect them all.

  39. EAG46

    Wow. David Walkerton is taking huge steps in maturity and self-awareness. WTG Walky!! Up to you now, Charles.

    1. Archieve

      This really is Walkys shining moment, understanding his own short comings and acknowledging that he needs to be a better man then his father to be a decent person to his parents faces is truly epic. I’m not too confident in Charles, he told Walky in confidence to not worry about his parents opinion regarding Amber but so far he doesn’t seem willing to inconvenience himself for anyone but Linda.

  40. Ow, my face

    I like that she tacked the Obama thing on there, rather than just relying on the marital variant of “I have black friends.”

  41. RassilonTDavros

    Right– so if this becomes anachronistic in 2038, then that means 2038 is when Linda will have been less than 18 in 2008. Which means present-day Linda is… about 30 years older than 17, I think? So 47-ish.

    1. HueSatLight

      Obama also ran in 2012, I want to say Linda’s canonical age is 44.

      1. RassilonTDavros

        Well I feel like an idiot for forgetting that. Good catch!

        1. Vanessa

          Quite likely that one of other Obamas will run though. Look at the seemingly hundreds of Bushes there are running for things.

        2. Regret

          You know, for a country that at its founding rejected the concept of inherited right to rule, there sure are a lot of dynasties.

        3. Taffy

          You’re not supposed to notice that. Stop noticing things, it’s un-American.

        4. Mark

          Right, like the way GWB automatically became President when GHWB abdicated.

          I think “dynasty” is not quite the word wanted here.

        5. thejeff

          And that’s the closest example in US history. The only father/son set of Presidents since John & John Quincy Adams almost 200 years earlier.

          It’s not uncommon for the children of politicians to go into politics, but it’s not the rule either. And most who do, don’t achieve the same levels of success. Vast majority of politicians at any level aren’t part of dynasties.

        6. David DeLaney

          but you marry ONE Kennedy and that’s all people can talk about forever

        7. Yumi

          There likely could still be a gap, though. Michelle Obama seems like she doesn’t want to run for president, and if the Obama children do go the politics route, I think it would be past 2038 for them to be running in an election that Linda could vote in.

  42. M!a

    Tomorrow she’ll be angrily waving her NPR tote bag at him.

  43. Dante

    Walky, I’m so so very proud of you ;; Dude must be terrified out of his mind but he pressed on, with great points, got Charles involved in the conversation too (he’s not talking yet but he can’t pretend he’s not there anymore); and Linda… Linda is so used to win she finished with THE laziest excuse for an excuse, ever. I’m crossing my fingers it explodes on her face because, COME ON.

    I’m immensely interested on what the hell went on during Walky and Sal’s Xmas break. It was implied it wasn’t a nice one, but they came back from it more united than ever.

    1. Coatl

      Hey, good detail about the December holidays, let’s just hope that Sal shows up on time and we can see that brotherhood that many of us want to see

    2. Archieve

      I suspect Linda’s running out of excuses because she used to use the ” don’t you think my biracial children would notice of I was racist?” Defense. Now both of them have called her out and the only other two black people she can think of are her husband and the former president.

      1. Coatl

        I think that regardless of the outcome of this conversation, Charles will rethink certain things and put Linda at a disadvantage for the first time.

        1. Archieve

          We can hope, but I get the impression that Sal has had similar hopes her whole life up until the failed lunch. It will be very easy for Charles to stick to old habits and dismiss conflict as his kids just being immature.

        2. Bash

          But Walky has directly called him out, so he can’t pretend to be uninvolved while his kids fight with their mom. He might choose to dismiss the accusation, but he can’t forget what was said.

        3. Archieve

          When a parent dismisses their child’s words it can be very easy to forget what was said, or at least not see a need rethink their own behaviors because their convinced their not the problem.

        4. Archieve

          I agree he should atleat be made to feel like he has to defend himself.

        5. Taffy

          I like the phrase “failed lunch”

          “I was unable to perform lunch. I failed.”

        6. Mark

          It’s not your fault. There was a glitch in the mayonnaise and we had to scrub.

        7. DudeMyDadOwnsADealership

          Never underestimate the power of an enabler to artfully bury their heads in the sand so they can feel less responsible….

  44. ian livs

    Real talk: these conversations are really damn difficult to have with one’s parents. I was well into my twenties already before I had the courage to be as direct about it as Walky’s being here, and I can almost *feel* how badly he must be shaking right now. I’m proud of the kiddo.

    1. zee

      Fr, my props to walky for not crying here. I can’t help it when I have hard conversations. When I tried confronting my mom about how she gave me body image issues by calling me fat as a kid she didn’t even remember and couldn’t understand why I cared that much. “Just dont let it bother you.” At least I got a half assed apology tho, better than whatever walkys gonna get from linda

      1. ian livs

        Oh god, same–I cry anytime I have difficult conversations (and especially that sort of situation with a parent). I’m sorry you had to deal with that

      2. Li

        Hey, don’t do that, either to yourself or anyone else. Some people cry more easily than others, it doesn’t actually mean the latter group is braver or doing better or gets props.

        Walky DOES deserve props for having this conversation but no bonus points for not crying. Bonus points for soldiering on despite how difficult his mom makes it, whether or not he cries.

        Also: sympathy via light physical contact. I’m sorry your mom did that to you ? You deserved a better childhood AND a better apology.

        1. Taffy

          ?

  45. Illjwamh

    Damn, Walky’s takin’ no prisoners today

  46. Vanessa

    Good job, Walky.

  47. DiDi

    Ooh, calling out *both* parents. All right, Walky.

    1. Archieve

      Finally, even if Charles refuses to believe what his son is saying he should atleast stop getting to stand around like a stranger whenever things go south in the family.

  48. BBCC

    Well this hasn’t been easy but I think Walky is doing well. He’s holding his ground as well as he possibly can, considering Linda’s never going to change. Good for him.

    1. Archieve

      I’m especially impressed with how he avoids falling into the trap of correcting Linda everytime she tries to stir the conversation away from herself.

    2. Bash

      He did such a good job verbalizing how he feels and what the problem is. Out of everyone, Walky has grown the most.

    3. anon

      well it might not be impossible, joyce’s parents did divorce after all even if joyce/becky had to go through trauma/almost die for it (tho it’d more likely be charles who would realize and side with his kids)

  49. Luke

    First time ever commenting on here. But walky says all three of your children. Who is the third sibling?!?!?!

    I don’t feel this is like a Jennifer thing.

    1. David DeLaney

      it is most definitely a Jennifer thing
      she’s been an essential part of the Walkerton family & its dynamics
      for a very long time at this point

  50. june gloom

    This is the most adult thing Walky has done in his life.

    1. anon

      after this he should do liek, 5 immature things to destress from this situation

      1. David DeLaney

        no tacos have yet been harmed in the making of this subjunctive phrase

  51. DudeMyDadOwnsADealership

    Sooooo it looks like Charlie Codependent has gotten reminded that he’s A) an accomplice in all of his wife’s BS and B) that means he shares some of the blame by both of his kids now….

    1. anon

      lol at first i thought ‘what does boosters sister have to do with anything’ but i guess it can be confusing when you have a chara named charles and charlie and charlie can be a nickname for charles

  52. Dara

    2038 because of the Unix time bug, right? So everything becomes anachronistic because time itself breaks.

    1. Thomas

      2038 because Linda is 44 years old. The last time she could have voted for Obama was in 2012. She would have been at least 18 to be able to do that.

  53. S1l3nt_C0y0t3

    “I’m not racist.”
    -Ancient racist proverb

  54. Taffy

    Is her mouth upside-down in that last panel, or is she making a 8^y face?

    1. anon

      i guess it’s supposed to be a smirk? or it just looks odd b/c her top lip is colored like she’s wearing lipstick even if her bottom lip isn’t colored

    2. clif

      I think she’s just talking.

      1. Taffy

        >me when I think she’s just talking

    3. Amós Batista

      OFF: @Taffy always nailing it on avatars…

      1. Schpoonman

        He’s got that handy dandy flip phone, it’s got all kinds of neat gizmos and tools.

      2. Taffy

        wym its always ben this

      3. Li

        For future readers: Taffy’s avatar today is a close up of Linda’s final panel face with “Obama” in the bottom corner, in yellow font with a blue outline. It’s not precisely the typical Willis title font but does kinda evoke it. It is indeed a great avatar for today!

    4. NGPZ

      I think I can read her lips! She’s saying “sink into the floor”

  55. The Jighole Man

    sal and walky have another sibling?
    also, props to walky for calling them both out.
    his mother for her bs, and his father for turning a blind eye to it.

    1. Taffy

      He’s including Meredith.

    2. anon

      he means jen/billie but be hilarious if there was a third walkerton sibling in the background everyone ignored/no one acknowledged

      1. Taffy

        Yeah, their brother Quigley.

        1. David DeLaney

          *whispers “Beef” quietly*

          –Dave, sssh. he’s res-ting

        2. HueSatLight

          Shipping Quigley Walkerton and Ricky DeSanto

  56. Amelie Wikström

    Oh my, such gracious indulgence, to support the blue party that you presumably always have and I believe the most qualified statesman the United States has produced since at least Washington by lowering yourself to vote for him even though he’s black. What do people who use that line think it proves about their non-racism?

    1. The Oracle

      They think it proves you shut up and let them keep bragging about something they did over a decade ago. Something that took less effort than driving to the store to buy groceries, but goddamn it somebody outside their race was involved so you’d better pat them on the back.

  57. Tawdry Quirks

    If the false teeth exception from this recent xkcd ever becomes a reality, today’s strip might not become anachronistic in 2038. Or I think his oldest daughter might be eligible to run by then.

  58. The Oracle

    Where’s an interesting character when you need one?

  59. Chubsius

    Walky just might be pulling a Mr. Darcy. The classic: “A woman pointed out that I was an asshole, time to turn my life around and become a better person.”

  60. Helga

    this comic will become anachronistic, but only because walky said “as i live and breathe, and this second fits into a 32-bit number since the unix epoch”

  61. Da Boy

    Yay, Russia appeasing Obomber.

  62. CianM1301

    Seeing all the comments supporting Walky makes me feel like we’re a coach guiding him through 15 rounds of boxing, which I am all for. Keep at ‘er, Walky! Dodge, then give ‘er a right hook!

    1. Taffy

      Honestly, that’s a good way to engage with basically all media, now that I think about it. Big gusto-fueled coach energy.

      1. David DeLaney

        Twitch Plots DoA

        –Dave, tune in next time, when the trapdoor alligator says nothing!

  63. Thomas

    “You know, the guy who was our president when you were six years old? I totally voted for him. Surely you remember that.”

    I mean, an American child would probably understand who the president was at that age. But does she really think she can impress a teenager by talking about politics of 12 years ago?

  64. Icalasari

    Seems Walky’s dad may be having a break through with this. Keep at it Walky! Free your family from that racist wretch!

  65. DashWallkick

    I know this story is about stubborn moms who don’t listen but I think her two kids, her other kinda kid, AND her husband might actually at least get her to recognize something bad is happening and to adapt, so we don’t get another “the good dad realizes what he’s enabled and adapts, driving the mom to divorce him out of stubbornness”

  66. DarkoNeko

    Suddenly Charles really wish he was somewhere else right now

  67. Miri

    It’s kinda a shame we can’t link characters to things… https://www.reddit.com/r/BestofRedditorUpdates/comments/19cp9oe/new_updates_to_aita_for_demanding_my_fianc%C3%A9e_stop/

    [White US-man and Mexican-but-white-passing lady get together. Have twins. Are engaged. Mother is primary caretaker. Father takes a week off work, discovers toddlers are eating tortilla for breakfast *with their hands* and loses it because how could his partner be teaching them bad table manners like that when all civilised people know it’s gross and dirty to not use cutlery for them??! Reddit explains that he is shitting on her culture like a racist POS. He seems to get it…

    A year later, she tells him that she doesn’t want to marry him because nothing has changed and her life is full of microaggressions. He is confused because he didn’t try to make the littles eat tortilla with cutlery since then, why’s she so upset over a single argument over how to eat, a whole year ago??

    She realises he genuinely thinks this is why she’s upset. Lists out all the things he routinely does, including repeatedly trying to correct her parents on how to correct the pronunciation of their daughter’s name (which has a Spanish and Anglicised form), calling her niece’s quinceañera a sweet 16 repeatedly despite corrections, and shutting off her Spanish- language music within seconds of hearing it so she doesn’t feel like she can listen to it when he’s at home…

    She leaves him.

    Reddit call him an oblivious, dense, racist idiot. He accepts that he needs to work on why he finds it easier to believe that he actually did screw up when being told it by other men than when his actual fiancée was saying this to him. Like, the guy seems to want to improve, but he’s also a poster child for “I don’t think I’m racist! I even married somebody whose culture I blithely mislabel repeatedly [I think she identified as Latina and he repeatedly calls her Spanish?] and I’m fine with her teaching our kids about that side of their heritage – but what I do and what I’m used to is the norm, default and correct way to do things, and how it should be done in polite company. It’s her responsibility to teach me – a grown-up – and the children about her culture. I have no active roll to play in educating myself or my children about their mother’s heritage.”

    I think the Walkertons might learn something.

    Of course, the fiancée had a backbone. And the original poster was willing to accept that he could be at fault. And I think the level of difference in warmth Linda demonstrated towards Lucy and Joyce goes beyond microaggression to “ick”… So it isn’t a perfect mirror!! But it might still be interesting reading.

    1. Da Boy

      > *with their hands* and loses it because how could his partner be teaching them bad table manners like that when all civilised people know it’s gross and dirty to not use cutlery for them??!

      That’s pretty funny coming from a guy from the country that invented Fast Food. Oh I’m sorry sir, I’ll bring a knife and fork for your burger right away.

      1. Zaxares

        There was a recent story that blew up over here where some Caucasian woman took a picture of an Indian woman at an airport eating her curry rice with her hands (as is traditional in Indian cuisine) and mouthing off about how disgusting and uncivilized it was. And the responses blew up with lots and lots of pictures of white people eating burgers, pizzas, fries etc. with their hands. XD

        1. Da Boy

          Now this made me consider where the line lies for me and I think it’s about how messy/drippy the food can get? Like something that is one piece and fairly firm, say burgers, tacos, pizza, fries, that stuff you eat by hand. But something that is gooey or loose like mashed potatoes, rice, groats with a sauce of some kind that just drips down? Yeah for that I’d use cutlery.

        2. HueSatLight

          like corn on the cob, buffalo wings, or ribs.
          Bonus for mussels, need a prying tool and you touch your food.

        3. David DeLaney

          whever the line is, a Sloppy Joe is still on this side of it. As are incredibly greasy chicken pieces. Curry ain’t too far away whatever you try.

      2. Schpoonman

        I work at an upscale-ish pizzeria that piles all the toppings atop the cheese in such a manner as to guarantee stuff will fall off and I see a lot of customers use a knife and fork.

        I am an apostate and not a heretic so I build my own pizzas to be eaten by hand.

    2. egg egg

      Ah man I was seeing the latest from this guy in real time. He sure is oblivious to his own head being stuck up his ass.

    3. MM

      As I recall, the thing that actually got him to reconsider was people he could recognize as racist siding with him. Maybe the only thing that will work on Linda is a “you go, girl!” from Carol.

      1. Da Boy

        You mean like in that meme with tug-of-war?

  68. Needfuldoer

    There it is, two thirds of the denial trifecta!

    1. Schpoonman

      Is the third “Some of my friends…”?

      1. David DeLaney

        no, she’s already used an evolved version of that Pokebad with “voted for Obama”

  69. Claire

    Are we all glossing over the “all three” of your children thing? There’s another sibling??

    1. Kishoto

      Billie is often lumped in as one of their siblings because, among other reasons, her parents kinda sucked. I believe that’s what Walky is referencing

    2. timemonkey

      Jennifer sees herself as part of the family.

      1. Claire

        Ohh okay thank you!

  70. Doopyboop

    When the breaking point of the relationship is the parent, it’s an awful shame. At least if it was specifically something about Walky outside of his parents, he 1) could work to improve it himself and 2) would be able to cop to it and move on. But no, it’s his mother and how she treated Lucy. A woman who will never think to change on her own, who will continue to judge his romantic interests depending on the shade of their skin. If I was that parent, I’d feel deeply ashamed and sad that I ruined a good thing for my child.

    And instead she brags about marrying a black man and voting for Obama. I don’t know what the breaking point for Linda will be, but I hope she decides to start changing and soon. Her children shouldn’t feel like they need to cater their romantic interests to her.

    1. HueSatLight

      He does say, “and how I turned a blind eye to it”. And maybe he’ll get to the other parts of the breaking point, that are 100% on him, in a conversation where they’re relevant.

    2. Archieve

      Unfortunately, the mentality of someone doesn’t want to acknowledge their flaws is more like a bottomless well then a fixed breaking point, anytime you corner them with logic they slip out and swim deeper.

  71. Rabisch

    Walky, wow… That was amazing! Charles also seems to be moved. I’m starting to hope that he will stand by his children. Maybe that would force Linda to see herself for who she is.

  72. C.T. Phipps

    My mother voted for Obama both times.

    Then voted for Trump.

    It took Covid to wake her up about the latter.

    1. Bryy

      I’m still on and then voted trump.

      1. Adept

        yeah. Godsdammit.

  73. Steamweed

    “Some of my best husbands are Black!”

    1. Adept

      I’m so envous of your gravatar!

  74. Coco

    I never understood how these people even exist. When I was young, there was a plot point in a tv-show I was watching where an interracial couple split up because the man finally understood the woman didn’t want to have kids with him because she didn’t want to have black kids. It’s been 30 years and I still don’t understand how these people work.

    1. Taffy

      They don’t. They’re barely functional.

      1. Adept

        Cognitive dissonance is a female dog.

  75. Some Guy

    People denying/repressing their own deeply internalized racism playing the “I voted for the Obama” card are so adorable!

  76. Username Taken

    I’m really glad Obama ran for president. It gave people without black friends a great way to prove that they aren’t racist!

    (Linda would have voted for him a third time if she could have)

    1. fawndolyn

      Exactly what I was about to type! “I can’t be racist! I had a black president!”

  77. Jen

    Three children??? I thought it was just Walky and Sal? Are we talking about Billie?

  78. Dev

    Good for Walky.

    I’m hoping Charles finds strength in his son and does the same thing.

  79. Adept

    Walky’s dad knows what’s up. He just doesn’t want to deal with it. Walky really does take after him.

  80. Miafillene

    Wait wait wait. This is all wrong…Ana wasn’t the first poster! Is everything okay? All right? Something happen? O.o?

    1. David DeLaney

      the alt-text notes she’ll be fine till 2038, so don’t worry right now

      –Davr, yes, Willis anticipated that very comment

  81. Smooti

    Fuck yes, Walky. Real growth.

    And the hardest part will be knowing that at this point, I don’t think Linda’s capable of that sort of growth herself. That moment you realize you’ve learned a lesson your parents couldn’t, that in some ways you’ve outgrown them. It’s a strange one.

  82. MadScientist520

    What are the chances we see some dusty blue panels from Charle’s perspective to signify memories that Wapky just unlocked?

  83. DashWallkick

    Oh man, thought occurs — instead of Walky being correct causing a fracture between him and Linda, Walky gets burned by his dad and the underline is that not even the fun parent will take your side. I somehow just realized that’s where this is going and it’s gonna *hurt*.

    1. BBCC

      Charles isn’t just an enabler. He agrees with Linda. That’s been my read for a long time.

    2. Archieve

      That’s been my read too. He doesn’t get much screen time so when he shown as the calm one during his wife’s “behavior” it’s easy to think he’s a nice guy whoes about to have an epiphany…which never happens, because ignoring and rationalizing Linda’s behaviour is just another day for him.

      1. DashWallkick

        Right, but now we’re at a split where Walky’s cowardice is directly pointed at him as an influence, which might actually strike home since being charming and endearing as a tactic to escape conflict *is* his whole thing.

        I had assumed there’d be some kind of reckoning but since we got that with Joyce’s parents this is the much more cruel and realistic path instead — you stand up for what’s right, and no one really cares.

        1. MM

          Or maybe it takes longer. Walky’s planted the idea, which might make it harder to ignore the next microagression. Especially when the odds of those impacting him go up if the kids are on low/no contact.

          I agree, though; we’re probably not getting a satisfying step forward on this visit.

        2. Archieve

          If the twins are lucky Charles might try to change eventually but unlike Hank who he often gets compared to I think Charles is much more dependent on Linda for a sense of identity and self acceptance then Hank was with Carol. Linda views the world in terms of people who agree with her and people against her and I’m not sure how much it would take for Charles to willingly get on her bad side because she’s the type to drop family as soon as they don’t go along with her.

  84. Mr.Morningstar

    Uh wait three children?

    Did I skip a page??? Whos the third

    1. Tarnagh

      Jennifer/Billie. She’s the “child” Walky and Sal’s parents (his mother in particular) actually listen to.

  85. Odo

    Glad Walky is standing up to Linda, but this is still fundamentally a demonstration of Walky’s own self-loathing. He continually thinks he is undeserving of any relationship, and always blames himself when they fail.

    He is also just wrong in this scenario. Lucy broke up with him because a) he didn’t leap into saying I love you week 1 b) He doesn’t like her religion

  86. Nenja

    Walky, you are doing so good. Brave man.

  87. Yeet

    fuck yes walky
    sorry that you’re going to have to drop out or get a scholarship when she decides not to pay for you to go to college next year though

    1. Archieve

      It will probably be likelier for Linda to write this encounter off as him as being irrational from his break up with Lucy. Having a dropout for a son also isn’t a good look for Linda though I suppose it’s possible if Linda thinks it will get her son under control.

      1. Yeet

        you’d be surprised (or maybe not) how quickly this type of parent will decide their investment is better off elsewhere (even in places where college doesn’t actually cost them anything)

        1. Archieve

          True, and Linda had no problem stealing money for a child’s surgery, so if she’s feels she’s not in control she may very well chose the nuclear option under the guise of tough love.

  88. Hacksaw

    The horrible thing is how rooted in real life this is.

    1. NGPZ

      That’s the point. One of my favorite things about this comic really is the open and honest exploration of systematic bigotry.

  89. Kazuma Taichi

    I hate that the face she’s making when she’s saying she’s married to Charles is the “checkmate liberals” face. That should not be the base expression when in this situation

  90. ADLegend21

    1 vote for Obama day keeps the racism away!

  91. Zamperla

    Head in hands. She doesn’t even go for And I Have Black Friends because she doesn’t. Does she. She just goes RIGHT for the Um Well My Husband because people think being racist means Klan Only.

    She doesn’t even go “umm I have two Black Children.” do you think she’d ever ID them as black. Verbally. Mixed Race, only, Ever, I bet.

    Poor Walky. He’s caught the tail by the tiger.

  92. David DeLaney

    *plays Les Misbarack on the hacked video*

  93. JA

    Uh…three children? Am…am I going crazy or just never noticed at all, but…who’s the third sibling?

    1. Icalasari

      Jennifer, the one who can do no wrong because she’s white and who Linda wishes was biologically hers

    2. kenny

      what he said.

  94. Lingo

    test test test

    1. HueSatLight

      Has Dumbing Day gotten uncertain? Ruth’s birthday in the Dumbiverse is during Hompk!. Following the calendar from fall semester, that’s January 12th. But if Ruth’s birthday is the same as in the Walkyverse, it’s January 13th.

      I know the reasonable explanation is it was probably a goof and Ruth can just have a different birthday in this setting. But I prefer a tin-foil hat explanation, like it was an anti-leap year and they got rid of Dec 31. Or the “soft reset” during the major timeskip actually put us in Dumbiverse-2, and all the minor inconsistencies in the background aren’t just details too trivial to keep track of, they’re Berenstain Bears type clues.

  95. Felian

    Heck yes Walky!!
    I think Linda is just going to deny everything because as the wife of a Black man she can not pooooooooooossibly be racist, but Charles? He’ll take this to heart and reflect on it. It’s a painful truth he’ll have to face.
    I’m proud of Walky for finally speaking up about something that didn’t affect him. That’s the kind of allyship we all need.

    1. Felian

      And – given that his voice gets a smaller font size, Walky is aware that this will hurt his dad, and sorry about it. That’s good. It needs to be sad, but it sucks that it has to hurt Charles, who isn’t a terrible person, just the usual flawed kind.

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