Perfect for each other

Axel

06/30/2013, 12:02 am

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You’re killing me, Joyce.

Ragnal
06/30/2013, 12:05 am
- Reply Report comment
YOO AH TEHHING ME APAHT, JOYCE!
1. andiemus
  
  06/30/2013, 1:14 am
  
  Reply Report comment
  
  I’M FED AUP WITH THIS WULD!
  
  timemonkey
  
  06/30/2013, 1:34 am
  
  …..Jesus?
  
  Yarrr
  
  06/30/2013, 8:16 am
  
  win
  
  MMX2
  
  06/30/2013, 4:44 am
  
  O hai Mark.
  
  A
  
  07/04/2013, 11:19 pm
  
  WHAT DRUGS DENNY! WHAT DRUGSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!
  
  ninja_jesus
  
  06/30/2013, 5:07 am
  
  AH DID NUT HIT HUR, AH DID NAHT.
  
  Chronos
  
  06/30/2013, 8:42 am
  
  oh, Hai Jacob!
2. Gold
  
  06/30/2013, 3:45 pm
  
  Reply Report comment
  
  For a second there I thought you were all trying to talk in Ebonics.
  
  ironballs16
  
  10/17/2013, 10:13 am
  
  I think ebonics (or even the old Jive talk from “Airplane!”) is FAR more comprehensible than that accent.
3. Aisling
  
  06/06/2015, 11:09 pm
  
  Reply Report comment
  
  i almost spit water on my phone at that reference
Kernanator
06/30/2013, 12:06 am
- Reply Report comment
Quick, arrest her for murder.
1. Boom
  
  06/30/2013, 12:09 am
  
  Reply Report comment
  
  Actually it’d be attempted murder since she was caught in the act.

Kernanator

06/30/2013, 12:03 am

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Oh Joyce, what will we ever do with you?

Plasma Mongoose
06/30/2013, 12:05 am
- Reply Report comment
Trade her in for a less defective model? 😀
1. Boom
  
  06/30/2013, 12:06 am
  
  Reply Report comment
  
  Is a retrofit also a possibility?
2. Kernanator
  
  06/30/2013, 12:07 am
  
  Reply Report comment
  
  The developers are working on a patch.
  
  Honest.
  
  Plasma Mongoose
  
  06/30/2013, 12:09 am
  
  Of the nicotine kind now doubt.
  
  Boom
  
  06/30/2013, 12:15 am
  
  Don’t be silly. The only thing Joyce is addicted to is the love of Jesus!
  
  Plasma Mongoose
  
  06/30/2013, 12:19 am
  
  When it comes to communion wine and wavers, once you pop, you cannot stop.
  
  Boom
  
  06/30/2013, 12:30 am
  
  What denomination is Joyce?
  
  Plasma Mongoose
  
  06/30/2013, 12:32 am
  
  Nun-denominationial IIRC.
  
  tahrey
  
  07/01/2013, 4:17 am
  
  Seventh day advent-hoppist.
  
  VMtheCoyote
  
  06/30/2013, 1:02 am
  
  Get thee far from me, papist heretic!
  [/Joyce]
  
  Ivan
  
  06/30/2013, 5:16 pm
  
  I’d be a great Messiah.
  
  “This is my body. Sit on this appendage. This is not my blood. No… don’t ask, just do what I tell you!”
3. xKiv
  
  06/30/2013, 12:59 pm
  
  Reply Report comment
  
  She’s been damaged too much.
  Trade her in for a less-been model.
  
  Flushmaster
  
  06/30/2013, 1:08 pm
  
  What about a les-bian model? Preferably with an on-board camera. What’s the markup on that one?

SUGauthor

06/30/2013, 12:03 am

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One of these days she’ll run it through her head before she says it out loud.

ALLxISxGONE
06/30/2013, 2:29 am
- Reply Report comment
When will that be? 10 or 20 years from now?
1. Shariku Onikage
  
  06/30/2013, 6:30 am
  
  Reply Report comment
  
  No.
  
  No it will not.
  
  Ragnal
  
  06/30/2013, 10:57 am
  
  So we’re looking at less time, then…?

The Sound Defense

06/30/2013, 12:03 am

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This is what happens when you don’t grow up around minorities; when you meet one you have no idea how to interact.

Raibean
06/30/2013, 3:56 am
- Reply Report comment
Trust me, white kids from diverse neighborhoods say plenty of racist shit without realizing it.
1. MichaelHaneline
  
  06/30/2013, 4:44 pm
  
  Reply Report comment
  
  Trust me, kids from diverse neighborhoods say plenty of racist shit without realizing it.
  
  Flakes
  
  06/30/2013, 7:51 pm
  
  Yeah but it’s two different types of racism:
  
  Kids from homogeneous neighborhoods learn the stereotypes without seeing what the people they are applied to are really like, while kids from diverse neighborhoods see the behaviors that caused the stereotypes as “normal” and don’t realize it’s inappropriate to generalize them to other people.
  
  Icalasari
  
  06/30/2013, 11:06 pm
  
  Trust me, people say plenty of racist shit without realizing it
  
  AsimovSideburns
  
  06/30/2013, 11:17 pm
  
  Trust me, kids say plenty of racist shit.
  
  Gordon Blvd
  
  07/01/2013, 1:04 am
  
  win
  
  Shilo
  
  07/01/2013, 5:48 pm
  
  . . . you just had to get in their and defend those poor white people, huh? :/
2. tahrey
  
  07/01/2013, 4:18 am
  
  Reply Report comment
  
  I’ve been there, I was that solider. As well as ableist and probably sexist to boot.
  
  It’s something you can grow out of, but it does require some self awareness and you end up always second guessing yourself…

ASmellyOgre

06/30/2013, 12:03 am

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Oh, Joyce. Joycey Joyce.

Joycey Joycey Joycey Joyce.

I forgot what I was going to say because that is just too much fun.

Plasma Mongoose
06/30/2013, 12:25 am
- Reply Report comment
Rejoycing I see.
1. Resne
  
  06/30/2013, 1:22 am
  
  Reply Report comment
  
  She needs a de-joycing if you ask me.
  
  Chronos
  
  06/30/2013, 8:45 am
  
  A Joyce-ing machine would work best, to remove it from the pulp.
  
  Ivan
  
  06/30/2013, 5:20 pm
  
  Pulp? Like this @ Octo Pie? http://bit.ly/11WPgRR
  
  Sarpiedon
  
  06/30/2013, 2:20 pm
  
  A good joe-ing would fik all her ills.

Aizat

06/30/2013, 12:04 am

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Hey, at least she didn’t start with a racial slur or something offensive.

Kernanator
06/30/2013, 12:04 am
- Reply Report comment
Always remember, it could be worse.
1. Boom
  
  06/30/2013, 12:05 am
  
  Reply Report comment
  
  She could have set him on fire with her lust-fuelled stare.
  
  Kernanator
  
  06/30/2013, 12:10 am
  
  Maybe he set off the fire alarm, with his SMOKIN’ HOT BODY.
  
  …I don’t know whether to laugh or cry at my pun.
  
  Boom
  
  06/30/2013, 12:14 am
  
  Option C: defending yourself from a class action lawsuit for the pain and suffering that pun has caused.
  
  Aizat
  
  06/30/2013, 12:27 am
  
  Is it hot enough to have a BBQ on it?
  
  Kernanator
  
  06/30/2013, 1:24 am
  
  Crack open an egg on his abs. That shit will SIZZLE.
  
  Mrelegos
  
  06/30/2013, 5:58 am
  
  Just don’t try that on Walky’s sister. You’ll get SALmonella!
  
  Luzahn
  
  06/30/2013, 12:22 am
  
  Now now, we all know that Joyce’s lack of a lust-fuelled stare for Jacob means that she only lusts for Sal.
  
  Plasma Mongoose
  
  06/30/2013, 12:25 am
  
  Sal’s motorbike.
  
  FIXED!
  
  Boom
  
  06/30/2013, 12:30 am
  
  Caramel.
  
  RE-FIXED!
2. timemonkey
  
  06/30/2013, 1:35 am
  
  Reply Report comment
  
  She could have said ‘No wonder Ethan’s gay.’
Sporky
06/30/2013, 2:20 am
- Reply Report comment
she kinda did start with something offensive

thats the point

Boom

06/30/2013, 12:04 am

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Five minutes Joyce! That’s all we’re asking of you! Just five minutes where you don’t stick your foot in your mouth! Metaphorically. If you did it literally that’d be kind’f hot.

Mr. Random
06/30/2013, 1:53 am
- Reply Report comment
Kinda nasty, really. Foot doesn’t taste good…….I expect.
1. Totz the Plaid
  
  06/30/2013, 6:05 am
  
  Reply Report comment
  
  Incredibly nasty. Feet are gross.
  
  Makkabee
  
  06/30/2013, 8:59 am
  
  What if she washed them first?
  
  FlyingFish
  
  06/30/2013, 6:39 pm
  
  Hey, she should be all about washing feet, right?
  
  sidhe3141
  
  06/30/2013, 9:18 pm
  
  And before she can wash feet, she has to uncover them…
  Oh wait we’re talking about HER OWN feet. Somehow that’s not quite as hot.
2. tahrey
  
  07/01/2013, 4:19 am
  
  Reply Report comment
  
  Only because you (we?) go around barefoot all the time.
  
  Nice fresh socks, pair of odor-eaters in the shoes, shower every morning giving them a quick scrub… and it’s just skin, yknow?

Plasma Mongoose

06/30/2013, 12:04 am

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I was trying to figure out why Joyce is acting the way she does, until I remembered who Joyce’s room-mate was.

Boom
06/30/2013, 12:05 am
- Reply Report comment
I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.
1. Plasma Mongoose
  
  06/30/2013, 12:07 am
  
  Reply Report comment
  
  For a few seconds, I thought Joyce’s room-mate was either Dotty, Dina or Sierra.
  
  Totz the Plaid
  
  06/30/2013, 6:07 am
  
  I had the same problem, except my first thought was:
  
  “Billie? Well, she’s looking out for a friend at least! Wait. She’s not rooming with Billie… Who’s she rooming with agai- Oh. Oh… *facepalm* Really, Joyce? Just because Jacob and Sarah are both black? Really?!”
  
  ender1200
  
  06/30/2013, 12:50 pm
  
  Had the same reaction. For some reason i remembered she was billies roommate.
  
  DarkVeghetta
  
  06/21/2015, 9:03 am
  
  Same. It didn’t strike me until after I saw Joyce’s realization.
Aizat
06/30/2013, 12:05 am
- Reply Report comment
You mean, BILLIE?
1. Blue
  
  06/30/2013, 12:15 am
  
  Reply Report comment
  
  It wasn’t until now that I realised her roommate isn’t Billie.
  
  Plasma Mongoose
  
  06/30/2013, 12:22 am
  
  Room-mates:
  Billie and Sal
  Joyce and Sarah
  Dotty and Sierra
  Amber and Dina
  
  timemonkey
  
  06/30/2013, 1:36 am
  
  They share a half-bathroom, so they kinda are.
  
  Lawzlo
  
  06/30/2013, 2:11 am
  
  I think that just makes them half-of-a-bathroom-mates, which is totally a phrase that exists in language.
  
  Chronos
  
  06/30/2013, 8:49 am
  
  “Suitemate” is probably the word you’re looking for.
  
  Erika Hammerschmidt
  
  07/01/2013, 8:49 pm
  
  The first time I heard that word I thought it was “sweet mate,” which was very confusing in the context.

alicemacher

06/30/2013, 12:06 am

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[Insert Picard-facepalm image here.]

Boom
06/30/2013, 12:07 am
- Reply Report comment
[Jackie Chan WTF Image Counter]
1. andiemus
  
  06/30/2013, 1:08 am
  
  Reply Report comment
  
  [David Silverman AREYOUSERIOUS face]
  
  Doctor Lantern
  
  06/30/2013, 4:47 am
  
  [David Willis Troll Face here]
  
  Josh
  
  06/30/2013, 8:32 am
  
  [Damn you Willis rageface here]
  
  Makkabee
  
  06/30/2013, 9:00 am
  
  [this face intentionally left blank]
  
  xKiv
  
  06/30/2013, 1:17 pm
  
  [carface]

Ragnal

06/30/2013, 12:06 am

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Poor Joyce, remembering for a fact that Sarah is, in fact, a grump, and would not be perfect for a guy that she knows for all of three seconds.

…Betcha thought you knew where I was going with this. THE JOKE IS ON YOU!

Boom
06/30/2013, 12:08 am
- Reply Report comment
Get it off, get it off, get it off! I’m allergic to jokes! Aaaaaah!
1. Mr. Random
  
  06/30/2013, 1:54 am
  
  Reply Report comment
  
  Quick! Use this Epi-pen!

Shadowcthuhlu

06/30/2013, 12:08 am

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What Joyce meant to say: “You’re perfect for me. Abs.”

Kamino Neko

06/30/2013, 12:09 am

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I ♥ Jacob’s response.

Boom

06/30/2013, 12:10 am

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Now, Jacob… take off your shirt. Take of your shirt! Do it. Do it, do it, do it!

Kennerly
06/30/2013, 12:25 am
- Reply Report comment
His is the type that will do anything a woman wants.
1. Boom
  
  06/30/2013, 12:31 am
  
  Reply Report comment
  
  SHOW ME YOUR NIPPLES, JACOB!

Plasma Mongoose

06/30/2013, 12:14 am

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Jacob/Dina, Moe Couplet.

Jackson
06/30/2013, 9:43 am
- Reply Report comment
Darn it, PM, you gotta put a TVTropes Link Warning on that shit!

Nena

06/30/2013, 12:14 am

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Joyce is so awkward, isn’t she? haha

Kennerly

06/30/2013, 12:24 am

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Playing matchmaker is next to godliness.

brionl

06/30/2013, 12:28 am

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It’s OK, they probably already know each other anyway.
What? What!?

Alexis
06/30/2013, 5:42 am
- Reply Report comment
No, no, it’s fine.

THOSE people ALWAYS know each other.

You know. Sophomores.
1. Regalli
  
  06/30/2013, 1:10 pm
  
  Reply Report comment
  
  Do we know if Jacob’s a sophomore, actually?

Plasma Mongoose

06/30/2013, 12:36 am

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Gotta ask, is there a significant number of blacks going to IU or are they a tiny proportion of the student population?

timemonkey
06/30/2013, 1:38 am
- Reply Report comment
I’m pretty sure we’re not supposed to refer to them as just ‘blacks’.
1. Mr. Random
  
  06/30/2013, 1:56 am
  
  Reply Report comment
  
  People of a descent that gives their epidermal layer a naturally dark skin tone is a bit of a mouthful.
2. Plasma Mongoose
  
  06/30/2013, 2:47 am
  
  Reply Report comment
  
  I could have also chosen the term “of African decent” but I used black cos for most part, almost everyone knows what someone means when you use the word black in a racial sense, the same way when you hear the word white you think “of Europeon decent” or possibly “of NW Europeon decent”.
Chrissy
06/30/2013, 1:57 am
- Reply Report comment
Yeah, “black people” is more accepted than “blacks” because referring to people with a summarizing identifying descriptor is kind of dehumanizing, since people are all multifaceted and more than any one descriptor can capture. The race breakdown of IU according to “college prowler”:
African American 4%
Asian 4%
Hispanic 3%
International 9%
Native American 0%
White 77%
Unknown 1%
Historically Black College/University? No
Tribal College? No
Out-of-State Students 38%
1. Chrissy
  
  06/30/2013, 2:11 am
  
  Reply Report comment
  
  Also, to put it in context, in 2011 the US census bureau estimated 13.1% of Americans identified as African American compared to 9.4% of Hoosiers.
  
  Plasma Mongoose
  
  06/30/2013, 3:08 am
  
  I also heard somewhere that in America if you, your parents or grandparents came from Africa, you are clearly African-American, if your family has lived in the US since at least the 18th century, you’re Black.
  
  I’m not sure if there is any point in a distiction like this unless “African-Americans” see themselves as different from “Blacks”.
  
  timemonkey
  
  06/30/2013, 3:55 am
  
  The issue is the way you’re saying it. It’s ‘black people’ not ‘blacks’.
  
  DarkVeghetta
  
  06/21/2015, 9:12 am
  
  ‘white people’ sounds terrible, I’d rather be called ‘white’. In the interest of equality, I’m using ‘black’. If subject of sed descriptor has a problem with it, he’s welcome to forward another term he personally agrees with more.
  
  Buckybone
  
  06/30/2013, 4:48 am
  
  Most black people prefer “African-American”, as if they don’t think they should be fully American.
  
  Makkabee
  
  06/30/2013, 9:12 am
  
  Um… no. That’s not the reason.
  
  (At least not in the vast majority of cases. Unwise to speak in absolutes, particularly when you’re dealing with c. 40 million people)
  
  But seriously, why do you think African Americans don’t think they should be fully American? Also, if (while in the USA) you see a “kiss me, I’m Irish” t-shirt do you assume the person wearing it is saying s/he isn’t American at all?
  
  David
  
  06/30/2013, 10:51 am
  
  wtf dude
  
  i guess someone was bound to out-racist joyce in today’s comments but damn
  
  Ivan
  
  06/30/2013, 6:20 pm
  
  hey people… next time you visit IU, drive north a few hours to Gary.
  
  Try 1 block off 5th & Broadway. At 1am. Report back if you live. Murder cap of USA, many, many times.
  
  Per Cap – per cap.
  
  Kitrona
  
  08/15/2013, 4:43 pm
  
  … seriously? I’ve driven through Gary at 1 am and later lots of times, and I’m so white I glow in the dark. I have yet to be shot. Or maimed. Or murdered, etc.
  
  Also, it’s not “a few hours” from Bloomington to Gary. Closer to 5 or 6.
  
  DarkVeghetta
  
  06/21/2015, 9:22 am
  
  ^ obviously, your car looks too cheap. Or not redneck enough.
  
  Blur
  
  06/30/2013, 11:14 am
  
  Down where I live the term African-American will get you dirty stares from a lot of black people. I was partly raised by a black family and the father once told me that the term African-American sounded too much like something said by someone scared to call him what he is. Black.
  
  But that doesn’t seem to be the case in other parts of the country. So it really depends.
  
  Love is Mathematical
  
  06/30/2013, 1:17 pm
  
  In some regions of Europe the preferred term is “brown” (not necessarily the English word for brown).
  
  My Jamaican boss likes referring the kids we work with according to their true colors: chocolate, caramel, peachy-cream, pepperoni.
  
  Yes, my Jamaican boss in Europe.
  
  Marcos Dantas
  
  07/01/2013, 11:52 am
  
  Hummmm, a delicious workplace …
  
  LiamKav
  
  07/01/2013, 8:42 pm
  
  What parts? It certainly doesn’t apply in the UK, where you’d want to use the term “black people” rather than “blacks”, and (just FYI) “gay people” rather than “gays”.
  
  (Obviously, calling a black British guy “African-American” would just be weird.)
  
  DarkVeghetta
  
  06/21/2015, 9:21 am
  
  So, ‘white/black people’ would be the plural for ‘black/white’ as well as for ‘black/white person’? I -sort- of get it, but this is pretty inane PC-ism. There’s a reason why it’s ‘Brits’, not ‘British people’ in common parlance.
  
  DarkVeghetta
  
  06/21/2015, 9:16 am
  
  peachy-cream? pepperoni? I have zero idea what ethnicities must have been involved to create those colors.
  
  DarkVeghetta
  
  06/21/2015, 9:23 am
  
  Wait… why are all of those also innuendo?
2. Lawzlo
  
  06/30/2013, 2:13 am
  
  Reply Report comment
  
  I hope that the “unknown” 1% are Native Americans, otherwise that statistic is kinda depressing.
  
  Lawzlo
  
  06/30/2013, 2:14 am
  
  Well, it would still be kinda depressing, but still…
3. Dhirik
  
  06/30/2013, 3:07 am
  
  Reply Report comment
  
  Oddly enough, it gets a little more subtle (at least judging from an average of mainstream media articles I read).
  “Blacks” is used as a subject frequently, and I rarely see people offended.
  
  For instance, “Blacks/hispanics voted predominantly for…. in that election”
  When preceded by an article, it sounds loads worse to the ear, and people react. e.g. “…for the blacks…”. Even “…for blacks…” sounds almost as bad.
  
  I know to my ear the latter two sound worse; I’m going to guess it’s a matter of agency within the sentence that’s led to that usage, but it definitely isn’t intuitive a priori.
4. Andrew_C
  
  06/30/2013, 10:04 am
  
  Reply Report comment
  
  I always put my race as “Other” on forms that ask for it. I understand why they ask, but I grew up in Apartheid South Africa and remember all the forms that asked that there for very different reasons and am just glad most forms here give you the option of “Other”.

someguywithakatana

06/30/2013, 12:46 am

Reply Report comment

I don’t get why this is difficult. Sure, even if she did say it purely out of racial motivations, it shouldn’t be too hard to give a basic description of Sarah’s personality.

Ya know. Cyncial. Grumpy. Fond of baseball bats.

timemonkey
06/30/2013, 1:39 am
- Reply Report comment
The problem is likely because she has no reason to think they’d be a good couple. It’s not like Sarah’s a body builder or has displayed an interest in muscle guys so she has nowhere to go but stick her foot in her mouth.
Jackson
06/30/2013, 9:51 am
- Reply Report comment
I like to think that in panel 3, something like this is going through Joyce’s mind:

“Yikes, you can’t just say “black!” Describe her personality! No, wait, don’t describe her personality! Maybe go with hobbies? What’s she into? Studying? Oh geez I really did not think this through”
1. bunivasal
  
  07/01/2013, 1:24 am
  
  Reply Report comment
  
  In the inevitable Dumbing of Age cartoon, can we get Zach Braff to provide Joyce’s inner monologue?
  
  DarkVeghetta
  
  06/21/2015, 9:26 am
  
  YES. ALL OF MY YES.
Reepicheep-chan
07/01/2013, 2:16 pm
- Reply Report comment
I think mostly she started saying a thing without realizing how terrible it was and then she realized how terrible it was and got all flustered. Joyce is not intentionally awful, after all, just ignorant as hell.

K

06/30/2013, 1:01 am

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Jacob kind of creeps me out. Just his face. It’s like a freaky… goldfish face. Or something. I can’t explain it.

DarkVeghetta
06/21/2015, 9:29 am
- Reply Report comment
It’s his LIPS. Hence ‘goldfish face’. They’re orange… nothing else is (as far as we can see bow chika bow wow). Hmm… his face is somewhat too round as well. Ya’ know, the more I look at him the creepier he gets. I think I’ll stop now.

Jetstream

06/30/2013, 1:12 am

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Damn girl, that foot in mouth disease is gonna get fatal soon. Engage brain before mouth, dear.

Ben

06/30/2013, 1:14 am

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Dang it Joyce… I try to be on your side (or at least understand it), i really do, but you can’t just /do/ things like that…

Ben
06/30/2013, 1:15 am
- Reply Report comment
^^ ironic pic for my thing…
timemonkey
06/30/2013, 1:41 am
- Reply Report comment
At least this time she didn’t call him a novelty.

Bearfuz

06/30/2013, 1:26 am

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Joyce might grow up to be Paula Deen. Just sayin’.

DSL
06/30/2013, 2:07 am
- Reply Report comment
Promoting an unhealthy diet while hiding the fact she’s on a drug as a result of a condition promoted by that diet, while clandestinely taking money from a company that makes that drug?
1. Totz the Plaid
  
  06/30/2013, 6:13 am
  
  Reply Report comment
  
  Nah, just a cholesterol-filled accidental racist whose arteries are so clogged that not enough blood gets to her brain for her to think before she speaks.
  
  I’m not saying what Paula Deen did was acceptable or right, I’m just saying that if your brain had more cholesterol than blood, you’d say stupid shit that you grew up with, too.
  
  I don’t think she meant to be racist, per se, but she was racist, and she deserves all the negative attention she’s getting for it.
  
  Li
  
  06/30/2013, 10:07 am
  
  I think she completely meant to be racist. She just didn’t mean to get in trouble for it.
  
  DarkVeghetta
  
  06/21/2015, 9:33 am
  
  Not really ALL of it. She’s just not used to different people. Like nudists. I could conceivably say something similar to a nudist regarding another nudist JUST because they’re nudists. Horrible, I know.

Mr. Torgue

06/30/2013, 2:08 am

Reply Report comment

Jacob totally looks like a Goron.

Uniqueantique

06/30/2013, 2:32 am

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Joyce tries, she just doesn’t put brain in gear before she engages mouth.
And if NOT correct to call African descended people ‘just’ blacks, why is it okay to call caucasions people (sp?) ‘just’ white. Just askin?

Plasma Mongoose
06/30/2013, 2:51 am
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Personally it doesn’t bother me to be refered to as white, even though that due to having some Spanish blood, I might be classed as part Latino, a term I don’t really hear outside of American TV shows.
Hoboturtle
06/30/2013, 3:09 am
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I think it has to do with how you say it if anything. Saying someone is white or black isn’t offensive. But calling a group of people just their ethnic is weird. Saying, “look at that group of white people” sounds better then look at those whites”. “People” being the keyword that makes it okay cause that says “people who just so happen to be this way”. I personally would be confused if I and my family was referred to as ‘blacks”, cause that sounds like an Overlord minion type.

The alternative is that white people are never really referred to by people by their ethnicity. When you see someone who is white, you usually just say, “that guy”. When you see a person who’s black, “you usually say that black guy”. White being treated as the norm and so minorities are allow to make fun of them.

If someone prefers to be called “african-american” as suppose to “black”? I have no idea. I’m a black guy. I grew up in new york, not much African about me (hell my family is Caribbean-american if anything).
1. DarkVeghetta
  
  06/21/2015, 9:42 am
  
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  To be fair, white -is- the norm in the US and Europe, while black is the norm in Africa. Eskimo’s the norm where your dick freezes off when you pee.
  For clarity people tend to attach small descriptors if they’re simple to use. Black/white’s pretty handy if sed group is a minority, not so much if mostly everyone’s that way. Also we’re very visual apes – if everyone would be wearing top-hats I’d wager ‘dapper’ would be used in place of any racial distinction.
  …
  What I’m trying to say is that verbal racial tensions can be diffused by wearing a tuxedo and a top hat. Extra points for a monocle.
Dhirik
06/30/2013, 3:19 am
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Honestly, I think it almost purely because using a phrase like “the blacks” or “those Hispanics” has been such a constant feature of racist commentary on minority groups. The kind of thing an old racist grandma would say. That phrasing gets tainted and people react because it’s reminiscent. When you use the same word in a way that doesn’t resonate with that language, it usually doesn’t bother people.

And because you just don’t hear about “those whites”, that phrasing doesn’t really set people off.

Anyway, just because the reaction is inconsistent doesn’t make that reaction less real, so I usually figure there’s no reason to prod people.
Li
06/30/2013, 10:10 am
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Because white people have zero racial tension behind them and don’t care what they’re called. Seriously. Racially-charged names cannot hurt us because there is no power behind them, no oppression there, nothing.

Find me a white person who is actually offended by “cracker”, for example, and I’ll find you someone who just thinks they should be able to say the N-word with impunity and that it’s really unfair that we have a Black History Month but don’t have a White History Month. Someone with no sense of context or scale, in other words.
1. xKiv
  
  06/30/2013, 1:44 pm
  
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  Unrelated, but I probably *would* be offended by being called cracker. I do not crack software.
  I might qualify for being called hacker though. I had to hack my way around some seriously convoluted code. But I do not even begin to compare to the greats.
2. Reepicheep-chan
  
  07/01/2013, 2:21 pm
  
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  This. I do not give any shits if people wanna get down on me cause of my race b/c at the end of the day I still have my white people privileges and no amount of name calling is gonna change that. On the other hand I hate hate HATE when people whip out the sexist slurs like ‘c’mon guys being a lady is already hard as balls why you gotta be like that?’
  
  In any case as a white person I get to make the call on what is or is not offense to white people, I do not get to make the call for people of other elasticities; if someone of color is offended by a thing then I just gotta accept that and not be a dick about it. It is called ‘not being a dick’.
  
  DarkVeghetta
  
  06/21/2015, 9:55 am
  
  Yet sometimes poking fun at old wounds is therapeutic for everyone involved.
  Words only have power in a context and the day the old slurs stop being taken seriously will be a good day for equality. I won’t call a black person the N-word because that’s just not cool, I will however call my very white friends that and myself as well since it mocks the term itself therefor taking away it’s symbolic power/place and replacing it with a lighter tone.
  On some parts of the Internet this is common parlance, and incidentally it is on those parts that the word isn’t offensive to anyone anymore because everyone knows it’s only used as a joke – much like ‘your mom with my penis for a nickel’ has lost all pejorative meaning around here or ‘fag’ just means ‘user’ on 4-chan.
  Hopefully such practices spread past the Internet eventually and sad, offensive words loose their original meaning, thus taking some wind out of that still-lingering racial tension.
AHR
06/30/2013, 3:00 pm
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In terms of being correct/incorrect, it really depends on the person. :/. I know some people who saw the term “black” as really offensive, and others who saw it as just a term (both of these coming from someone who could fall under said description). Soooo…yeah, it’s the type of thing I just pay attention to and see if I cause any twitches by saying it.

Twirls

06/30/2013, 3:19 am

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I’m actually intrigued as to how Sarah and Jacob would interract now because Javob seems pretty nice and Sarah is perpetually grumpy. But, yeah, count me in the number who forgot for a second that Joyce’s roommate wasn’t Billie.

Darchias
06/30/2013, 3:27 am
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They seem to share an affinity for snarking at Joyce, at least.
randonimity
06/30/2013, 6:59 am
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I am too. Jacob has always struck me as personable.
Marcos Dantas
07/01/2013, 11:59 am
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Sarah wouldn’t be grumpy anymore after being jacobed. Jacob would jacob the grumpy out of her.

vuragado

06/30/2013, 3:32 am

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Nice. Just nice Joyce.

Raibean

06/30/2013, 3:46 am

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I bet there are like 5 black women at this university and Jacob has been set up with all of them. Let’s remember we’re not even a month into school yet.

DarkVeghetta
06/21/2015, 10:05 am
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To be fair, humans tend to be more sexually attracted to our own racial groups, by and large. Social change has somewhat diluted this, but it’s really not -quite- as racist as everyone seems to think it is. Now, saying it as the first thing after you meet him… yeah.
That sed, I’d be very interested in getting a black/Asian/Indian girlfriend one of these days and I’m pretty damn white if I don’t do enough farm work.
Ok, so maybe it is as racist as it sounds like. Still, this is Joyce damnit! New and unfamiliar with the setting’s social interactions is still a valid excuse here.

Jenny Creed

06/30/2013, 4:18 am

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Hello second black person I’ve ever seen! Have you seen the other black person? You should have so much in common since you’re both black!

Thor’s beard, Joyce, even you should be able to figure out that just because you know two black people doesn’t mean there are only two black people.

Jenny Creed
06/30/2013, 4:35 am
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We’re probably lucky she’s not calling Jacob a son of Ham and demanding he be put to slave work, on reflection.
1. Totz the Plaid
  
  06/30/2013, 6:20 am
  
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  Hey, to be fair, he’s the FIFTH black person she’s met (remember Sierra?) if we count the mixed-race nature of Walky and Sal. She just knows that Sal’s got her own thing going on. And points for her to not immediately follow that up by suggesting Sierra.
  
  She knows that Sarah’s grumpy and feels alone, so despite the incredibly racist implication that she and Jacob would be a good match just because they’re both black, she’s still kinda looking out for her roomate.
  
  She should really try to get Sarah and Mike together, though. I’d LOVE to see them on at least one date.
  
  Notebooked
  
  06/30/2013, 8:06 am
  
  I didn’t even consider that angle, especially since their last conversation was Joyce saying she’s made friends with her risk-taking while Sarah’s still alone. Good catch!
  
  And good lord, Sarah and Mike. I can’t even imagine the consequences.
  
  DarkVeghetta
  
  06/21/2015, 10:09 am
  
  All aboard the SaraxMike, next destination: DOOM! HORROR! JAYWALKING!
  
  Jenny Creed
  
  06/30/2013, 8:11 am
  
  I did not remember, though now I’m happy Joyce didn’t assume Jacob was Sarah’s brother.
  
  And, I could buy she’s looking out for Sarah if we had seen her trying to find her dates before, or if it had been established Sarah is looking for dates within her own skin tone spectrum. . .actually, looking for dates at all. But I really don’t think Joyce looked any further than “Hey these people have the same unusual skin color and compatible genitals, they must be made for each other”, and hey, it looks like even she realizes she goofed up when Jacob starts talking and she’s reminded that he’s a person.
Alex Stritar
06/30/2013, 3:19 pm
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Hasn’t Joyce already me Sierra? Only reason she hasn’t set her up with with Sarah is because she’s still in her ‘homosexuality is a sin’ phase.

Arkadi

06/30/2013, 5:26 am

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Joyce just can’t get a break today XDXDXDXD

Kaci

06/30/2013, 6:21 am

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no Roadblock poster?

skillions

06/30/2013, 6:50 am

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yo but seriously they would be super perfect for each other

KB_SBI

06/30/2013, 7:32 am

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I would have punched her in the throat. There’s nothing worse than white people who think that you’re automatically best buds with every other person who’s a similar shade of brown.

DarkVeghetta
06/21/2015, 10:10 am
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Except ya know… genocide n’ Hitler. Also Pol Pot and Twilight.
1. DarkVeghetta
  
  06/21/2015, 10:11 am
  
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  Also my penis in your mother. Wait, since this is me replying to myself, would that make it incest? Huh, well suppose for some that’s pretty terrible too.

Notebooked

06/30/2013, 7:58 am

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“No, no, no, she’s just an angry misanthrope who doesn’t want anything to do with the social scene, which seems like…your…type?”

Joyceus.

RJF

06/30/2013, 9:09 am

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I dunno, this page seems more of a stereotype than an actual credible character moment. I get that “Dumbing of Age” is a comedy so we need to embarrass people and make jokes, but I don’t recall any previous incident where Joyce has been particularly insensitive about colour so for her to suddenly blurt this out seems odd.

OnarReshana
06/30/2013, 9:51 am
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Well, I’d have to go back through the series to give you exact pages, but Joyce has always had a tendency to blurt out potentially racist statements due to having lived sheltered from most of the world. It’s not that she means to…just she doesn’t think things through before she says them. I recall her calling Billie Mexican at one point
kujazlilmage
06/30/2013, 10:09 am
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Wasn’t there an incident before where she was talking about Sarah with Becky and essentially went on about “So yeah I have a BLACK roommate she’s BLACK like I’ve never roomed with a BLACK girl before do I call her my SISTER or are only BLACK people allowed to do that?”

And Sarah was standing RIGHT THERE, so…yeah. This kind of thoughtless blabbing isn’t new from Joyce. The difference is she at least seems to be aware (if only a little bit) about how some of the things she says are unacceptable.
Jackson
06/30/2013, 10:11 am
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Here, I can help.

Sisters: regarding Sarah
Mixed: regarding Billie
David: regarding Walky

This kind of thing is, admittedly, not a super-frequent occurrence for Joyce, but it happens.
1. Totz the Plaid
  
  06/30/2013, 9:35 pm
  
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  I beg to differ: if you consider the fact that the strip’s covered maybe 3 weeks of time, it’s pretty frequent…
Greenygal
06/30/2013, 10:15 am
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This strip establishes both that Joyce has spent her life surrounded entirely by white people and that she’s liable to say dumb things because of it. (I feel like there are others, but this is the one I remember.)
1. John
  
  06/30/2013, 12:57 pm
  
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  This one and the next, too.
AHR
06/30/2013, 3:02 pm
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On Jacob’s end, it seems pretty common. He gets a bit snarky about this stuff, judging from Shortpacked.

sumolegend

06/30/2013, 10:25 am

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“She’s got a great personality!”

Chubsius

06/30/2013, 11:02 am

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Somehow, I think a shortpacked!, sex-addict version of Jacob would be more “perfect” for Joyce than Ethan. I’m shipping Joyce/Jacob now because I think he’s the straight guy who take her the most out of her comfort zone. Plus, an Ethan/Jacob/Joyce love triangle? Epic.

Fanart, commence fufilling my dreams and fantasies.