152

Sisters
Posted on July 11, 2011 by David M Willis
Hey, guys.  This week we start the process of moving all of our Earthly belongings across town to a new sparkly place to live.  So for the duration of our move, Dumbing of Age is only Monday-Wednesday-Friday.  So probably a week or two of this schedule?  I'll let you know when we're back to the normal weekly grind. If you've seen the number of Earthly belongings I have, you'd understand.

152 thoughts on “Sisters”

  1. Jen Aside

    Wow, indeed.

    1. Lady Ray

      I don’t find it that wow-inducing…although I was schooled normally till 9th grade in a normal family in what I think of as a fairly normal town and I can’t name a single black person I know because there are like two in the entire district? I I can really sympathise with Joyce here. The only one I know OF at all is also gay and jewish. I only know three gay people sans myself and two jewish, so he’s like triple diversity.

      Although I’m usually equally awkward around all races because I’m just a pretty awkward person.

      1. Jen Aside

        The wow is the extent to which she is both aware of and awkwardly overcompensating for her naivete.

  2. Lee

    We know, Joyce. We know.

    1. David Herbert

      And knowing is half the battle.

      1. Aizat

        And what’s the other half?

        1. JK9000

          Lasers.

        2. Undrave

          Red and blue lasers to be precise.

        3. heyarnold1986

          25% red lasers and 25% blue lasers to break it down further.

        4. Jenny Creed

          Are the remaining 50% ultraviolet (blacklight) lasers?

        5. ADHadh

          Killing the ^@$#& sons of &^%#.
          (preferably with lasers)

        6. Djw175

          Your avatar makes that line all the better.

        7. Plasma Mongoose

          Forgeting what you learnt by the next episode.

        8. TheBenenator

          for everyone!

        9. BlobMarley

          TVTropes?
          YOU FIEND! I HAD STUFF TO DO TODAY!

        10. Plasma Mongoose

          Lucky for me, I have already dosed myself up pretty heavy with TVTropes, so I am less likely to waste too much time the next time I click on a link.

  3. Mkvenner

    Joyce’s last comment made me shoot mountain dew out my nose. 😀 😀
    It hurts. 🙁

    1. Zap

      Not as painful as actually digesting the Mountain Dew I bet.

      1. Mkvenner

        Regular ir throwback?

        1. Mkvenner

          I mean regular or throwback.

        2. BlobMarley

          mmmmmm, throwback. DELICIOUS!

        3. Gentooman

          You’re forgetting the others!
          Code Red, LiveWire, Voltage, White Out, Diet Supernova, and Pitch Black.
          Pitch Black is my favorite.

        4. Mkvenner

          I was drinking throwback at time.

        5. Lan M.

          You forgot the original Gamefuel Mountain Dew flavor. That was shit was delicious. Like butter on toast.

    2. Aizat

      That funny, huh?

  4. General Tekno

    Wow, indeed.

    And yeah, I collect toys as well. And have moved. So I know EXACTLY what you mean re: what a hassle moving can be.

  5. Aizat

    I knew it.

  6. The Sound Defense

    It’s kind of like a novelty, you know?

  7. Jillian

    There needs to be T-shirts that say that. Or is that also offensive? Joyce. Keep it in your comic. 😐

    1. dchorror

      I know a few people who could benefit from a shirt saying “I am not accustomed to diversity!”

    2. Undrave

      We could put a nice piece of white bread on the t-shirt :p

      1. Plasma Mongoose

        You mean a shirt like this:

        http://i1191.photobucket.com/albums/z479/Plasma-Mongoose/WHITEBREAD.jpg

        1. Undrave

          EXACTLY! Though maybe in all caps in a different font.

        2. Undrave

          All caps and no exclamation mark.

        3. Plasma Mongoose

          What kind of font, comic style?

        4. Plasma Mongoose

          New Whitebread Shirt

        5. dchorror

          I would buy that.

        6. Aizat

          Do you have one with toast?

        7. TsunamiJane

          The first one with the speech bubble is potentially “less offensive” and also funnier. The second one would work with a different font perhaps?

          Let us know when you sell them.

        8. Undrave

          Nah. Courrier :p the most boring font possible.

          I also like the first one with the speech bubble a little better.

        9. Mitch

          Also “I am” not “I’m” 😉

        10. OfftheCliff1

          As long as its not Comic Sans.

        11. Moh!

          Oh my god you have the best avatar ever

        12. Plasma Mongoose

          Newest version of
          Whitebread Shirt
          .

          Now With speech bubble and written in Komika Display Caps.

  8. Jimmy

    Some people have to learn when to end their conversations a sentence earlier. I have that problem at times myself, but Joyce has taken it to a whole new level.

    1. dchorror

      A whole paragraph as opposed to a sentence earlier?

      1. Jimmy

        Or a long run-on sentence. Regardless, she just needs to stop talking after a certain point. 😉

  9. Vivvav

    “Not accustomed to diversity”?
    I love it. Best justification ever.

    1. DeWeese07

      at least she apologetic about it 🙂 not like all those bigots that justify there blatant racism with excuses like “I was raised on a farm”. I love joyce 😀 and I think that if ever Anti-Joyce makes an appearance in this strip shes going to be all the more funny 😛

  10. Lokitsu

    Ah Diversity, always lying in wait to trip up poor Joyce.

    Good luck with the move!

  11. Ridureyu

    This reminds me of how MS Word’s spellcheck used to flag gender-specific words.

    1. TsunamiJane

      Really? When?

  12. Kryndar

    Heh despite the wow factor, “I’m not accustomed to diversity”, I can honestly say I have experienced “oh shit could that be racist/sexist” moments. Short answer no, longer answer, no but anything can be racist/sexist if you want it to be, which is almost always because of my paranoia rather than how people actually look at what is said.

    1. dchorror

      And sometimes other people can take it overboard so they have a reason to hate on you.

      1. Moh!

        I accidentally did that to my choir teacher once, she said something I misinterpreted and I was all “homophobia is not okay!” …and then it was awkward.

  13. alicemacher

    I get the sense that Joyce is at least making an effort to be more accepting of others. Baby steps.

    (In before someone drops the inevitable “That is so babies” meme)

    1. Seraph

      She is, but I don’t think this is an example of it. I think Joyce came to college with the understanding that Racism Is Wrong. She just doesn’t understand the protocol for dealing with these strange, alien creatures known as African-Americans.

      Still, good on her for understanding – as far too many do not – that racism does not begin and end with white sheets and burning crosses.

      1. Mkvenner

        It ends in either genocide or aparthied.

        1. Seraph

          Point is, so many people believe that they’re not racist because they don’t actually say the n-word out loud. Joyce knows better, which puts her several steps ahead.

    2. BlobMarley

      Don’t worry, nobody’s gonna drop that meme.

      It’s totally babies.

  14. Matt

    “And when I say brother, I don’t mean, like, an actual brother, but I mean it like the way black people use it. Which is more meaningful I think.”

    –Joyce Derek Zoolander

  15. Doom Shepherd

    Actually, it means what it means in the “black way” in the “white way” a lot earlier.

    I mean, Freemasons and the like have been using “brother” that way for hunnerts of years.

    Although, where Joyce comes from, they probably frown on the Freemasons, too.

    1. Mkvenner

      Cures the Anti-Freemasons.

      1. Björn

        That’s very kind of you. 😉

      2. Plasma Mongoose

        How did you cure them? With smoke or salt?

        1. DeWeese07

          with leeches

        2. Moh!

          in the FAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACE

        3. Plasma Mongoose

          With the power of Joyce’s FAAAAAAAAITH!

        4. ren

          Cures them of the fun snake too.

  16. Shifty

    Here’s a tip in how to handle diversity Joyce: Don’t make a big deal about the fact they’re different. Just treat them like you would like to be treated. Oh, and avoid trying to convert them or force them into doing something they aren’t comfortable with.

    1. Thor

      So how long until Joyce notices that Billie is a little “diverse” herself?

      1. John

        I dunno… I’ve been reading since Roomies, and I only realized she was supposed to be half-Asian when Willis mentioned it a few weeks ago.

        Or did you mean the coming out of the closet thing?

        1. David

          Billie wasn’t half-Asian in Roomies!. She is in DoA, ‘cuz back then some people always assumed she was Asian, I guess ‘cuz of her dark hair and fair complexion. So while retooling characters for this new universe, I figured making her half-Asian seemed like the freebie-est diversity add ever. I mean, hell, why not?

        2. Plasma Mongoose

          So you genetically modified Billie?

          OH MY!

        3. Aizat

          No wonder she looked a lot hotter than in Roomies! or it could be just me.

        4. Plasma Mongoose

          I thought it was more due to the fact that until recently, Billie was more or less DoA’s chewtoy.

        5. David

          I haven’t changed the way I draw her, other than the march of skill evolution over time.

        6. Mkvenner

          Your skill has greatly impoved since then. In both drawing and storytelling.

    2. Mkvenner

      I’d recommend also reading the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

    3. Doranian

      Just “not making a big deal out of it” is almost never enough. I dunno, I’ve got friends (and a boyfriend) of all heritages, but it kind of ticks me off sometimes when they make something racist or sexist out of a nothing comment (especially the ones that aren’t made by myself, because it makes me feel like I must have said something in the past to that degree that someone made a mountain out of.)

      So, in a sentence, I can very much understand where Joyce is coming from.

      I’ve never met a genuinely racist person, I think racism is silly, but in my experience, the most racist people are the ones who are paranoid about racism.

  17. b

    Everyones missing the fact they are heading for the showers

    1. Undrave

      And Joyce is walking barefoot in the hall o.o

      1. Plasma Mongoose

        That is kinda risky, staples and other nasty things could be on the floor.

      2. taekwondogirl

        Well, she is pretty naive.

    2. dchorror

      Watching Joyce trip over herself verbally is almost more enjoyable, especially since we’re over the shock that she’s not doing it in winter wear again. Must not have worked as well last time.

    3. Loki

      They are totally shower buddies.

  18. HyperboleKitty

    Well damn. Signs that she had lived a sheltered life.

    1. Pat

      Not necessarily. It could just reflect where she’s from.

      Plus her other issues, of course.

  19. Paosheep

    Aw, poor Joyce! It’s hard coming from a demographically stagnant background. It’s hard and nobody understands. :p

    1. dchorror

      I was about to say that she better adapt quickly, but it occurred that the biggest thing her community probably adapted was the ability to avoid adaptation.

    2. Mkvenner

      And a culturally stagnant background as well.

    3. Plasma Mongoose

      But white people ain’t the only race known to only stay around their kind, a number from many races do the same.

      1. Mkvenner

        White however at one point ruled about any where from a quarter to half the global.

        1. Plasma Mongoose

          So did the Mongols at one point if I remember history correctly.

        2. Mkvenner

          That was the known world,

        3. Viktoria

          It was, more or less, all of Asia, including Russia, and portions of Europe. Asia alone is 30% of the Earth’s landmass.

  20. taekwondogirl

    I’m amused that Billie and Dorothy keep jostling for third place but Joe still hasn’t been bumped down to third.

  21. Undrave

    OOOH! I know! Maybe Sarah and Bille can trade roommates! I bet Joyce would like that, plus Sarah would never have to put up with anything Sal does.

    1. dchorror

      But having difficult roommates builds character.

      I can’t make a parody quote of Calvin’s dad without the source in front of me.

      1. Undrave

        It would be a good excuse to focus on Joyce and Billie interacting, it’s more fun than Billie hunting a ghost and Joyce not interacting with Sarah…

    2. MM

      It’d be all fun and games until Billie finally snagged a football player. Even at the 50 year reunion, those in the dorms on that fateful day would still remember the horrible, horrible screaming.

      1. dchorror

        Yeah, that jock just couldn’t handle what Billie was dishing out.

  22. MM

    I’d offer to play “Everyone’s a Little Bit Racist” to make Joyce feel better, but I fear I’d just break her.

    1. 1Samildanach

      But if you break Joyce, Joe gets to fix her…

      1. Plasma Mongoose

        With his pen- err Little Joe.

        1. Aizat

          Let’s just hope that Mike is not around when that happens.

        2. Plasma Mongoose

          True enough, Mike will fist you senseless if you don’t watch it.

    2. OfftheCliff1

      It woudn’t break her as much as if you played “The Internet is for Porn”

  23. Plasma Mongoose

    She could also have meant in a nun type of way, but that leads to a whole different fetish…

    1. Undrave

      You mean Whoopi Goldberg?

      1. Plasma Mongoose

        No that’s more of an anti-fetish.

    2. Cholisose

      Would be a fun spinoff story arc. “Joyce and Sarah: Get Thee to a Nunnery!”

    3. Aizat

      Naughty nuns, one of the fetishes that I just don’t understand but knowing that there are people out there who’s aroused by underage girls and/or tentacles, I think I rather not know why.

      1. gangler

        People like a woman in uniform. Naughty is one of three basic pornographic personality archetypes. What’s to get? Insert uniform a into personality b.

        Innocent/submissive maid. Assertive/dominating UPS worker. There you go. See how it works? It’s honestly not terribly complicated or disturbing in this instance.

        1. Aizat

          Thanks for the explanation. I still don’t get the appeal of tentacles and lolis though.

        2. begbert2

          Tentacles and rape in general are about control – some people get off on the idea of either being in control in sexual situations, or being out of control in sexual situations, and tentacles/rape (you rarely have the former without the latter) are simply control taken to illegal and for many repulsive levels.

          I dunno for lolis though; some people are just wired funny?

        3. begbert2

          Oh, and the tentacles were originally invented because in japan it was (and I think still is) illegal to have unmosaiced penii in any medium, and some clever comic artist thought “Loophole!!”. Its continuing popularity is possibly related to the ability to have as many as you like on one monster (most humans have only one penis) and thus to get the whole gang-rape thing without having to have the attacker share, and also the fact tentacles can cross also function as appendages too, allowing for the attack of essentially nothing *but* penises.

          Ain’t porn fun?

        4. gangler

          The censorship laws in Japan hit the porn industry hard. It’s pretty central to what it’s all become. In lieu of standard graphic sex people had to get creative. Funny when legislation backfires that way. I can’t imagine the intent of these policies was to become known as the country with the freakiest porn.

        5. MM

          It’s not really that far removed from schoolgirl uniforms, and I think most people understand where that one comes from even if it’s not their kink.

          (Not that loli’s always a kink, of course. I know some people who just really like all the intricate detail on the costumes.)

        6. begbert2

          I believe ‘loli’ here refers to a subject of lolicon – that is, an apparently underaged girl (or girl with an the characteristics of an underaged girl) portrayed in a sexual way. Technically this includes postpubescent jailbait, but generally the younger-looking the kid, the more loli it is. You know, short, flat-chested, wide-eyed and cute looking – yeah. Feel free to google, but be careful of your local child-porn laws.

          This is apparently not in any way related to the lolita fashion of female dress to which you may have been referring, other than also being a mainly Japanese thing.

        7. gangler

          Also similar etymology. Portmanteau of “Lolita Complex”, both of course drawing their way back to the same novel.

        8. Plasma Mongoose

          Tentacles were originally a way to get around the fact that you weren’t allowed to draw penises.

          The Loli evolved from the fact that drawing pubic hair was taboo in Japan also.

        9. Aizat

          OK, I found both of them quite disturbing and just wanted to know why people like these sort of thing.

        10. Plasma Mongoose

          How does any fetish develop you might ask, the overly simple answer is an association with a type/object that sticks in a person’s mind when they first reach sexual gratification.

          The full answer would require many pages to explain it.

        11. Mkvenner

          I blame the Puritans.

  24. 1Samildanach

    I’m reminded of Kim Possible (except that was a kid in a wheelchair). Perhaps they’re somehow related? 😛

  25. MadamPalindrome

    This is lovely. 🙂
    I just found out who my roommate is going to be when I start college the fall, so I hope we’re not like… well… any of your characters. Because that would be sad.

  26. John

    Keep trying, Joyce. Keep trying.

    1. John

      Ooh. My new gravatar is appropriate!

  27. LissaLissa

    Wow joyce. just wow, hon…

  28. Hoop

    I’ve seen your earthly belongings, dude. They’re not that spectacular.

    Oh, you mean your STUFF. Yeah, okay. You need like a whole separate u-haul for Hot Shots.

    1. begbert2

      I *suppose* you could argue that toys based on alien robots are ‘unearthly’ possessions instead…

    2. David

      Amazingly enough, all of my Hot Shot stuff, minus the giant cardboard standee, fits snugly into a standard plastic storage container.

  29. Stolen

    did anyone else not expect Joyce to actually realize this fact (and actually tell someone randomly mid-convo), or was that just me?
    i’m referencing her “i am not accustomed to diversity”, ftr

  30. DeWeese07

    Look for Ruth to join them in the showers once she wakes up and sees that Billie has taken back her cheerleading uniform… and then amazigirl will show up to break up the confrontation…. followed closely by Daisy and Dorothy who are looking for amazigirl….

    … and sal…. just cause.

    1. Mkvenner

      I think Daisy would actually be looking for Roz.

  31. Menachem Schmuel

    Y’know, at least she recognizes it.

  32. arjay2813

    one of my coworkers had a moment like that, after telling me about some woman’s complaint about something we were out of. joyce really has trouble controlling her mouth sometimes

  33. Anime fan

    I vouch for the child, mine was a hanging county in its day. I’ve met roughly five to ten black people in my life. Never wigged out like Joyce is doing now though.

    1. Doranian

      Here’s a question: Why does everyone so easily forget that Black is not the only racial minority?

      1. begbert2

        Because in the united states, Black is the minority whose racial minority status gets the most press by far, which is in turn due to the fact that while we’ve oppressed all sorts of minorities, there’s only one whose oppression got a civil war fought over it.

  34. Mystere

    Joyce, you desperately need to learn to make a pokerface.

  35. Digidestined of Trust (Tim)

    Good luck moving with this heat index! It’s supposed to reach 110 on the heat index tomorrow! Today was 105!

  36. Kernanator

    Don’t fall for it, Sarah!
    IT’S A TRACT!

  37. Mkvenner

    It’s the world in union.

  38. Yarrr

    Oh man, my roommate from my first year of college was a lot like Joyce in the sheltered department. It was not. fun.

  39. Hari

    Girls like Joyce bring out a mixed reaction out of me. One one hand you would like to strangle her for being annoying. However when you figure that she really isn’t trying to be nasty, she’s just clueless, you just kind of shake your head and get ready to do a lot of explaining to her. haha

  40. Randomness

    Joyce in the first panel reminds me of Tom Collins from The Stand.

  41. SgtNumnum

    Joyce’s hometown must be VERY racist

    1. Aisling

      There’s difference between being racist and ignorant and naive.

  42. katercanter

    In hindsight, the third panel makes me really sad (SPOILER) because Joyce might well never be aware that she HAS a sister because of the circumstances they were born into.

  43. Aisling

    I just realized Joyce didn’t freak out over the muslim girl that was checking everyone in at the start of the story… or that Billie’s Asian… lol.

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