I’m about the same. I’ve never been able to bring up divisive or confrontational topics, so I fully get it. Maybe I’m just a pushover, or maybe i have some amount of anxiety,, but it can be really difficult to broach topics that might cause disagreement or disappointment. Regardless of their actual expectations or beliefs, my assumption of their expectations makes it nigh impossible to say anything.
If you’ve ever had (or witnessed) a bad reaction to discussing a difficult topic, then it’s not cowardice, it’s a learned behaviour and instinct. The survival instinct is the toughest one to overcome, even when reason tells us we’ll be fine. Conversely, if you’ve ever — even once — managed to have such a conversation while also afraid, then you’re not a push-over,
you’re courageous.
n.b. Bravery isn’t an absence of fear, it is taking action despite being afraid.
Amara
Heh, back when I was in high school I used to joke all the time about being craven. I guess I never really got over that assessment of myself. Thank you, your words are making me feel all sorts of ways.
Yeah but it is VERY understandable and relatable reason to do so.
They do honestly seem like the best Parents we have seen in the comic, atleast at being parents. They seem to 100% support her for who she is and who she wants to be with, and thats a lot to ask for A LOT of parents these days, both in comic and out of it.
If she has that good of a relationship with her parents and she truly loves them with all her heart, having this conversation would probably be the hardest and most scary thing she could do during this part of her life. They have given her full support, but she can’t do the same for them thanks to what the company is doing. A Company that has given her everything in life thanks to the wealth it has given her family.
If you have that good of a relationship with family, it can feel impossible to do ANYTHING that could hurt that relationship (there are a lot of relatives that I used to be super close to that I really should cut ties with… but the most I have gotten the backbone to do is unfriend them on Facebook… Hell I could only Hide the content my father posts because I didn’t have the nerve to unfriend or block him like I probably should for my own mental health).
…we haven’t seen that much of them yet though. Maybe they’re just good at seeming?
(Although the law of averages suggests we ought to run into some good parents by now.)
dralou
Dina’s parents, as little as we saw them, have been unequivocally good and supportive.
We tend to forget them because they appear very shortly, and since there’s no drama around them, there’s no reason to remember them…
Daibhid C
Also, probably Dorothy’s parents, although admittedly there’s been so little drama there we don’t really know how they’ll react now there is.
(I will continue to refer back to the Paetron strip where Dorothy’s dad “complains” that having a perfect daughter means he’s got nothing to be understanding and supportive about.)
KM
He’ll blurt out something horribly insensitive about how Dorothy used to be such a good girl, I’m sure.
eh, whatever
There is no law of averages… IRL. There might be in storytelling.
Absolutely, but i kinda get it. If my pareblnts were *half* as supportive about me being trans, especially at that age, i’m pretty sure my convictions might wobble a little.
The siren song of ‘parents who love and support you’ is stronk.
I can’t help wondering how many of these people calling Carla a coward have actually stood up for anything in their entire life where they had a lot to lose.
Okay I kind of don’t understand anymore where people are coming from. Like whether Dot is serious or joking about calling Carla a chicken or a coward I don’t think that or any of the following comments are big indictments of their character or indicators of life experience. Like what are we doing here? We are just now getting a break from weeks of toxic discussion and debate over the Joyce and Dorothy/protest story. Carla’s a fictional character, she’ll be fine whether some call her a chicken or not. Some comments are just meant to be silly or fun, or even if not are inoffensive enough in content to be ignored.
Throwatron
No, see, you misunderstand. The whole point of human connection, is to use every available opportunity to ensure that the community knows that you know what it means to be ethically pure, and that all the characters are deficient! If you don’t aggressively and obsessively point out every fault in every character, and summarily judge them, the other commenters might think that you are impure of heart or soul! The only purpose of human connection is to constantly judge and castigate every action! Even if the person you’re castigating, literally isn’t real!
Like, shit. If you ever just enjoy things, you’re no better than the fascists, after all. Every moment of every day must be constrained by the inherent responsibility of omni-judgement, so that everybody around you can know that You Have The Correct Opinions. Anyone who acts otherwise, is inherently suspect! Why would they ever choose not to loudly tell everyone how moral they are? If somebody doesn’t do that, ever, then it’s direct and obvious proof that they’re a terrible person!
“Some comments are just meant to be silly or fun,” pshaw. Nothing is ever less than the maximum amount of serious. If you aren’t letting everybody around you know every time you score on the Morality High Score Table, do you even really care about being a good person?
Obviously, it goes without saying, anyone who takes issue with this post, kicks puppies and kills people. But I had to say it anyway. Just in case people didn’t know how super serious I was. But it would have gone without saying! But, of course, it also had to be said.
Li
*her
*Dot has been v clear about wanting to be referred to exclusively with she/her
Dot
Thanks
Li
You’re welcome. You’d think switching to REALLY OBVIOUSLY AND FAMOUS LADY CHARACTER gravitars would help. Wishing again that we had a pronoun field in the comments here because I do sympathize a lot with memory issues.
Sirksome
My apologies. I’m not entirely sure where I messed up but I’ll strive to do better in the future. For sake of clarity my use of “their” was meant in reference to all the comments and not just Dot’s specifically. I perhaps made a grammatical mistake as well.
dalniente
I was hoping maybe the name field could accommodate (saw some other users with non-alphanumeric symbols in their names), but apparently parentheses trigger comment moderation. I suppose that’s fair, still disappointing though.
I’m not surprised, nor do I blame her. That was not a coversation to have over zoom/skype/discord. Asking why her parents are contributing to war crimes, for financial gain, is a conversation where everybody needs to be in the same room. Carla is going to be asking some uncomfortable questions, and her parents con’t get away from her by clicking on, “disconnect”.
i mean even if carla doesn’t specifically confront them about it, other than a pr team or any assistants filtering it, surely they’re aware about hte criticisms of their company
Implying that people aren’t perfect, and situations are nuanced not black, and white? Definitely new, or perhaps just hidden by all the hate from the last few weeks.
Rebecca
Nah, see, Sirksome just has this obnoxious running gag of going “Don’t trust [something relevant to today’s strip]”.
Yes this has caused problems before.
Rakeesh
Huh. Aren’t running gags typically funny? That sounds *potentially* funny the first time, maybe, but to make a running gag of it?
Nymph
Humor is subjective and I find it funny. Maybe it’s just not For You!
Sirksome
“Obnoxious” “Problems” I can see I’ve worn out my welcome here. I guess I’ll go back to not trusting Asher exclusively. Can’t do running gags in this town anymore.
Donovan
I trust asher unconditionally. Its fine we balance out.
Jon
The running gag is funny. Some folks just don’t like absurdist humor.
240 thoughts on “Anything else”
Dot
CHICKENED OUT
CHICKENED OUT
Irreleverent
Bwak bwak BWAAAAK!
Pocky
Cowardla arc begins.
Shakes
CACO
pjeseb
The spirit was willing, but the flesh was weak.
Amara
I’m about the same. I’ve never been able to bring up divisive or confrontational topics, so I fully get it. Maybe I’m just a pushover, or maybe i have some amount of anxiety,, but it can be really difficult to broach topics that might cause disagreement or disappointment. Regardless of their actual expectations or beliefs, my assumption of their expectations makes it nigh impossible to say anything.
Decidedly Orthogonal
If you’ve ever had (or witnessed) a bad reaction to discussing a difficult topic, then it’s not cowardice, it’s a learned behaviour and instinct. The survival instinct is the toughest one to overcome, even when reason tells us we’ll be fine. Conversely, if you’ve ever — even once — managed to have such a conversation while also afraid, then you’re not a push-over,
you’re courageous.
n.b. Bravery isn’t an absence of fear, it is taking action despite being afraid.
Amara
Heh, back when I was in high school I used to joke all the time about being craven. I guess I never really got over that assessment of myself. Thank you, your words are making me feel all sorts of ways.
Sirksome
CHOCKEE CHOCKEE CHOCKEE CHOCK!
UrsulaDavina
A Koodle doodle do A Koodle doodle do
someone
What does the fox say?
ValdVin
Has anyone in this thread even seen a chicken?
Decidedly Orthogonal
Only in the bathroom mirror before we tell the world how it is from our keyboards.
drs
how dare the fictional character chicken out of something I probably wouldn’t have the courage to do
Fernanda
Cookoo ka CHA. Cookoo ka CHA!
Switchchris
Yeah but it is VERY understandable and relatable reason to do so.
They do honestly seem like the best Parents we have seen in the comic, atleast at being parents. They seem to 100% support her for who she is and who she wants to be with, and thats a lot to ask for A LOT of parents these days, both in comic and out of it.
If she has that good of a relationship with her parents and she truly loves them with all her heart, having this conversation would probably be the hardest and most scary thing she could do during this part of her life. They have given her full support, but she can’t do the same for them thanks to what the company is doing. A Company that has given her everything in life thanks to the wealth it has given her family.
If you have that good of a relationship with family, it can feel impossible to do ANYTHING that could hurt that relationship (there are a lot of relatives that I used to be super close to that I really should cut ties with… but the most I have gotten the backbone to do is unfriend them on Facebook… Hell I could only Hide the content my father posts because I didn’t have the nerve to unfriend or block him like I probably should for my own mental health).
Aquila
…we haven’t seen that much of them yet though. Maybe they’re just good at seeming?
(Although the law of averages suggests we ought to run into some good parents by now.)
dralou
Dina’s parents, as little as we saw them, have been unequivocally good and supportive.
We tend to forget them because they appear very shortly, and since there’s no drama around them, there’s no reason to remember them…
Daibhid C
Also, probably Dorothy’s parents, although admittedly there’s been so little drama there we don’t really know how they’ll react now there is.
(I will continue to refer back to the Paetron strip where Dorothy’s dad “complains” that having a perfect daughter means he’s got nothing to be understanding and supportive about.)
KM
He’ll blurt out something horribly insensitive about how Dorothy used to be such a good girl, I’m sure.
eh, whatever
There is no law of averages… IRL. There might be in storytelling.
Lumino
This entire mini-arc reminds me of a line from another webcomic I read:
“My family has done some pretty awful things, but being a bad family was not one of them.”
Ololo-518
Can I ask you about that webcomic? It rings a bell, but I cannot find it
Donovan
Absolutely, but i kinda get it. If my pareblnts were *half* as supportive about me being trans, especially at that age, i’m pretty sure my convictions might wobble a little.
The siren song of ‘parents who love and support you’ is stronk.
KtBear
I can’t help wondering how many of these people calling Carla a coward have actually stood up for anything in their entire life where they had a lot to lose.
Mr.Morningstar
I’m pretty sure most are joking
Shakes
Wait you mean this isn’t the “I hate Genocidin’ Carla” containment thread?
drs
Not obvious to me that they’re joking.
Sirksome
Okay I kind of don’t understand anymore where people are coming from. Like whether Dot is serious or joking about calling Carla a chicken or a coward I don’t think that or any of the following comments are big indictments of their character or indicators of life experience. Like what are we doing here? We are just now getting a break from weeks of toxic discussion and debate over the Joyce and Dorothy/protest story. Carla’s a fictional character, she’ll be fine whether some call her a chicken or not. Some comments are just meant to be silly or fun, or even if not are inoffensive enough in content to be ignored.
Throwatron
No, see, you misunderstand. The whole point of human connection, is to use every available opportunity to ensure that the community knows that you know what it means to be ethically pure, and that all the characters are deficient! If you don’t aggressively and obsessively point out every fault in every character, and summarily judge them, the other commenters might think that you are impure of heart or soul! The only purpose of human connection is to constantly judge and castigate every action! Even if the person you’re castigating, literally isn’t real!
Like, shit. If you ever just enjoy things, you’re no better than the fascists, after all. Every moment of every day must be constrained by the inherent responsibility of omni-judgement, so that everybody around you can know that You Have The Correct Opinions. Anyone who acts otherwise, is inherently suspect! Why would they ever choose not to loudly tell everyone how moral they are? If somebody doesn’t do that, ever, then it’s direct and obvious proof that they’re a terrible person!
“Some comments are just meant to be silly or fun,” pshaw. Nothing is ever less than the maximum amount of serious. If you aren’t letting everybody around you know every time you score on the Morality High Score Table, do you even really care about being a good person?
Obviously, it goes without saying, anyone who takes issue with this post, kicks puppies and kills people. But I had to say it anyway. Just in case people didn’t know how super serious I was. But it would have gone without saying! But, of course, it also had to be said.
Li
*her
*Dot has been v clear about wanting to be referred to exclusively with she/her
Dot
Thanks
Li
You’re welcome. You’d think switching to REALLY OBVIOUSLY AND FAMOUS LADY CHARACTER gravitars would help. Wishing again that we had a pronoun field in the comments here because I do sympathize a lot with memory issues.
Sirksome
My apologies. I’m not entirely sure where I messed up but I’ll strive to do better in the future. For sake of clarity my use of “their” was meant in reference to all the comments and not just Dot’s specifically. I perhaps made a grammatical mistake as well.
dalniente
I was hoping maybe the name field could accommodate (saw some other users with non-alphanumeric symbols in their names), but apparently parentheses trigger comment moderation. I suppose that’s fair, still disappointing though.
Dot
Really fucking presumptuous thing to say, especially when I’ve been very open about the fact that I am a trans woman
Dot
I have to stand up for myself when I have a lot to lose every single day, including sometimes to my family
0kami
CHEEP CHEEPCHEEP CHEEP CHEEEEEP~~
– Tommy Wiseau
Kyulen
I’m disappointed, but not surprised.
Amós Batista
PÓ PÓ PÓ PÓ!
Stephen Nedland
I’m not surprised, nor do I blame her. That was not a coversation to have over zoom/skype/discord. Asking why her parents are contributing to war crimes, for financial gain, is a conversation where everybody needs to be in the same room. Carla is going to be asking some uncomfortable questions, and her parents con’t get away from her by clicking on, “disconnect”.
anon
i mean even if carla doesn’t specifically confront them about it, other than a pr team or any assistants filtering it, surely they’re aware about hte criticisms of their company
NGPZ
Ko-Ko-Ko-O!!!!
CandidCanid
i dont wanna fight mommy and daddy 🙁
Effie
Wonder if Charlie’s gonna fight them instead…
Doctor_Who
Man, I don’t know who would be scarier to fight, Charlie or Dina.
Either of them could be anywhere, but with Dina you don’t know where she is, and with Charlie neither of you do.
Needfuldoer
Dina can target you, Charlie’s more of a random encounter.
Nono
Booster probably would. Or at least snark about it.
Queen Anthai
Poor Carla.
C.T Phipps
Perhaps the only time in history that being too supportive and loving of a parent has been the problem.
Doctor_Who
“Man, if only they would suck in other ways, then telling them off would be more cathartic.”
C.T Phipps
They’re not the only pro-trans billionaires lobbying the government for my rights but they’re like one of three.
Dwampre Scorrigank
Wait who are the other ones?
C.T Phipps
I assume some hypothetical David Willis ones lobbying for Carla.
Maybe Galasso’s wife.
Dwampre Scorrigank
Whoops, totally forgot Pamela existed in this universe! That would be awesome and fitting if that was her off-panel background.
StClair
There’s also the Keeners to consider.
Airyu
And Dina’s folks seem awesome too
Amós Batista
Definitely not poor
Kappa
Needfuldoer
No, very very rich Carla.
Li
Honestly the children of wealthy parents aren’t automatically also wealthy. They’re sometimes victims of financial abuse.
Sirksome
Don’t trust Carla……..?
Rakeesh
Remember: if someone fails to measure up on a really intense, difficult challenge their first time at it, don’t trust `em!
Dot
You must be new here
ZombieKyrik
Implying that people aren’t perfect, and situations are nuanced not black, and white? Definitely new, or perhaps just hidden by all the hate from the last few weeks.
Rebecca
Nah, see, Sirksome just has this obnoxious running gag of going “Don’t trust [something relevant to today’s strip]”.
Yes this has caused problems before.
Rakeesh
Huh. Aren’t running gags typically funny? That sounds *potentially* funny the first time, maybe, but to make a running gag of it?
Nymph
Humor is subjective and I find it funny. Maybe it’s just not For You!
Sirksome
“Obnoxious” “Problems” I can see I’ve worn out my welcome here. I guess I’ll go back to not trusting Asher exclusively. Can’t do running gags in this town anymore.
Donovan
I trust asher unconditionally. Its fine we balance out.
Jon
The running gag is funny. Some folks just don’t like absurdist humor.
Ray Radlein
A running gag? In this economy?
a/snow/mous/e
well you’d better go catch it!!
Clif
What exactly is Asher running for?