Surprised by Beetle
Oct. 9th, 2003 02:41 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
richardf8There are certain comics I hate. You probably hate them too, if you're reading this. Beetle Bailey, Hi & Lois, Hagar, B.C., Wizard of Id, Garfield, and Family Circus. Dilbert too, ever since Adams realized it was commodifiable and it lost its edge. But it doesn't stop me reading them all, every day. I'm like a guy with a gambling addiction, looking for that ever elusive intermittent reinforcement. Because sometimes, these strips manage a rare incursion into relevance, and strike a chord. It was today's Beetle Bailey (9 Oct 2003) that provided the payoff this time.
I love this strip so much it may be hanging in my cube soon. It beautifully illustrates the casual ease with which we destroy the things we most admire, particular the things of the natural world. And though some might suggest that the use of Miss Buxley as the agent is misogynistic, the fact that the final comment is delivered by the only non-human character in the strip tells us that all of humanity is on the hook for this.
Indeed, the harm that has been done to the world by human malice is but a thimbleful beside the sea of harm done by human carelessness.
I love this strip so much it may be hanging in my cube soon. It beautifully illustrates the casual ease with which we destroy the things we most admire, particular the things of the natural world. And though some might suggest that the use of Miss Buxley as the agent is misogynistic, the fact that the final comment is delivered by the only non-human character in the strip tells us that all of humanity is on the hook for this.
Indeed, the harm that has been done to the world by human malice is but a thimbleful beside the sea of harm done by human carelessness.
