Comic Discussion > QUESTIONABLE CONTENT
WCDT strips 3781 - 3785 (9-13 July 2018)
Tova:
That makes a lot of sense to me.
fantasticalice:
--- Quote from: jesslc on 11 Jul 2018, 22:15 ---
--- Quote from: wrobrox on 11 Jul 2018, 08:05 ---I actually made an account just to talk about this.
I had a good friend growing up, their family was extremely poor. They had electricity about one week out of the month, bathed in a tub outside, and had to keep their shoes for so long their toes are permanently curled and cramped. They almost never had food in the house and both of her parents were heavy drug addicts.
She is very aware of what raisins are and when I asked her what she thought of this comic and she said it was extremely upsetting. She isn't wholly ignorant of everything her family couldn't afford, and to imply otherwise is grossly offensive.
I had always heard Jeph was disconnected from reality but this is a big one in my view.
Personally I've been very poor. My diet consisted of rice and kool-aid was a big treat that I looked forward to, and I often had to give my dog what little food I had because I consider it unfair to make a dog go hungry, and I was in such a bad place that I honestly wasn't sure if starving to death would be all that bad.
I know what fucking raisins taste like.
--- End quote ---
Well I guess we read this comic differently then. I don't see this as implying that poor people are ignorant about things they can't afford at all. I see it as Jeph making the point "believe people when they tell you about their life".
Brun isn't ignorant of what raisins are. She's just never had one and doesn't know if she likes them. I find that believable - I didn't know what raisins were like for ages (Mum didn't like them and so didn't buy them).
When Clinton pushes back with "you never had them packed in your lunch for school", "what about snacks at home" she answers each question very literally as Brun tends to do. And honestly that was kind of obnoxious of Clinton - assuming that experiences of his are common to everyone. I never experienced lots of stuff growing up, not because we were very poor but because my parents had weird ideas about some things. And it's really annoying when people doubt my word about it if it comes up in conversation. A simple "Really? You've never tried X? / You've never seen Y? / You've never been to a...?" is okay but when they keep pushing the issue ("I can't believe you've never... what about... or what about..."), I get really annoyed. "Yes I just said I've never tried X, didn't you hear me! Can you get over just get over your shock about it already and stop disbelieving my life?"
Also remember the deodorant arc - Brun doesn't tend to buy new things because she doesn't trust them. The autism spectrum traits that Brun has displayed makes it less for her to try new things. I'm sure she's seen raisins and raisin bread in shops but just has never bought them because she doesn't know if she'll like them. It's very in character for Brun to not try new things.
--- End quote ---
I've never really had plain white bread. I seem to recall having it toasted once or twice. And one time I was at a friend's hpuse and was served a white bread sandwich that was practically soaked in mustard(which I did not like as a child) and it made me sick.
I have no real idea what white bread is like. In my case it was because we were poor. My parents read made sure to at least give me healthy bread as often we didn't have much else besides.
It's such a weird disconnect that even though I have never had it(anything soaked with mustard would have made me sick) I'm a little afraid of it.
We also had no phone for 4 years. And no air conditioning for 4 years as well. and we were in a place that in 2018 climbs up to 125 degrees Fahrenheit.
There were lots of foods I wasn't familiar with because despite how poor we were my parents tried to keep me healthy. For almost 2 years we had chicken almost every night and spaghetti with marinara sauce.
One thing I know that DID make me different is Inhad a much wider knowledge of fruit juices and "weird" nature foods like sprouts and ridiccio I didn't like em as a kid but my da's family always had odd stuff because they were really well off.
I could go on but in my case I know there's some really common foods that I have never had and even avoid.
White bread always makes me feel sick even though I've never technically had it because all I know about it is it doesn't have all the grains and stuff even the cheapest bargain basement wheat bread has.
I also really like the thick sprouted wheat bread with the sunflower seed chunks and stuff.
Milayna:
--- Quote from: jesslc on 11 Jul 2018, 22:15 ---
--- Quote from: wrobrox on 11 Jul 2018, 08:05 ---I actually made an account just to talk about this.
I had a good friend growing up, their family was extremely poor. They had electricity about one week out of the month, bathed in a tub outside, and had to keep their shoes for so long their toes are permanently curled and cramped. They almost never had food in the house and both of her parents were heavy drug addicts.
She is very aware of what raisins are and when I asked her what she thought of this comic and she said it was extremely upsetting. She isn't wholly ignorant of everything her family couldn't afford, and to imply otherwise is grossly offensive.
I had always heard Jeph was disconnected from reality but this is a big one in my view.
Personally I've been very poor. My diet consisted of rice and kool-aid was a big treat that I looked forward to, and I often had to give my dog what little food I had because I consider it unfair to make a dog go hungry, and I was in such a bad place that I honestly wasn't sure if starving to death would be all that bad.
I know what fucking raisins taste like.
--- End quote ---
Well I guess we read this comic differently then. I don't see this as implying that poor people are ignorant about things they can't afford at all. I see it as Jeph making the point "believe people when they tell you about their life".
Brun isn't ignorant of what raisins are. She's just never had one and doesn't know if she likes them. I find that believable - I didn't know what raisins were like for ages (Mum didn't like them and so didn't buy them).
When Clinton pushes back with "you never had them packed in your lunch for school", "what about snacks at home" she answers each question very literally as Brun tends to do. And honestly that was kind of obnoxious of Clinton - assuming that experiences of his are common to everyone. I never experienced lots of stuff growing up, not because we were very poor but because my parents had weird ideas about some things. And it's really annoying when people doubt my word about it if it comes up in conversation. A simple "Really? You've never tried X? / You've never seen Y? / You've never been to a...?" is okay but when they keep pushing the issue ("I can't believe you've never... what about... or what about..."), I get really annoyed. "Yes I just said I've never tried X, didn't you hear me! Can you get over just get over your shock about it already and stop disbelieving my life?"
Also remember the deodorant arc - Brun doesn't tend to buy new things because she doesn't trust them. The autism spectrum traits that Brun has displayed makes it less for her to try new things. I'm sure she's seen raisins and raisin bread in shops but just has never bought them because she doesn't know if she'll like them. It's very in character for Brun to not try new things.
--- End quote ---
I was like that for most of my life, too, both as a trait and for Reasons. My dad continually pushed me to try new things (food, experiences going to the top of the Gateway Arch even though I was afraid of heights, etc) - it as like a personal crusade. I mostly resisted, both as a trait and for Reasons. Nowadays I go out of my way to try new restaurants (when my money anxiety is low enough), order things I haven't tried in restaurants, or at least try whatever new item the fast food joints have in stock. Though my habits mostly stick to the same...things, partially because I don't know what else there is to do or how to find out, partially because I hate spending money, and partially fear. Though the last one is not as much a factor as it used to be.
Milayna:
--- Quote from: BenRG on 11 Jul 2018, 23:26 ---Y'see, the way she avoids Clinton's eyes in Panel 3 makes me think that no-one has ever offered Brun emotional support over this. It's still painful for Brun but I get the impression that someone has basically taught her that it is something that she keep away from social contacts because they don't want to hear about it.
All that aside, I'd really like to hear Brun's analysis of raisins and why she doesn't like them. The fact that it took so many slices to decide does suggest it was a fairly close outcome! :wink:
--- End quote ---
She also avoids eye contact in the previous comic, quite obviously, focusing on the raisins as she answers those questions.
Analyzing from my personal perspective again: I avoid eye contact, in general, because it's uncomfortable, and because eye contact alone makes a creepy stare; there's a whole load of other subtle nonverbal behaviors that need to accompany it, and it's difficult enough alone to try to form precise thoughts and then form them into words. Add to that remembering what amounts to a complicated dance; add to it doing it in a way that communicates effectively to someone I am not familiar enough with to fully understand - and who I know doesn't fully understand me, and may get offended if I screw up - and then emotionally charge the subject on top of everything; and yeah, I'll need to put my focus on ANYTHING else just to make sure my verbal communication says what I want it to.
This isn't the case with all autistic people, of course - I knew a guy who was boisterous and gregarious. I'm probably more avoidant than most, hence my need to guard myself becoming so overwhelming that full communication is nearly impossible in these situations. (Notice, also, that she did make eye contact briefly when she felt the need to push back).
Also watch her eyes: her staring at the bread was pretty intense while under the 3rd degree, but in today's comic, once Clinton lets up and the situation defuses somewhat, she's still avoiding eye contact but not in a focused, deliberate way.
Now that you mention it I really want to hear this raisin analysis too!
Oenone:
My bet is the texture/mouth feel. The taste is probably good, but the feel is off.
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