Dumbing of Age

the impression i get is that something awful happened to her below the neck

Walky is just carrying her severed and preserved head and asks it for esoteric knowledge of dinosaur lore.

One notes that his wife is dead (well, "passed"), but he says that Satan took her. I think that most religious people would say that God took her. This suggests either that there's a story there, or that his faith isn't as conventionally solid as he'd like to think.

Hmm. Becky (who's being admirably smart and controlled here, I must say) actually asks him to stand down for her mother's sake. That feels a little odd if her mother is dead. Possibly she just means her mother's memory's sake, but I do wonder if "passed" isn't serving its usual euphemistic meaning here — if it's his screwed-up way of saying she's left him and hence is dead to him.

Anyhow, he's still a dangerous nutcase. It turns out that he's a pathetic dangerous nutcase, but most dangerous nutcases probably are, if you dig deep enough.

At one point, in the comments, someone asked if Becky's mom was just as much of a piece of shit, and Willis replied with a quip about how she's literal fertilizer. Or something like that.

So yeah, I think she's dead for realises.

It could be a variation on Never My Fault for his religion, or thinking that she was led astray somehow which led to her death.

The man is possibly still grieving, and Satan is an easy scapegoat for a religious man. So, not only is he obviously still affected by his wife's death, but his daughter turned out to be gay, and was expelled from college as a result. The man probably believes his family is cursed or something, and is getting desperate to "save" the only remaining family member he has, believing that only despair, sadness and eternal damnation awaits her if she stays gay.

I am not trying to justify his actions - I have no sympathy for biggots willing to take extreme measures towards other people - but I believe his actions are led by love for his daughter, and that he feels desperate. He doesn't understand what is happening, why it is happening, and his actions are extreme and misguided as a result.

Long story short: Blaine is a manipulative, violent and remorseless asshole willing to hurt his daughter out of spite. Toedad is a grieving, misguided biggot trying to "save" his daughter and is engaging in desperate actions as a result.

edited 16th Oct '15 4:13:26 AM by NonoRobot

Mom passed the state bar and is now a soulless lawyer. Hence Satan has her.

And, admittedly, we don't know what he thinks he knows about her situation. I know people who have gotten caught up in cults, and I don't know that I wouldn't cheer on a parent who came in to rescue them from it. So far, Becky's father has grim imagery of what she might have been caught up in, and has evidence that some segment of the student population are intentionally trying to hide her from him. He probably doesn't know for certain whether she left entirely voluntarily, and he doesn't know if someone's been strapping her down in a basement Clockwork Orange style to reprogram her.

And crusaders with guns are one of the most dangerous aspects of an armed society...

I feel like that's giving him way to much credit, considering whatever he would have done with Becky would have qualified easily as "cultish".

Becky wasn't expelled. Her father pulled her out to fix her. Her roommate is still at school, in a different room.

Ah, well, Your Terrorists Are Our Freedom Fighters and all that.

My bad. I got confused there.

edited 16th Oct '15 6:51:43 AM by NonoRobot

Care to elaborate?

The line of what's considered to be brainwashing depends on which side you're on. You can hire people to "deprogram" your child for everything form death cults to Christianity to political positions. Homosexuality used to be among the valid targets, but last I heard, that's banned in most states.

So basically, the line of who's a "cult" gets kind of fuzzy and it's all influenced by who's observing them.

nm

edited 16th Oct '15 9:54:47 AM by Heatth

You know I looked at one of the panels and thought Joyce had gotten shot for a second

Loaded gun confirmed.

I was almost hoping this wouldn't end disastrously for Toedad (not good, but not horrendously bad either), but firing that gun just threw those chances out the window.

Yup. If the police wasn't coming, they certainly are now. And for anyone nearby, this sure looks like a kidnapping, so I doubt the police will tread lightly.

Btw, I am not terribly familiar with USA (or Indianopolis) law. Is this a kidnapping? I mean I guess Ross is Becky guardian, but I would think there is a law against forcing your daughter into a car at gunpoint, even if she is underage (do 18 count as underage?).

Yep it's kidnapping.

18 is not underage. This is a kidnapping.

Even if she were underage, I'd hesitate to say that it WOULDN'T count.

She is being forced to get in a car at gunpoint. 18 or 81, this is kidnapping.

Where the fuck is Amazi Girl?

Forcing your daughter to do something at gunpoint would only add child protection services getting involved.

Well, I thought that maybe he was acting on impulse and that he could be reasoned with somehow, but after firing a warning shot (I hoped his gun wasn't loaded) and effectively kidnapping his own daughter (something which is forceful and abusive), I have no sympathy left for that man. We need the police, and we need it now.

Poor Joyce... We are going to need to expand Beckie and her's Woobie entries.

US have some weird rules about it, which is why I asked. 18 is underaged when concerning alcohol, right?

Well, so would I, but I was thinking more on legal terms.

Good. The more authorities involved the better.

edited 17th Oct '15 7:07:16 AM by Heatth

And... firing a gun right by your head with no ear protection. There goes part of your hearing range, Toedad.