Questionable Content 14: "I Deserve A Fancy Butt Emblem."

[Max_Killjoy]

Whats jeph got against boxer briefs?

Maybe in some hipster circles they're seen as very "bro", or very "jock", or very "mainstream". **shrug**

[Fawkes]

Ugh, these two.

[Beelzebub1111]

Hooray, more Brun!

I might be one of the few people who actually likes her.

I don't mind Brun. It's Renee that rustles my jimmies.

[SaintRidley]

Wait, when have we seen Phillip before? I feel like I should know this.

[The Glyphstone]

His face is vaguely Elliot-esque, maybe thats it.

[Max_Killjoy]

Wait, when have we seen Phillip before? I feel like I should know this.

His face is vaguely Elliot-esque, maybe thats it.

Face #3b in Jeph's reduced repertoire?

[TaRix]

Maybe Claire's and Clinton's mom's hookup (and Clinton's tutee last semester?)

[Morquard]

So you think Pablo will become a regular soon?

[AvatarVecna]

I don't mind Brun. It's Renee that rustles my jimmies.

Seconded...

[Willie the Duck]

So you think Pablo will become a regular soon?

Doesn't look promising.

[eee]

That is one of the fastest and most decisive crash and burns I have ever seen. He's lucky Renee didn't throw him out the window along with his shirt.

Lebanese, hm?

[Beelzebub1111]

She's from "Abiguouslybrownvia". A lot of trendy webcomic characters are from there, when authors want easy diversity points but don't want to commit to anything, so they pretend like it's too offensive to ask.

But in all seriousness. The name suggests Scandinavian. Denmark seems likely, from Moroccan immigrants. Just a guess.

[Mith]

While it's not the same (as it's not cringy flirting that I have to deal with), I can relate to the confusion of "why would you think I am not from here?" when I have people ask me because of how I speak. Apparently I sound like a fresh off the boat British person.... to people who have never actually been to Britain. Or at least, the combination of primarily consuming British entertainment (folk music, Youtubers, etc.) and being hearing impaired with a bit of speech therapy behind me means I don't sound like a stereotypical Canadian.

[Beelzebub1111]

While it's not the same (as it's not cringy flirting that I have to deal with), I can relate to the confusion of "why would you think I am not from here?" when I have people ask me because of how I speak. Apparently I sound like a fresh off the boat British person.... to people who have never actually been to Britain. Or at least, the combination of primarily consuming British entertainment (folk music, Youtubers, etc.) and being hearing impaired with a bit of speech therapy behind me means I don't sound like a stereotypical Canadian.

That's interesting. You have that in common with Richard Garriot. That's how he got the nickname "Lord British" after all.

That being said, it's not an uncommon thing to ask. My old boss had a thick accent being from Bosnia so he fielded that one every once in a while. Same with my friend from Hungary whenever someone learns his name.(which is super uncommon stateside). I don't know why it's bad to ask.

I've had people do a mocking parody of my ethnicity once they learn my last name. Now THAT is offensive.

[SaintRidley]

Renee is a good friend to Brun.

[Wraith]

It seems that Pubert's go-to chat-up line is to find a person of colour and ask them about where they're "from".

In my head, that now means that Renee is at least partly annoyed because the line - as shallow and crude as it is - apparently did work on her.

[Morquard]

Doesn't look promising.

I don't know, there seemed to be real chemistry between Brun and Palmer, I'm sure he'll be back.

[Mith]

That's interesting. You have that in common with Richard Garriot. That's how he got the nickname "Lord British" after all.

That being said, it's not an uncommon thing to ask. My old boss had a thick accent being from Bosnia so he fielded that one every once in a while. Same with my friend from Hungary whenever someone learns his name.(which is super uncommon stateside). I don't know why it's bad to ask.

I've had people do a mocking parody of my ethnicity once they learn my last name. Now THAT is offensive.

In my case it's not "bad", just eye-rolling, because I hear it a lot. Plus, while I am far from an accent master, I know I don't sound like people actually from Ireland or Scotland. I can see Northern England (I can't hear and therefore pronounce properly a bunch of sounds that are dropped from Northern England dialects).

Really, I think the common case is that the people asking are immigrants and therefore they notice that I don't sound "Canadian".

In the case of the comic, that was a fun crash and burn.

[Hackman]

Also, being persistently infuriating worked for Angus, so there's a good chance that Pavel and awful!Faye end up in a relationship.

[The Glyphstone]

Angus knew he was being annoying though, it was like a game. Pedro has no idea why she's upset, or what he might be doing wrong.

[Max_Killjoy]

Given this county's current obsession with "identity" and the bombardment by genetic testing gimmick companies to tell you "where you're from" and "who you are", I don't blame Petrushko for phrasing it that way. It's dumb, and clumsy, and offensive (though not for the reason some people think it is), but when so many people think that where their ancestors are from is somehow a defining trait of who they are, that it's their "identity", he's not the source of that turn of phrase or looking at it that way.

Personally, I'm American, and I'm from America. Unless someone was born in another country, the same is true of them, full stop. A lot of my ancestors were German before an entire generation moved here in the 1840s, but that tells you a lot more about them than it does about me.

[Fawkes]

I know Jeph likes to introduce new unlikeable weirdos and add them to the cast, but I don't think he would have someone throw out racist pick up lined if he was intending to keep them around.

(violence and over-the-top cartoonish rudeness, sure, but bigotry, no)

[Traab]

Now, I wouldnt be using it as a pickup tactic but to me, lebanese is fairly "exotic" in that I dont run into people from lebuania (im joking) very often. But unless you actually moved here from leban (still joking) it wouldnt actually mean much to me other than a "Huh, neat" Because, again, lebanistan (dont @ me bro!) is an unusual country to have as an ethnic background around the eastern seaboard for some reason.

[Mobius Twist]

I had the misfortune (when I was slightly less woke) to use that line as a conversation piece, but to be fair, unlike Petropavlovsk there, the girl was actually from another country, as was I. It was only marginally better received, even then.

In the worst version of that take, it's usually an American boy using it against an Asian-looking (but equally American) girl. It's nice that it's being called out now: http://i.imgur.com/8UGFUAy.png

[Vinyadan]

While it's not the same (as it's not cringy flirting that I have to deal with), I can relate to the confusion of "why would you think I am not from here?" when I have people ask me because of how I speak. Apparently I sound like a fresh off the boat British person.... to people who have never actually been to Britain.

Are you wearing purple and claiming land in the name of King George each time you park your car?

QC had already had something about exotic third generation Steve's girlfriend. From my point of view asking about provenance is a fairly normal thing to do, if there is an accent. If there is no accent, then that person has probably grown in the same land as you, and there is little reason to ask immediately. It will probably come up later, though.

Of course, this guy was evidently objectifying Brun, and hitting on her while in his hookup's presence, who also seems to be very protective of Brun, while possibly doing a more or less deliberate parody of how Renee and him ended up there.

I am not so sure that he was oblivious to what he was doing. Some people do enjoy causing displays of jealousy/irritation, if they are a display of interest towards them.

[Fawkes]

I am not so sure that he was oblivious to what he was doing. Some people do enjoy causing displays of jealousy/irritation, if they are a display of interest towards them.

To be fair to Peevus, it does seem like it would be both fun and incredibly easy to upset Renee, but I would have preferred it be done without the racism.

[Max_Killjoy]

So where's the line going to be here? Will it be that what happened in the comic be called "racism", but we can't talk about whether it actually was, or will it be somewhere else to either side of that?

I don't want to tank the thread, but I also don't think that it would be fair to have the assertions and not be able to discuss them.

[Fawkes]

We can talk about it if you want, but I feel like youve already made up your mind.

[Max_Killjoy]

We can talk about it if you want, but I feel like youve already made up your mind.

No offense meant, but neither of us gets to decide where the line is.

[Kish]

And that sounds like when you say "discuss whether it actually was," you mean "unanimously agree that the r-word shouldn't be used without the permission of someone who is definitionally not here."