CSotD: Oh, don’t worry, we’re friendly.
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Joy of Tech hit me at a good moment with this one, because I generally decline opportunities to be spammed, though more politely than this fellow. But, of course, it wouldn't be funny if he didn't explode.
However, I nearly exploded yesterday, as I was followed around the grocery store by a woman determined to tell me about their affinity program. Which I told her I knew about, which I told her I had the application form for, which I told her I wasn't interested in.
I don't want to get into ageism — well, obviously I do or I wouldn't keep going — but she was probably in her mid-50s, old enough that, first of all, I felt sorry for her doing a kids' job, though middle-aged ladies are who hand out samples at grocery stores, so whatever.
But, second, I suspected that she didn't necessarily get the "no thanks, no spam" part of my reluctance. She seemed like the nice, clueless sort of person who reposts every dire Facebook warning and "Do you remember this?" like-farming trap she comes across.
Most places, the person pushing affinity programs is a 20-something cashier and, when they ask, I chuckle and say, "Yeah, no thanks, got enough of that," and they know why and they chuckle, too, having fulfilled their obligation.
I know, as a good Retail reader, that stores grade their cashiers on how many affinity programs and credit cards they sign customers up for, but I also suspect that those who stick with the job very long figure out who they can successfully press and when they should just move on.
Art Imitates Other Art
Apparently, Marty Two Bulls isn't the only person who made the connection between Trump's "Harvest Box" proposal and the crap they've been handing out on reservations for several decades.
Or someone at NPR saw his cartoon, though they didn't mention it. But I did, a few days ago.
In any case, it's good to see the folks on the Res get some credit for having been there and having done that.
More good timing
Harry Bliss also hits at an opportune moment this morning, though it took me a moment to get the gag, that a sweet little dog like this shouldn't inspire foreboding.
Perhaps because I'm more cautious around sweet little dogs than big brutish ones. Terriers can be lovely one-on-one but come packed with a lot of attitude.
It is not at all uncommon to see huge dogs back the hell away from a feisty little one who has taken the initiative. As they say, it's not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog.
Or, as they also say, if one end is wagging and one end is snarling, it's best to believe the end with teeth.
My ridgeback (left) sorts them out well enough, and there's a cairn (right) on the corner who goes ballistic if we walk by when he's out, but my boy interprets it as excitement, not hostility, and mostly ignores him.
So yesterday two of us had our dogs off-leash in the brush when a naked, unaccompanied dog joined us.
There was nobody around to assure us he was friendly, but our dogs immediately read him as such, so we looped a leash around his neck and headed towards the nearby houses to see if we could get him home.
Sure enough, someone was looking for him, but we also happened on a fellow who is known in the park as a highly irritable PTSD victim of Southwest Asia, with a German shepherd therapy dog as tightly wound as he is.
But I should say "was" because I hadn't encountered them in about two and a half years and the dog is now four years old and very friendly and mellow, and he has also chilled markedly, which he told us he attributes entirely to her influence.
Our pleasant conversation makes me that much more hostile to the privileged imbeciles who promote their pets as "therapy animals" to get them into stores and onto airplanes. They haven't seen what a girl like Anya can do for a fella.
Speaking of hostility and security
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(I went back and forth between these two, so here they both are, making slightly different but critical points.
There are other cartoons about arming teachers, some of which point out how unqualified they are, despite Dear Leader's bizarre, inexperienced notions on the topic, some of which point out the potential for accidents, some of which ask why we won't pay for things needed in classrooms but seem willing to pay for this foolishness?
But the central issue is in these two: One is that turning schools into maximum security prisons is unAmerican and doesn't address the shootings we've had in movie theaters, in churches and at concerts.
Should we just turn the whole country into an armed camp?
The other is that kids need to feel secure in schools. None of them can learn in an atmosphere of fear and, as proven, a few of them will snap in an atmosphere of hostile distrust.
What I'm not featuring are the cartoons that advocate spending money on metal detectors and armed guards rather than simply passing some intelligent gun laws.
I've also seen cartoons that flat-out attack the kids for calling for a ban on guns.
The kids are clearly not calling for a ban on guns, and the cartoonists who suggest that they are, are either (A) too lazy to follow the news, (B) deliberately lying or (C) incredibly stupid.
Given the gap between what Wayne Lapierre and Dana Loesch are paid to peddle their paranoid bullshit, and how much editorial cartoonists make, I'm leaning towards (C).
Maybe it's just me, but, if I were going to sell out my kids, I'd want adequate compensation.
Smarten up. Listen to the kids.
Don't worry: They're friendly.
Mike Peterson has posted his "Comic Strip of the Day" column every day since 2010. His opinions are his own, but we welcome comments either agreeing or in opposition.
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