Doonesbury | back to the B.D. story today!

Good for him, boopsie, and their daughter!

reprehensor told me about it awhile back. Half the class not talking to the other half because of politics?

My 20th is coming up this summer, and I'm helping to put it together. The main organizer and I are liberals- 2 out of maybe 5 or 6 of us in a class of over 450.

I wanted to send him some of these Doonesbury comics since they seemed remarkably appropo.

The primary topic was who had crushes on who back when, and how many times everyone had been married. Then, deaths of classmates, and finally career choices and jobs. As I recall, even diets outranked any political discussions.

The Twenty was nice. Everyone was beyond the "Who did better than who stage," and people were genuinely happy to see old acquaintances and catch up. The only one boorish enough to raise start a political debate was me, and everyone laughed, rolled their eyes, and went back to talking about Dr. Atkins.

has already called me a Communist online.

I'm very confrontational, and if I find out who it was, there's a glass of red wine destined for a lap in a (no doubt) pricey suit or dress.

I wasn't that close to these people, and it won't take much for me to go off. In fact, I hated high school there. I'm not even really sure why I'm going except that I didn't go to the 10-year.

The guy who's coordinating I had a crush on at the time, but he's come out of the closet, so we get along great now. He's also very liberal, so we've been having some laughs at everyone's expense.

Especially the jocks. Turns out one of the jerkiest almost got "Most Changed" 10 years ago because he's now fat and bald.

I'm curious to see how this plays out.

Be gracious and happy and chatty and chummy, and if someone calls you a communist, make light of it and move on. The more you practice the condescending smirk combined with the flippant laugh, the more you win the argument, and the more a putz your opponent looks for continuing. The person who loses that battle is the one who turns it serious. If they continue past the point of reason, following you around, they become the boor, especially if you are ignoring them. Practice your "Dude, not the time or place," dismissal, and say it in your most condescending, yet lighthearted, voice.

Make him look like the irrational fanatic, not you, and you win.

;)

"Oh! Oh gosh! I'm SOOOOOOOOO sorry! Oh really! Was that silk? I am SUCH a klutz! God I'm sorry!"

I bow out of offering advice! Perfect! :-)

btw, I was talking to my dad about this story line and he was telling be how it's funny because BD was the hawk back in the nam era. I'm only 24 so I guess I'll either need to read a collection or have some older DUers recount for me

I didn't know BD had hair.

"Warrior Care Center"?

was almost as shocking as his missing leg.

apparently, it was the first time in the history of the strip that he appeared without some kind of helmet...

that happened a week or two back

I was born when the strip first aired, but I've caught up on history by reading the big archive books you can find in used bookstores.

I think B.D.'s loss of helmet is the real clue to where Gary's going with this. Not only has B.D. been a hawk, he's symbolized following the right wing on almost everything over the years. In the very first strip, he wore his football helmet and was shocked that his new college roomate was a hippie. There has never been a war B.D. didn't volunteer for, and when the was no war he was a CHiPs officer- ALWAYS working for the man.

I think his helmet sybloized this. Look for B.D's story line to result in a major change of heart. He'll be a Vet for Peace (Kerry-style) by the end of the summer.

(this is just a guess, but it would make a for a wonderful parity: B.D.'s old hippie roomate, Mike, became a Republican in the eighties.)

I was kinda thinking the same thing. BD was never a hippie.

I was such a big fan way back when, I bought several of those large collection books. Hysterical.

if, you know, you resist long historic tomes and like pretty colors. which I do.