3766: Gutless
[bring to top]
So Spike [whose Ustream is increasingly "see what awful shit Spike is watching/reading"] pointed out an ancient comic about The Nice Guy, who is supposed to be a sympathetic character, ya know?
Except, as the very first comic points out, he's just a jerk. Note: As SOON as the chick says "The B Word" in front of him, all her words turn into unlistenable drivel, as though, "Well, now that I know I can't get you in the sack, why should I listen to a thing you say?" Because gad forbid any woman be interesting as a person instead of a means to an end of TFL. Or that singles can find their own happiness without a day on the calendar telling them to be miserable. Or that women who aren't bitches are game. Or chivalry be more than talking yourself out of date rape.
Besides being a jerk, though, Jeff has no spine, which is a key reason women don't dig the Nice act. Even if you are genuinely nice to everyone, guess what? That inability to tell people no makes you a total pansy, and no one wants to shack up with a pansy [except to avoid paying rent] since, among other things, it means all time and money is going to virtually anyone with the gall to take it. Who wants THAT in a partner? [I might be speaking from experience here, if my asssessment seems a bit heavyhanded...]
The best strips are the ones that ignore the core of the comic and just depict the guys being guys, actually. Or not being complete asshats. Which seems counter to the point of the comic, but even the worst things can shine on occasion. Also, inversion is cool XD
But the point is it's difficult for the comic to portray a less sympathetic Nice Guy. That may be the real point, that he's so unsympathetic that he's a parody of the Nice Guy, a social commentary on the fact that people who are so desperate to achieve this goal that is literally unachievable without the full cooperation of another that they miss the point of what the dating scene is all about. The friends prolific in childhood [because kids rarely travel the world on a regular basis] move away as adults, so most people who marry for life end up living out their days with this supposed soul mate as almost exclusive company. If that person's a trophy wife/husband with almost nothing in common with you, what kind of life are you condemning yourself to having? Treat people as people and befriend everyone you can--that's a better cure for loneliness.
[I write all this in the realization that I've written this exact comic before, but I like to think my portrayal is a little more realistic. As in, I'm not pointing a huge Nice Guy arrow at his head because one day I might actually get as far as showing the change of heart and all. Or ANY new installment, really 9_9 but small steps...]
So, anyway, Spike likes awful shit. At least this Ustream didn't accidentally feature fully-exposed vagina on the Youtube recommended video =p [I am so not kidding about that]
Sorry if I seem a little aggravated now! I don't completely hate Nice Guys. It just pisses me off that people would spend so much time complaining about something that's more of an outlook problem. Like homophobia or racism [to cite some extremes]. I totally had a softener or other for closing, but I don't remember it now =(
So Spike [whose Ustream is increasingly "see what awful shit Spike is watching/reading"] pointed out an ancient comic about The Nice Guy, who is supposed to be a sympathetic character, ya know?
Except, as the very first comic points out, he's just a jerk. Note: As SOON as the chick says "The B Word" in front of him, all her words turn into unlistenable drivel, as though, "Well, now that I know I can't get you in the sack, why should I listen to a thing you say?" Because gad forbid any woman be interesting as a person instead of a means to an end of TFL. Or that singles can find their own happiness without a day on the calendar telling them to be miserable. Or that women who aren't bitches are game. Or chivalry be more than talking yourself out of date rape.
Besides being a jerk, though, Jeff has no spine, which is a key reason women don't dig the Nice act. Even if you are genuinely nice to everyone, guess what? That inability to tell people no makes you a total pansy, and no one wants to shack up with a pansy [except to avoid paying rent] since, among other things, it means all time and money is going to virtually anyone with the gall to take it. Who wants THAT in a partner? [I might be speaking from experience here, if my asssessment seems a bit heavyhanded...]
The best strips are the ones that ignore the core of the comic and just depict the guys being guys, actually. Or not being complete asshats. Which seems counter to the point of the comic, but even the worst things can shine on occasion. Also, inversion is cool XD
But the point is it's difficult for the comic to portray a less sympathetic Nice Guy. That may be the real point, that he's so unsympathetic that he's a parody of the Nice Guy, a social commentary on the fact that people who are so desperate to achieve this goal that is literally unachievable without the full cooperation of another that they miss the point of what the dating scene is all about. The friends prolific in childhood [because kids rarely travel the world on a regular basis] move away as adults, so most people who marry for life end up living out their days with this supposed soul mate as almost exclusive company. If that person's a trophy wife/husband with almost nothing in common with you, what kind of life are you condemning yourself to having? Treat people as people and befriend everyone you can--that's a better cure for loneliness.
[I write all this in the realization that I've written this exact comic before, but I like to think my portrayal is a little more realistic. As in, I'm not pointing a huge Nice Guy arrow at his head because one day I might actually get as far as showing the change of heart and all. Or ANY new installment, really 9_9 but small steps...]
So, anyway, Spike likes awful shit. At least this Ustream didn't accidentally feature fully-exposed vagina on the Youtube recommended video =p [I am so not kidding about that]
Sorry if I seem a little aggravated now! I don't completely hate Nice Guys. It just pisses me off that people would spend so much time complaining about something that's more of an outlook problem. Like homophobia or racism [to cite some extremes]. I totally had a softener or other for closing, but I don't remember it now =(