For Better or For Worse by Lynn Johnston for March 29, 2022

I caused quite a stir in the comments yesterday, didn’t I?

Flinching away from being touched in the last panel, as if it might be contagious.

Thank you for addressing this issue. We all need to be more aware, more accepting, more kind.

I see that recoil on your arm. You are suddenly questioning your relationship with Lawrence. Is he touching you because he is interested in you or as a friend? It is hard when things change. Lawrence is suddenly…..not Lawrence.

He must REALLY feel Mike is a good friend if he is able to open up like that. Keep in mind that homophobia was still quite rampant back then when the strip first ran. Far more than today.

When your young, you try and fit in as you get older and more knowledgeable of your self you can experiment with ’life choices"

did Mike ever consider being more than friends?

I know Mike will be a good friend (without benefits).

I just dread the scene when Lawrence breaks the news to his mother and stepfather!!

Don’t worry Mike! Lawrence touching your arm doesn’t mean he likes you that way! He already said he’s in love, wait for that part of the story.

Michael’s discomfort rings loud and clear at this point- first he’s pouty, then he has this horrible realization (“Oh my god, what if Lawrence is INTO me!??”), then he’s squirming away from his friend’s touch, as if it’s contagious or he’s worried Lawrence is gonna come on to him. So many teenage boys at this point would have had that reaction.

Mike, you have known Lawrence all your life, he is no different than before he just exposed his soul to you so do not turn away from him.

Homophobe much?

Disclosing the deepest parts of yourself is hard. It’s nice to be accepted for who you are, no matter what that is.

Thank you Lynn, it’s a story that needs to be told. One does not get to choose who will turn them on. Besides, how many people would actually choose to be hated, beat upon and shunned by society. This saying, it is a choice, has no legs to stand on. Again, thank you Lynn.

even these reprints are more modern than recycled Family Circus panels

I know Michael comes around, but I will always be annoyed by his first initial reaction

I had a cousin named Larry who was 12 years older than me and he was sort of the big brother I never had. Fought in Vietnam before returning home to be called a “hero” by the right and a “baby-killer” by the left (whose politics reflected his).

A few years later, Larry came out as gay and the same people who’d called him a “baby-killer” were now calling him a “hero” while the same people who’d called him a “hero” were calling him a “f——t.” He was the same damned guy but it was the true believers on both sides who’d changed.

As for me, I figured out on my own at 16 that he was gay and you know what? Nothing was different. He was the same quasi big brother I’d have trusted with my life and 35+ years since he died of AIDS, I still miss him badly.

I can’t relate to it (I LOVE women), but being being gay doesn’t make someone a better or worse human being and I think gays should be allowed to live in peace.

Here’s Lynn’s explanation on how Lawrence’s story came to be and the reaction to it when it first ran. Quite a moving and courageous thing for her to do. Thank you so much Lynn. The video was made with this current rerun in mind. https://www.fborfw.com/features/lawrence/

Mike – accepting reality is a big part of growing up. Let’s hope you’re up to the challenge.

Lawrence makes a very important point: if being gay (or trans) were a choice, why would anyone choose it?

Lawrence may have same-sex attractions, but that does not make him “gay”. You must..

Dress a certain way…

Act a certain way…

Do things my way…

Vote for whom I say…

…to be gay.

Yep, I went through that. The straight guy worrying that you are into him after he finds out you are gay. It’s an interesting combination of ignorance and ego when you encounter it. I had a friend ask me in a panicked voice, “OMG, we have been in locker rooms together, you’ve seen me naked. Do you want to have sex with me?” but after I explained to him that I had zero interest in a long time friend like him. Then he got upset and wants to know what’s wrong with him. So then I asked, “Do you want me to be attracted to you?” And he answered, “No, but I don’t want you to think I’m not attractive.”

Let him be a faggot for goodness sake. I wouldn’t let him touch me either. Faggot cooties.

Absolutely agree

This whole story line is very tender for me. My oldest daughter finally admitted what I’d known all along, that she experiences same sex attraction (she did not want to give herself a label). I kept waiting for her to prove me wrong of what I had suspected for years, but finally knowing didn’t make it any easier. There’s a real mourning process that happens. She was the first girl born in our extended family, and I couldn’t wait to do all the fun shopping and girly things that moms and daughters do togehter. I couldn’t wait to see her having her first crush and going to prom and planning a wedding and getting grandkids and stuff. Yes, I realize she may still do all of that, but it was not in the way I imagined. She was never the girly type, I never got to talk boys with her, shop or do anything that I imagined I would be. It was very hard to let go of that dream and took a while for me to get over. She said to me, “Mom, I am still me. I am still the same person. I just experience SSA.” It’s true. She is still my awesome, talented, beautiful, thoughful, brilliant daughter and she is going to do amazing things with her life. She has not “come out” to many people. In fact, only one of our 5 children even knows, and a few select friends she has chosen to share that part of her life with. This is her journey. We will be here to support and love her always. xoxo My heart goes out to all of those going through this experience. I know my daughter would change this if she could, but it is part of who she is. And I love ALL of her!

I had one friend in high school who was probably gay and everybody suspected it. I ran into him in his 20s and went to his apartment. He had Playboy magazines on his coffee table. You could see they were never opened. I think he just denied his nature as long as he could, but I never knew the truth.

High school! What a tuff place to be. So much pressure to fit in.If you are caught unaware of such a major shift it may take a few to sort outyour feelings. I don’t blame Mike for his reaction, he is young and is now having to confront issues for which he may not be well equipped.But, I think the character of Mike will come though.He is a good guy as we all know. And he will figure this out.This continues to be a great arc! Well done Lynn!

Looks like it is going to take some time for Mike to process what Lawrence is telling him. It must be one of the hardest things for a gay/queer person to come to accept about themselves and then having to come out to those that are closest to you.

It’s so weird how obsessed we can be by someone’s taste in lovers. Whether it be gender or race, even age! We obsess about why that 20 year old man is married to a 60 year old woman or why an 18 year old woman is dating an 80 year old woman. I understand hearing about relationships that are way different from your own may garner a “response”, but we need to ask ourselves if a response is appropriate or even necessary. Who cares what you think! If it’s a friend confiding in you, then you support them. Listen, I have friends with some UGLY spouses, but you would never find me making faces or giving them negative comments just because they chose a person I’m not attracted to. Ha ha!

With just as a friend Michael.

… and this is when the heavy really started.

I remember reading the comic in “The London Free Press” and not knowing what to think.

One of Noel Coward’s last plays,JUST A SONG AT TWILIGHT;dealt with a bitter old famous playwright and his female secretary.

When it comes out the playwright is gay,somebody tells the secretary she’s wasted her life hanging around h im.

The reply is that the poor man has divorced himself from the human race,and her needed function is to give himsomebody to talk to and stave off depression.

She considers this to be a very worthwhile job.

For anyone who’s trying to find this play, the title is “A Song at Twilight.”

It’s too bad that this comic strip decided to go woke. No need for it.

Now the minority is trying to take over the comics. Why do they have to try to foul up everything. Keep it in the closet.

The rest of Lawrence’s story.

https://www.fborfw.com/features/lawrence/

Lawrence’s story available on Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/There-Goes-My-Baby-Collection/dp/0836217233/ref=sr_1_15?crid=9ZYJIM99QCAI&keywords=lynn+johnston+for+better+or+worse+library&qid=1648570611&sprefix=Lynn+johnston%2Caps%2C71&sr=8-15#customerReviews

Science and genetics research has not come to a conclusion that homosexuality is due to genetic predisposition. To put it another way, there is no “gay gene” that has been found.

Why are you bringing this crap up in this cartoon.

You always portray life and family dynamics in a manner that we recognize and think to ourselves “we’ve been there.” It is totally appropriate that you have included this very difficult issue of sexuality in the dynamic, and in such a tasteful and touching manner. I have always liked your work because it gives me many chuckles and makes me feel good. You provide a reliable and safe place in a contentious world. Thank you and please keep up your noble work.

One can hardly blame Mike for being thrown for a loop. He must feel like he doesn’t know Lawrence at all, and they’ve been friends since time immemorial!

I disagree with what Lawrence said, however I know the context of the statement. I just have to comment that my late loving wife was my best friend and it really hurt to lose both my soulmate and my best friend at the same time.

Sad that Lawrence doesn’t “want” to be gay, because there’s nothing wrong with it. But society can be cruel. I’m glad that the comic outright states that it’s not a choice. Even today, people think it’s a choice, done to spite them.

Poor Lawrence.

I remember this story line. I’d like to think we have become better people at excepting others.

A friend in need is a friend indeed Michael remember that.