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I canât appreciate this joke. The circumstances of her death were tragic, no matter how precisely she diedâŠthe point it she is dead. Thereâs nothing to laugh about here.
She was a singer with (IMHO) a beautiful voice, very popular during the seventies, who died of complications of anorexia nervosa in 1983. With my Slavic âlaughter through tearsâ sense of humor, I think the panel is quite funny.
I have to agree, this is a combination of outdated (she died over 25 years ago) and not in very good taste. I had to google her as well, and what I got was a string of disturbing images of a very sick woman.
This might have been funny if sheâd beaten anorexia, or at least died of something else. I usually love this comic though, and everybody makes mistakes.
Boy am I old or what? I canât believe that people had to âGoogleâ Karen Carpenter. Oh wellâŠI have to Google the new recording artists, so I guess it all evens out.
(I do think that if they heard some of the old songs, they would recognize them.)
The ants look like they want to be close to the people. For all of you who are offended, click away, curl up with Marmaduke and Garfield, and guffaw until tears flow.
I just read Scottâs own words of regret at this cartoon (he also apologized to the Carpenter family). Per some of the comments, does that mean Scott should go read Ziggy or Love Is⊠instead of The Argyle Sweater?
So itâs 6 months after the fact. I donât care, I just discovered this strip and saw this mess.
There are problems with this strip, but it has nothing to do with a long passed-on and beloved by many singer.
First, Karen Carpenter is simply the most universally known Carpenter the artist could have chosen to make the joke. The focus of the humor is on the fact that these are not regular carpenter ants. The next best option is probably the director, John Carpenter. Given the nature of his movies, however, itâs likely you would not want to be attacked by John Carpenter ants.
Second, the implication is that Karen Carpenter ants are harmless, and should not be sprayed. If anything, wouldnât a Karen Carpenter ant probably make soothing, perhaps romantic sounds to only enhance the picnic experience?
Third, Carpenter ants are not going to âattackâ picnickers. They live in dead trees and rotting floorboards and are nuisance to unlucky homeowners. Had the artist written, âThose are French Army ants, then weâre just poking fun at the notoriously wimpy French and everyone has a good laugh and gets on with it. Except for maybe a couple of Parisian immigrants who angrily hurl their croissants halfway across the bistro table.
While I found the cartoon to be only mildly amusing, it is certainly not offensive to Karen Carpenter or her family. Perhaps the strong emotional reaction many have had are simply due to the depth of feeling you have for Ms. Carpenter and her music, and you feel any humorous reference to her is in poor taste. Or maybe if the âhusbandâ in the cartoon had simply not yet sprayed, it wouldnât have been such a big deal because then none of the Karen Carpenter ants would be killed.
Iâll probably never post here again, but for anyone that reads this, I hope it makes sense.
Edcole1961 over 15 years ago
That was in bad taste.
margueritem over 15 years ago
OyâŠ.
reocares over 15 years ago
sick
JerryGorton over 15 years ago
Two thumbs down!!!
ben_david over 15 years ago
Itâs good to see that so many remember.
coreyflowers over 15 years ago
Meh, anorexia is a disease caused by vanity so I think this joke is in fine taste. Good stuff!
GergoE over 15 years ago
Very tasteless :(
myhaircut over 15 years ago
I usually like this strip, but that crossed the taste barrier. Not funny.
suzanyh over 15 years ago
@coreyflowers: wrong on so many counts,
âââââââââââ
@all: Agreed; really bad taste this time.
LibrarianInTraining over 15 years ago
ooooh. Low blow.
electricalchemy over 15 years ago
I canât appreciate this joke. The circumstances of her death were tragic, no matter how precisely she diedâŠthe point it she is dead. Thereâs nothing to laugh about here.
Yukoneric over 15 years ago
Muy bado.
brian46 over 15 years ago
makes me laugh and cry
Robert May Premium Member over 15 years ago
Humor is best when an element of truth is entered. It may be in bad taste, but you get the joke.
wicky over 15 years ago
Ochemb xodacho!
prrdh over 15 years ago
She was a singer with (IMHO) a beautiful voice, very popular during the seventies, who died of complications of anorexia nervosa in 1983. With my Slavic âlaughter through tearsâ sense of humor, I think the panel is quite funny.
Homo sum: humani nil a me alienum puto
Publius Terentius Afertomfitzmorris over 15 years ago
Itâs nice to see that lots of people had the same reaction. This really is tasteless.
Tastefully yours, Tom Fitzmorris
jbellmyer Premium Member over 15 years ago
I have to agree, this is a combination of outdated (she died over 25 years ago) and not in very good taste. I had to google her as well, and what I got was a string of disturbing images of a very sick woman.
This might have been funny if sheâd beaten anorexia, or at least died of something else. I usually love this comic though, and everybody makes mistakes.
CrouchingBruin over 15 years ago
This was great! All you critics need to stick with reading Ziggy or Love IsâŠ
jpozenel over 15 years ago
Boy am I old or what? I canât believe that people had to âGoogleâ Karen Carpenter. Oh wellâŠI have to Google the new recording artists, so I guess it all evens out.
(I do think that if they heard some of the old songs, they would recognize them.)
Ashrey over 15 years ago
If she was black how many of you would care?
dghughey over 15 years ago
The ants look like they want to be close to the people. For all of you who are offended, click away, curl up with Marmaduke and Garfield, and guffaw until tears flow.
chooker moderator over 15 years ago
âThe Argyle Sweaterâsâ creator, Scott Hilburn, has written an apology on his blog.
http://theargylesweater.blogspot.com/
HARVIN over 15 years ago
On funny.
Ushindi over 15 years ago
I just read Scottâs own words of regret at this cartoon (he also apologized to the Carpenter family). Per some of the comments, does that mean Scott should go read Ziggy or Love Is⊠instead of The Argyle Sweater?
Comicsexpert over 15 years ago
I recommend Ziggy to all.
C-RAM over 15 years ago
How or why would ANYONE think this is funny?
Maybe the cartoonist enjoys pulling wings off of flies, too.
terrencestamp90346 over 15 years ago
@C-RAM ⊠ROFLMAO! I hate flies. They totally deserve that.
RioBravo over 15 years ago
Thereâs always somebody who has to make something a race issue. Geez!!!!!!
eardroppings over 15 years ago
Yeah, bad one, but at least he recognized it. He wonât do it again, Iâm sure. Give him a break.
rainman5353 over 15 years ago
I miss Karen the most at Christmastime.
jrwtoo over 15 years ago
Good wholesome joke.
93jayhawk almost 15 years ago
So itâs 6 months after the fact. I donât care, I just discovered this strip and saw this mess. There are problems with this strip, but it has nothing to do with a long passed-on and beloved by many singer. First, Karen Carpenter is simply the most universally known Carpenter the artist could have chosen to make the joke. The focus of the humor is on the fact that these are not regular carpenter ants. The next best option is probably the director, John Carpenter. Given the nature of his movies, however, itâs likely you would not want to be attacked by John Carpenter ants. Second, the implication is that Karen Carpenter ants are harmless, and should not be sprayed. If anything, wouldnât a Karen Carpenter ant probably make soothing, perhaps romantic sounds to only enhance the picnic experience? Third, Carpenter ants are not going to âattackâ picnickers. They live in dead trees and rotting floorboards and are nuisance to unlucky homeowners. Had the artist written, âThose are French Army ants, then weâre just poking fun at the notoriously wimpy French and everyone has a good laugh and gets on with it. Except for maybe a couple of Parisian immigrants who angrily hurl their croissants halfway across the bistro table.
While I found the cartoon to be only mildly amusing, it is certainly not offensive to Karen Carpenter or her family. Perhaps the strong emotional reaction many have had are simply due to the depth of feeling you have for Ms. Carpenter and her music, and you feel any humorous reference to her is in poor taste. Or maybe if the âhusbandâ in the cartoon had simply not yet sprayed, it wouldnât have been such a big deal because then none of the Karen Carpenter ants would be killed.
Iâll probably never post here again, but for anyone that reads this, I hope it makes sense.