Doonesbury by Garry Trudeau for August 02, 2011

Hello, my name is Jeff and I’m an alcohol…

Good morning all…

Jeff, ever hear the saying, “Those who live in glass houses, shouldn’t throw stones.”?

That was the meanest thing Jeff could say to her—throwing back at her, when she needs his sympathy, the taunt he’s been hearing and resenting since he was ten.

Does he harbor the same rage against his father? He just can’t forgive them for having brought him into a world that doesn’t conform to his every wish.

Jeff’s infantilism shows what Freud ( I think) called the “oceanic” principle: the moment where the child has to break itself off from the surrounding world or from its mother and acknowledge its separate identity. Jeff’s still resisting that break.

She gets to puncture his illusions — why can’t he do the same for her? (And no, I can’t believe I’m taking Jeff’s side either …)

Einen guten morgan, Vista Bill.

Glad I’m not the only one that heard, “… and I hope you have 20 just like you.” Bet Jeff hears it … several times a day.

My take (which doesn’t have to be yours): Jeff draws first blood (panel 3). Joanie gives back as good as she gets, and then some (panel 4). Jeff eases off (panel 4). Psychological interpretation? Being older and the mother (she must have started this stand-off stuff way back when he was defenseless), Joanie has the whip hand. She can kick him out of the house (on good grounds) if she wants. Conclusion: It is Jeff who has developed the greater psychological disorder, by far; and yet his mother bears the greater responsibility. A fantastically talented writer, to be sure, but one who is unable to bring it to bear in the marketplace (he’s unpublished at 30). Application: Too many people on this blog are making fun of a psychological cripple.

Note how his hair style suddenly changes in panel three.

Re: the would-be runner being Ginny—Oh, I hope so! She’s been gone from the strip for far too long. I wonder whether she is still with Clyde?

Why is Jeff’s hair so much longer in the 3rd panel? And his sunglasses seem different, too: bigger. He looks something like Duke, no?

Anyone else remember one of the most heartbreaking movies of all time? The one starring Paul Newman? The 1967 classic “Cool Hand Luke”? In it we get the immortal line, said only twice: .Said the 1st time by chain-gang boss to prisoner Luke: “What we’ve got here is failure to communicate". Repeated back the 2nd time (slightly differently), sarcastically, by the escaped, tracked down, and cornered Luke — just before he is shot and killed — “What we got here is a failure to communicate”. .Blam!.Well, I bring this up here because it reminds me of the conflict between Jeff (psychological prisoner) and Joanie (his “boss”).

Do you mean, G. Martin, aspirations to keep Jeff in psychological prison for the rest of her life?

I think Joanie may take steps to create her dream job. The Leo McGarry to her Jed Bartlet, whoever she is.

The family take shots and skewers each otherwill have a long lasting home relationship.

I’ve got it! Jeff looks in the mirror and sees nothing – he’s a vampire! DTPi, your comment (Jeff draws first blood) was prescient!

If the woman in question is Elizabeth Warren — yes! yes!

Looks like a continuity problem; I don’t think Jeff’s hair was drawn correctly in that third panel.

The chain gang boss in Cool Hand Luke was played by one of the greatest character actors of all time, Strother Martin.

He should submit his work to Baen Books, as well as publishing some very good Science Fiction, they also publish some rather bizarre militaristic fantasies that make his stuff look tame.

Joanie’s jobs in the past included day care provider, political aide, and Justice Dept. attorney. Her continuing education in the supervision of bratty children [Jeff] would seem to make her highly qualified for a Washington job.

What happened to Jeff’s hair in panel 3? Suddently it’s long in back? And don’t we all fantasize about jobs that don’t actually exist?

Two for me, thanks.

Given the comments on past strips about Jeff, just figured GT was actually spelling it out for the “slow starters”.

It would be cool if the mystery potential politician is Elizabeth Warren.

Don’t worry Joannie “Then I decked him” Caucus, your life will never sound like your ne’er-do-well son’s.

Joanie wants to work for Sarah Palin?!?!

Emotionally stressed-out Jeff is so lost in space — his refuge from the harsh reality that his mother, and probably father as well, impose on him — that maybe he doesn’t even realize that he’s asking his mother to drink “evening” beer with her morning coffee — verboten in our culture.

GT leads people to get so philosophical, literary, even intelligent here! I love it. Jeff would never ever admit to making a mistake. As for me: I made a mistake once. (It was when I thought I had made a mistake.)

Joanie is “returning to electoral politics” because Trudeau needs a good vehicle to make “comic strip” fun of the political process, from “the left” of course, for the next couple of years. It’s his economic bread and butter.

I think it’s a mistake to “take sides” in the Joanie-vs-Jeff conflict. Neither person is all bad, neither all good, both are shades of gray. This is a family conflict. All families are dysfunctional to some degree, all have conflicts conscious and subconscious, hidden from the “outside world”. So let’s do neither “good Jeff, bad Joanie” nor “good Joanie, bad Jeff” scenarios. We can poke gentile fun, as Trudeau always does, at either or both. But, more deeply, let’s reflect on our own foibles. Which is the intention of this, IMO, best-of-all, best-in-a-generation “comic” strips.

So Joanie, go whisper in her shell-like, and see if that tips her over (or causes her to run screaming from the race!)

They’re cappin’ on the non-jews again, fritzoid.

“You can poke gentiles for fun”

I don’t know if it’s subliminal, but it’s best to convert just to be on the safe side.

Suppose – just suppose – Jeff is really saying, when commenting by offering his Mom a beer, “Welcome to my world.”