Luann by Greg Evans and Karen Evans for August 23, 2011

Ouch, me thunks she be angry!

This must be where Shannon gets her sweet temperament.

no body is happy when mommy is not happy

world war 3 about to start.

anyone who is as P.O.’d as Toni, raise your hand

I think the best reaction to today’s strip is to laugh out loud.Having said that, Brad is in the position that every man (who all typically “lead a life of quiet desperation”) finds themselves in. Stand up to your boss = find another job.Been there, had the arguments with the ex about how I let myself be treated, now my own boss.

I’d never have thought that years of Brad not doing much of anything would lead to this mess! All I have to say is “OH, SNAP.” I’m just proud of Toni for sticking up to him about this. She has more guts and passion than he does!

@mojitobaby You are right ! I’ve always thought Brad needed to grow a pair, but I couldn’t have said any better than you did.

Yep, you got that right… she’s p.o.’d big time. I would too. And Brad, it is just a lowly fast food job…your boss is not worth keeping the job. Just let Toni have her day with Ann and walk out with her.

There have already been numerous sharply insightful comments. All I have to say is, go Toni! Brad is wussing out, and it looks now as though only Toni can save the day, and their relationship. WeenieWorld is NOT worth losing Toni, Brad!

No way.

Oh it will get worse. When Toni confronts Ann and Ann says, “Oh I didn’t know there was anything serious. He told me you were just a FRIEND.”

Greg, Sp far, this strip is very disappointing. You build Brad up and you strip him of his dignity. You make him a hero and you turn him into a coward. I think I will take a break from Luann.

They worked in two different houses. Are you sure you’re paying attention?

No, they worked in 2 DIFFERENT stations, in DIFFERENT sides of town and overlapping (NOT SAME) shifts..Brad WAS laid off for budget reasons.

No, give the gloves to Toni and Ann, step back and sell hot dogs and pop!.Toni seems to be able to “hold her own” – problem will be, where’s Brad working NEXT week!

Brad is half right. The job is worth a great deal in a 9-percent-unemployment economy. But he should have taken a different tack: tell Toni to cool it with the visits for the time being while they hatch a plan to defeat Ann..Brad has no leverage over Ann. The Weenie World brass and the customers do. Ann is defeated when her superiors see that she’s a bad boss. They get complaints from customers, or they visit the store and see her in action. “And then there was the strawberry incident. That’s when my men turned against me.”.My plan A would be to get one or two WW coworkers to have a friend or two drop by and chat like Toni had been doing. When Ann goes all Captain Queeg and bans those friends from the store, those friends join up with Toni and go to Ann’s boss. I think Ann’s days woudl be seriously numbered..First rule of plotting schemes for this trip – NEVER TELL TJ YOU’RE PLOTTING SOMETHING!

Typo – should read “plotting schemes for this strip.”

Brad – You keep say that you need this job. For what? Are you waiting for someone at your firehouse to quit or retire? You need to remember that something better doesn’t come along. You need to go after it. And after a few years at WW, will the fire dept even consider you rehireable?

Alright SLOW-DOWN “Ms” Daytona, and SOME of You people HERE!Before You tear into to Brad for being a "Weak Spined WUSS, lets consider a couple of things:Brad could have taken Ol’ Smiley’s 3 grand and sat around Mommy and Daddy’s house all day watching TV and waiting to be rehired at his OLD job but he didn’t!He choose to be responsible and TAKE the ONLY Thankless, Low-paying job he could Find! At WW!THAT coupled with the FACT that The “Spine-Less Wuss” once RISKED His LIFE to YOURS, Toni, not to mention several others, would seem to NEGATE the “COWARD” label. But you know what, Brad? QUIT and go home and Live FREE with Toni! She once made THAT offer remember? Grrrrrrrr, NOW I’m P.O.d!!!NEED COFFEE, before Mordock SMASH!!!!!

Brad…very bad move.

It’s easy to say Brad should stand up and “grow a pair”; that is, until the Missed Meal cramps start coming.

If Brad don’t do nothing, Toni will. But no matter what happens, Brad can kiss his boss goodbye. Just hope he dosent have to kiss both goodbye.

Start with, “Brad you’re a loser, working a losers job. Good bye.”

If the situations were reversed, his crappy girlfriend would not hesitate sending him away.

YES! This is even better than her beating up Ann. Beating up Brad for being a wuss is so much more rewarding in the long run!

Oh dear, Brad is caught between Iraq and a hard place…

Yeah, Toni will make Brad a man in more ways than one, or he better start dating Gunter!

What’s unfair about not wanting an employee talking to a girlfriend while working? You can get away with this as a union thug but in the private sector you’re expected to work.

Faint heart never wins fair lady!

oh, I see!….. without his fireman super hero costume on, Brad is just an idiot.

Well i was wondering how Brad would lose Toni….now he’s selected his bosses happiness over Toni’s happiness

Seriously, I think that getting on Brad’s case about this is wrong. All he asked Toni to do was to “cool it”….. suggesting that she simply calm down. He did not say it would be a permanent situation, he did not say they couldn’t find a way to confront Eiffel, he did not say that it was RIGHT what Eiffel was doing. I personally think that Brad has acted in a wholly appropriate fashion…. he is not flying off the handle (like Toni may, it seems), he is trying to deal with the situation, and maintain his job. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++Now, if Brad is able to be given the time to work this out in his own mind (if Toni doesn’t blow up), then it will be interesting to see how he pursues this…. a) will he confront Eiffel on his own, b) will he quit, c) will he develop some sort of scheme (perhaps adding TJ and Toni into the scheme)? So, I am hoping that Toni does “cool it” and let Brad figure out his next move.

Guess we will just have to wait and see what is next. But will drag out for years that is what comics do. LOL

Ann crossed the line — legally — when she said that Toni could not come in to WW. However, she was perfectly within her right as manager to tell Brad that he could not talk to Toni while he’s supposed to be working… on a break, though? Not so much.

__All Toni has to do is to get Ann to confirm that she is barring her from WW… write a letter to the higher-ups explaining the slight, Ann will be questioned, maybe (hope, hope) fired… and Brad gets a promotion.

I sympathize with Brad and Toni. My time at work is controlled and I am not allowed to do anything personal during my work hours. So, I can understand Brad needing to follow the line to keep the job. But I’m with Toni, I’d better be given a good reason on how the presence of personal work is detrimental to my performance.

Toni’s tattoo looks like a firefighters shield..

I missed a few months in the comics >> gocomics transition. Why is Brad working at a fast food store?

Wait a sec. Didn’t Eiffel “order” Brad to tell Toni not to come to WW? So, in fact, he first did what he was ordered to do.

Second, he’s still smarting from losing his job with the fire department (and not through any fault of his own). When he says “I need this job”, that’s not just for the money, it’s for his self esteem. It may not seem like much to a lot of people, but what Brad needs is to leave the Weenies on his own terms. Trust me, he’ll be stronger when he does.

This shouldn’t even have gone this far. If Brad had any backbone he would have told his boss what she could have done with her “minimum-wage job with no future” and walked out. Losing a McJob is not the end of the world. If he doesn’t learn this now then he has a pretty bleak future in store. (I wonder what Brad would have done.)

Sorry. On last post I meant “I wonder what Dirk would have done.”

At least Brad is aware enough of Toni’s feelings to see the danger signals in her look. Any guy that can do that knows when he is crossing the line. Toni is about to give him a very clear message about how a woman wants to be exclusive. Then Brad will learn a new lesson in keeping Toni content and meeting her needs. Toni is only protecting her man. Brad does not yet know that Toni is well able to handle miss snooty toot. Riled up a woman this way, makes her as dangerous as a Mother panther protecting her young. His boss is about to get her lunch eaten and her head handed to her. Go gett’r Toni.

He should tell Eiffel to go to hell. That “Weenie World” job isn’t the only minimum wage job in existence. Unless he’s hot for Ann. Then he’s stupid.

Guys sticking up for his girl sounds wonderful but what world are you all living in? Its a minimum wage job, but it was the only one he could find and his only source of income. Would she be as anxious to risk her job for him? We all put up with more than we’ld like to keep a job and and pay the bills. I can see her expressing how angry she is with the boss’ behavior and asking him to please keep looking for something else, but let yourself get fired?

It’s his Job, Tony needs to respect that and step outside. He has bills to pay just like she does. it’s the typical “You better pick me over everything” type of woman that gets most men in trouble.

Even if Ann is within her legal rights, most of us speak with prejiduce from what she did with Zane. If she changed her persona maybe things will be diffrent and work out. Maybe Brad will smooth Toni’s feathers and find another job, then tell Ann, that he quit. But the way this is going that would be unlikely as a Ménage à trois.

I believe that relates to stores and restaurants — within reason — and not by the whim of the management… otherwise there might still be a segregation problem. Right?

People cannot simply be banned because their name is “Alice”… right?

No, she isn’t the reason that Brad was let go from the firehosue, that was a stupid budget thing.

Even though I love that Toni is seeing how much Brad’s turned into a sniveling wimp since losing his fire fighter job and is going to try to get him to quit it, she sort of has a really bad attitude about it. Yesterday when he told her that he wasn’t allowed to talk to her on the job before bringing up the fact that she got banned she said that she’d just talk to him which would STILL get Brad in trouble and now she doesn’t even seem to care that he would get fired (granted he should have found a better job in the first place but still he needs the money). Either way, judging by the last couple of strips, I guess that it’s hard to find either of their positions right since they are both being stupid and stubborn for lame reasons.

Obviously this is a comic strip, not real life, so the situation (from Brad’s panic over money yet his not filing for unemployment after being laid off, to Ann’s crazy demands) is grossly exaggerated for dramatic purposes, but Bailey is right, Ann most probably did legally cross the line. Retail stores may ban someone, but that doesn’t mean they have the legal right to do so – a lot of people don’t know they can challenge it.

Restaurants are on shakier ground than your average retailer, since everyone who enters that sort of public accomodation is intent to purchase, unlike people who only browse retail stores, and for a manager to deny them entry or refuse to seat them on arbitrary grounds, just to prove she’s a badass, is the sort of nightmare that keeps corporate attorneys up all night in the real world. Hey, Denny’s 1994 lawsuit, anyone? I’m not gonna recap everything I wrote yesterday (stop cheering, you lot) but it’s there if you care.

NO, “taking government money” has nothing to do with an establishment not being able to discriminate! The Civil Rights Act means no one can be discriminated against for reasons of gender, race, national origin or religion – and as I mentioned yesterday, states have layered further statutes on top of that. You can ban someone from your store and tell them not to trespass again on private property, but you’ll be asking for a bigass discrimination lawsuit if you don’t have good grounds to do it – they better be shoplifting, selling drugs, drunk, intimidating or otherwise abusive and harmful to your business or employees. A “private business” like a restaurant is considered a public accomodation, and you’d have to prove that banning someone actually serves a legitimate business need – you can’t refuse to seat or serve anyone who’s wearing a turban, dressed as a Goth, or with their gay partner, just because you don’t approve of them. Well, you can, but you won’t have a business any more.

Oh man. This is awful. I am fairly certain Brad and Toni won’t split up, but if they do (and if it is permanent), I will stop reading the comic strip. That would be too disappointing to bear.

Testosterone is vastly over rated

If Toni were a constant visitor during Brad’s shift and he slacked off every time she came in, then Ann would have cause because Toni would be disruptive to her employee’s productivity, but since she’s been there only once when Brad was on the floor, and he didn;t stop working while he spoke ot her, Ann’s reaction is extreme and unreasonable – as it’s meant to be. Most employees aren’t disciplined for speaking to the customers – in fact, most fast food places encourage it! And management doesn’t usually ban customers for interacting with staff, unless that interaction means they’re doing something under the tables or neglecting their work.

Testosterone is vastly over rated

It would have been much simpler if Brad were clever enough to say Toni was his wife…that way Ann would not try to encroach and stake a claim on Brad by banning Toni if she was merely a girlfriend. If Toni were a wife, Ann would just look for another poor male employee to harass and enslave.

Actually, that’s just what it does mean.

If conniving Ann is banning Toni because she’s blond and beautiful and Ann doesn’t like serving people who look like that, then Toni’s being discriminated against because of her appearance – and that, Dave 53, is what’s known as illegal, and that “slight” would sure as hell hold up in court. Discrimination doesn’t just refer to “specific classes protected by law” (do you mean minorities? the handicapped? women? All citizens are ‘protected by law’). Discrimination is being arbitrarily singled out for some characteristic you have that someone dislikes, and denies you something based on that . You can be a white male and experience that, so your perception of “specific classes protected by law” is an incorrect one. Toni would have as much of a legitimate beef as anyone who was fat, short, ugly or bald and who was dicriminated against based on that.

I didn’t “quote” any such thing – there are several usages of the word outside of law, but I didn’t refer to them.

Since we’re talking about legal recourse, I am talking about the LEGAL definition of discrimination – which is the treatment or consideration of, or making a distinction in favor of or against, a person or thing based on the group, class, or category to which that person or thing belongs rather than on individual merit. (That can refer to blondes, bald people, firefighters, the deliberately obtuse, tattoo artists, Elvis impersonators and Luann readers – what have you.) It either confers privilege on, or denies it to, a certain class because of race, age, sex, nationality, religion or physical disability.

In other words, bias. And I’m not referring to sewing.

You, as an individual, may be as bigoted and discriminatory as you please against bald people, but if you have a business or an apartment building and bring that bias into your marketplace by refusing to serve, hire or rent to anyone who’s bald, that’s discrimination. They do have legal recourse to sue you, and it’d be a slam-dunk, too. Ask Denny’s how well they did by seating and serving black people last, and having only black patrons pay up front because some customers, who were black, skipped without paying the check.

Still think you can discriminate as a private citizen? Have your own business but just don’t care for the overweight? If you fail to hire someone who’s trained, qualified and can do the work because you don’t like fat people, be prepared to pay out bigtime, because the ADA will have your ass in a satchel.. And don’t try the “They can’t move fast in an emergency”. It’s been tried – the companies lost.

The Boy Scouts are a private organization, and they refused to admit gay people to their membership. They were sued – and won, because they are a private org and can set their own rules. But ask them how many public schools and civic areas are now open to then to hold their meetings and how many corporate sponsors, like the United Way, no longer support them because the BSA violates their own antidiscrimation guidelines.

Want to quibble about what the legal defintion of “is” is?

The choices: Sling grease-trap carp at Weenie World, or Toni ‘ummm… was that your jaw I just heard hitting the floor’ Daytona for a girlfriend.

Why are we even talking about this? NO ONE needs a job THAT badly!

Please be aware, I just came on this scene after being away a couple of days … and haven’t read any of the posts yet. We’ll see if I have a different outlook after wading through 92 posts. Here goes: I think Toni is going to deliver a SHOCK to Brad before she delivers one to Ann. Talking about SHOCK …. I’m on the East coast and today was unusual for us.

Unemployment Insurance does not exist in Luann World. It was not a matter of pride. The very existance of that safety net was eliminated. For Brad the options were get a job or beg from those that have one.

Toni is angry because Brad is overly concerned about keeping a job that is only supposed to support him during his transition to his next job. Brad does not seem to be in a hurry to make that transition. She see’s herself advancing through the ranks of the fire department, and him coming home in his WW uniform for the next twenty years. Try looking forward to that!

Having read through the posts, I DO think Brad’s on the horns of a dilemma. Doesn’t want to jeopardize a temporary job, BUT doesn’t want to lose Toni either. Don’t know what Greg will send up tomorrow, but I don’t think Toni will be TOO upset with Brad. After all, she WAS proud of him doing anything to keep working – that was important to her. She’s NOT high maintenance, so she’ll not browbeat him, but WATCH OUT, ANN!

“Obese” isn’t “black” either, but you can’t discriminate against people for that either. It falls under “treatment or consideration of, or making a distinction in favor of, or against, a person or thing based on the group, class, or category to which that person or thing belongs rather than on individual merit.”

If you truly are completely incapable of grasping the concept that this would apply if Ann were banning Toni for being blonde or any other characteristic that physically defined her, chances are good that someone will be seeing you in court – and sooner, rather than later.

what is P.O.d?

i have a hunch that brad is about to be minus one girlfriend…

I’m feeling some sympathy with Brad here, and hope that Toni’s annoyance will be more directed toward Ann Eiffel than Brad. While Ann Eiffel crossed a line, it isn’t unreasonable to try to expect one’s employees to keep their work life separate from their home life. Brad takes any job very seriously, since he has a responsible attitude. I’m pretty sure that Toni is a mature enough woman to recognize that in Brad and not give him too hard a time. Ann Eiffel, on the other hand – as a woman, I would feel comfortable giving her a very difficult time, indeed, if she crossed any legal lines.

No time to read all comments, but my only FF job was a hot dog place near my home when my youngest finally went for 1/2 day kinder school. I did all the prep as well as orders and register-my boss cleaned the fryers weekly. I got to use creativity in drawing flyers and ads, and he also let me take home some product (tomatoes that were too ripe to slice and even some good shake mix). I just worked there one season but we had a great product and I was proud to serve it.

I don’t like where this is going. I really don’t.

Several things to consider as the story teller that I would be considering. and that is the plot development and this has some very interesting things to take into account.

1. Brad and Toni love each other and Toni will realize Brad knows he just stepped into it, but is trying to work his way out of it.

2. Toni will realize that Brad has gone through a bit of crow eating to get a job so that he doesn’t have to not bury his dignity and pride in her eyes or borrow money from his friend or move back into the parents house.

3. Both brad and toni are Firefighters whether or not brads employed by them at the moment. The Captain was forced to fire Brad do to cost cuts. Brad is one of theirs whether currently active or not.

4. Ann is messing with two of the city firefights and if toni happened to explain what is happening to her captain and his ex they would have both station firefighter backing them.

5. I am a avid believer in the use of tactics in this situation,be it , Sun Tzu, Carl von Clausewitz, or Machiavelli

thanks man… first time I’ve heard it…