Dumb Clowns and the People Who Fuck Them

Speaking of clowns (as I am wont to do), the Apprentice candidates are going to be dressing like clowns next week. Cool! And, when linking to yesterday's post, I re-read the phrase, "fucking the clown." Now, I'm not one to throw the f-bomb around in casual conversation, but I think I will make an exception for "fucking the clown." I will use it to mean "goofing off," although I'm sure it could have other uses; feel free to choose your own.

Editor-in-Chief: "Alethea, why haven't you finished proofreading the March issue?"
Big Al: "Well, I guess I've just been fucking the clown."

Odds of me actually saying "fucking the clown" out loud at work? Slimmer than Mary-Kate Olsen. RIMSHOT! (inappropriate eating disorder joke - subtract 5 points).

So, why haven't I moved on to discussing the horror and suck-i-tude that is Drabble? Yep, just fucking the clown.

Drabble sucks. According to its website, it started 20 years ago. So, sometime in the mid '80s, comic editors thought what the comic page needed was a "lighthearted family strip [which] chronicles the zany mishaps of his offbeat characters."Perhaps a voice of reason said, "That's already about ninety percent of the comic pages." But, not to be deterred, the comics editor said, "This one has a duck." And so now we have Drabble. Yay.

The main characters are the dumb dad and his equally dumb son. They are dumb, clueless as to their own stupidity, socially inept, and all around lazy, boring guys. Who better to build a strip around?

Now, I'm not saying a dumb, socially inept, lazy dad is necessarily a non-starter. Ever hear of a guy named Homer Simpson? What makes Homer so funny? Well, yes, it's his stupidity, laziness, drunkeness, et al. I think the reason it doesn't get tiresome, though, is that while watching The Simpsons, you aren't confronted with Homer's stupidity exclusively. Matt Groening has created other characters who are symbolically winking at you, the viewer. Bart's cooler, Lisa's smarter, Marge is more responsible. Homer's insensitivity etc. is funny on its own, but it's funnier when it's not being validated.

Same thing worked on Friends, where Joey was the designated dim-bulb. The rest of the Friends endured his idiocy with good humor. The Chandler character, with his snarky remarks and raised eyebrows was essentially the audience's (funny) proxy. His reactions to Joey in essence said to us, "Yeah, we know he's dumb, but isn't that funny?"

Remember "Doris," the secretary at my office? She's the dumbest person I've ever met. Last week she asked me what toofy was. She meant tofu. Last summer, she found out al-Qaeda is not a place. Yesterday she asked me where New Zealand was. I am sure you will not believe me, but she once asked me what country the French come from. She's so freaking frustrating. How can any adult human being be so dumb?? It makes me want to pull out my hair and scream. BUT, there's another co-worker of mine who also is driven to distraction by Doris' stupidity. When this co-worker is around, and Doris makes a particularly dumb remark, fellow snarky co-worker and I can make eye contact. Doris is no longer mind numbingly annoying, but suddenly funny.

The minor characters in Drabble don't do this. They don't make the stupidity funny. The mom and the two younger kids don't make regular appearances in the strip. When they do, they just seem put upon. They don't seem to really recognize the dad and older son's stupidity. The dad and son do nothing but fuck the clown, and the rest of the family doesn't seem to care. Frankly, stupid people annoy me. And if there isn't someone smart and mean around to share the pain of the stupid people -- even more annoying.