Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson for December 21, 2009

Poor Dad… Good thing that the polls don’t really affect his authority.

I THINK CALVIN FORGTS WHO HIS FINANCIAL BACKER IS. DAD 1, CAL 0.

As my mom used to remind me, this is not a democracy.

Sorry Calvin, but I think mom has the overall vote, and I believe that she is in favor of dad.

… and it’s way too hard to talk dad into things…

I surprised it was just “Go to bed” after calling dad a cold fish.

You know, I’m really surprised that Calvin hasn’t gotten the real picture. Although his dad has already told him that “dad” is NOT an elected position. Calvin came back with “So drastic measures are out of question?” It is just him attempting to be able to get a bigger allowance or something.

Can you imagine what life would be like if dad went on strike?

One day you’ll look and I’ll be gone Tomorrow may rain so I’ll follow the…

I’m afraid the joke’s on you, Calvin!

Was there ever a time this brat felt or expressed love for his father? This particular strip irritates. Redemption, please.

Dad needs to give Calvin a good smack on the seat of the pants every once in a while - just to get his attention on who is running the show in his household!

The polls didn’t say that Dad was actually going, just that his rating was extremely low. The polls are true. If polls actually forced people out of office most of our Congress would be gone. Sadly, they are not.

Hmm, you Calvin and Hobbes experts, has Calvin ever done a poll on Mom? She’s a cold fish if I ever saw one and she needs to learn how to cook!

macushlalondra, no, but he did make a newspaper once on how terrible a cook she was and then he made dad the subject of a comic strip, dopey dad lolz

Macushlalondra I never saw such a poll. Might have been good though. Imagine Mom & Dad as running mates in the polls

—–

I don’t care what anone else thinks, I love these strips where Calvin brings up the polls..

I think Calvin’s polls are a hoot!

Growing up, my dad always used to give me the: “As long as you live under my roof, you will do as you are told. And if you don’t like it, tough! I make the rules around here and what I say goes. You have no say in anything!”

My house was a “Owellian” democracy. Everyone had a vote, but Dad’s vote counted most.

If the polls were more favorable toward parents, we’d have our kids living with us forever. UGGGG! It’s all part of the grand universal scheme that kids should rebel and move out… its a good scheme.

He’s seen Calvin;s snow people. Humor him… indefinitely. Roslyn and Mom are the only ones with any power over him..

Daring Calvin

I wonder if Calvin moved back in with his parents in adulthood, part of the boomerang phenomenon.

My bottom would have gotten tanned if I said that to my father!

Speaking of “likeable”, I don’t think you are making many points yourself, Calvin.

dad must be thinkin the same thing: Way too late in the day to be joking. Go to bed!

Always a classic

Since when does a 6 year old care about polls…you’re not going to make a difference Calvin…

Calvin is irritating, and brilliant. dad knows this and is incredibly patient (as is mom). The poll arcs are funny and came at a time (the 80s) when polling began to dominate our daily and political lives.

“Cold fish” is an odd criticism. He’s not talking about rules or early bedtimes or his allowance. This seems to be a way of telling his dad that he isn’t getting enough affection from him. Maybe he wants a hug once in awhile.

@Susan, that is simply not true. Dad has imagination and humor–who can forget his explanation of Black & White photos being pictures of a black & white world? Similarly, Mom was out calling for Hobbes, and then there was the time Calvin asked about the soup, hoping there was no rice in it–and she replied, “I didn’t put any rice in it–those must be maggots.”

They are simply a couple of adults struggling to deal with a high maintenance child.

Mom’s not that cold. For example, she’s made crime fighter uniforms for Calvin and she stayed up with Calvin all night when he was sick. Sounds to me like Mom is pretty bleeep good and cares about Calvin.

Like I’d always said, there’s nothing wrong with kids nowadays that a good old-fashioned paddling won’t cure real quick!

In today’s strip, Waterson provides us with astute social commentary mocking the idea that anyone in a leadership position should care one iota about the results of opinion polls gathered from a largely ignorant populace whose responses clearly indicate that they can’t see or comprehend the big picture and are most often intended to serve only the limited selfish interests of the respondent(s) themselves.

A point which is ironically reinforced by the abundance of discussion about the substandard parenting skills of fictional comic strip characters.. an issue so tangentially irrelevant to anything rational as to boggle the mind.

what’s really on that clipboard? ;o)

Ah! The great dichotomy. Is this strip intended as a representation of real life, an (albeit flawed) commentary on proper child-rearing techniques; or is it symbolic, a metaphor if you will, for our failing society run by corrupt and uncaring tyrants…

or is it just a CARTOON???

Susan001 I’d like to see you do better with a hand-full such as Calvin - and there appears to be others who agree with me. There are sufficient examples as stated by bmonk that show his parents care.. Personally, i think it must be tough and quite the handfull in keeping Calvins head out of the clouds and keeping his feet firmly planted on the ground.

Apparently Calvin thinks Dad doesn’t “play by the book” (follow the rules exactly). I wonder what book Dad IS reading. It probably isn’t relevant to “The Issue at Hand”.

Hobbes votes with Calvin, and so do I.

Why do people who favor Calvin’s parents even read the strip? The strip is about Calvin. We cheer Calvin here, not the dullard parents, not Susie, not Mo, just CALVIN & HOBBES.

Calvin doesn’t need to get his head out of the clouds either. His imagination is what this strip is all about. He’s 6. He remains 6 forever. Think 6, or move along.

This was the greatest comic strip ever written. It doesn’t need advice.

The salient point to keep in mind about Calvin’s parents, and Calvin himself, is that Bill Watterson created them not just as cartoons, but as caricatures. He said so. Some elements reflect his experiences in real life and some do not - they are exaggerations.

To expect Calvin’s parents to be “good parents” all the time to a hyperactive ENFP-in-training would be ridiculous in real life. It is impossible in the comic strip as Bill deliberately set it up.

good try calvin,dad isn’t buying it,go to bed.

The polls are always skewed the only one with objectivity is Hobbes and he is probably running his own poll

Maybe not all of us have children, but we all WERE children. (And some of us never grew up).

I’m not trying to take sides in an argument here. I hardly paid it any attention. I’m just taking issue with one statement.

rtt470 said,

Spewing your “expertise” on children again. How do you possess all this knowledge without having any child rearing experience?

~~~

Just because someone doesn’t have children of their own doesn’t mean they know nothing about children. We all WERE children at one time and possess memories that could help others if they would only listen once in a while. I remember once nearly smacking a woman into next week when she told me I had no right to try to offer advice to a woman who was having a problem with her two children. I could’ve helped since I lived through the same situation at home when I was a kid! But I was told oh no don’t you tell her anything, you don’t have kids you don’t know what you’re talking about! This still burns my butt to this day and it happened well over 10 years ago.

where did he get that clipboard from! lol

I dont believe in polls Calvin your in dangerous territory here

LOL poor Dad

MY kind of kid.

Flash

The home isn’t a democracy, Calvin. It’s a dictatorship.

I don’t think Calvin does anything THAT horrible! He is just an exaggeration of many little 6-year olds. His dad is a bit out of touch with just about everything tho – especially how to raise a bright, inquisitive, sometimes obstinate 6-year old child. Believe me, I’ve worked in Protective Services & I’ve seen far worse than Calvin and also far worse than his parents.

So Cal’s got stuffed tiger love, but a pain in the rear to his disapproving parents. Some mommy smiles and love might lift our day!