For Better or For Worse by Lynn Johnston for August 04, 2009

Uh, nope, you are the bacon. She already feels under-appreciated and his “kidding” makes her sound like he thinks she’s his servant. His dismissing her feelings like this is not going to win him any brownie points.

good grief … he brings home the bacon; she fries it; they both eat. what’s wrong with that?

negative, yes, but also very realistic for the times. Men did demean women both at home and in the workplace (especially in the workplace!) and many seemed to think they were demigods simply by virtue of their missing a quarter of one of their chromosomes….

Hope the couch is comfortable

I don’t think that Elly thinks staying at home is a prison sentence. I think she just wants a little more appreciation and respect. With a job, it’s easy to get that through a paycheck and traditional professional respect. Why is it so funny to demean stay at home moms? (And I’m not one) Shouldn’t they deserve to be treated with professionalism and common courtesy as well, esp by their “boss”?

John brought a friend home without clearing it with Elly first. She had been planning to serve leftovers since she was tired from the long day with the kids. She didn’t serve leftovers but made a nice meal. John then belittled Elly by telling his friend it was good he was there, otherwise he’d have gotten leftovers. Then he calls her one of the “girls” he has working for him and says it was a joke. Sorry John but this was no joke and you shouldn’t ever have said that even in jest. Last but not least let’s remember who the friend is he brought home. Ted. Ted the mommy’s boy dipstick at work.

I don’t tell my husband who to be friends with but I’ll tell ya if he had a friend like Ted I’d tell him to ditch that friendship immediately.

As a former child, the greatest job in the world is being a Mom! I wish I could have had more time with mine during those formative years. {sigh}

John, Mike & Elizabeth better appreciate!

appreciation and respect - amen! Elly and I tracked through the same years of our life cycle- my husband was raised in the 40s-50s with the idea that whatever the man said or wanted was the final word and the women in his life (Mom & Sis) made it happen - after 45 years I still haven’t turned the corner on that expectation - he’s a good man and father and yes, he was a hog farmer, so he literally brought home the bacon - even tho I have a masters and worked as a professional educator for 40 years, we still have these same frustrating conversations. The missing element in FBFW is the mother-in-law who is clucking her tongue at Elly’s rebellion.

Being a stay-at-home mom isn’t easy. Even though my daughter-in-law has a Masters Degree, she has opted to quit her job to stay home and raise their 20 month-old daughter (with #2 on the way). It’s a lot of work, and yet very rewarding. She’s doing an excellent job. It takes a lot of energy to keep up with a toddler. She wears me out when I visit.

You’re just digging that hole deeper and deeper John!!

And you NotNormanChubsyUbsy, You think being a stay at home is easy? What century were you born in? Maybe JOHN should show ELLY more respect! And last time I checked, bub, IT TOOK TWO PEOPLE to make a baby!!

Teasing– It’s called, Humor With a Hammer. You say what you really mean under a guise of “just kidding,” when you really weren’t. But Elly does it too, and she makes comments to Connie and Anne about men. John just isn’t around to hear them.

It is amusing to relive the early marriage challenges. Every generation has them. I love seeing the “Male Chauvinist” stuff come up. That was a huge deal when I was young.

Yet, we still haven’t totally got it right. Today I see many young women who have decided that their husbands/boyfriends now have to do EVERYTHING.

Or, in the case of my son, the wife brings home the bacon and sometimes he feels she takes advantage of him, not realizing what he does with the kids during the day.

There should be mutual respect and consideration.

If it’s not fun for everyone, its not fun, so STOP! This rule applies to speech as well as games in our house.

I am really glad I am not starting at this point without having read the end. But then, we all have rough edges when we are young that need to be smoothed out by friends and loved ones.

When this strip started over from the beginning some months ago, it was, according to its creator, an attempt to revisit the past with some new perspective.

With all due respect to the changes in her own circumstances that fueled this development, sometimes the vitriol seems a bit one sided and all encompassing, kind of like “let’s make the guy the clueless buffoon” in all circumstances.

Imagine the howls of indignation if those roles were reversed….

And he can cook it for ow on!

i too was raised in the 50’s and my father Never treated my mother like john treats elly, and i would NOT consider treating my wife like that

i don’t think John has enough amalgam to fill the cavity he’s drilling.

There seems to be 3 schools of thought here:

1 The “How could he say such a thing?/He’s in so much trouble!” crowd 2 The “What’s wrong with that?” crowd 3 The “It’s just a 1980’s comic strip.” crowd

The interaction between these 3 is fascinating.

Uh, what kind of bacon did John bring home?

Elly wants to be regarded as an equal partner in the marriage. Not as an employee. John is seriously digging his own grave and will continue to until he respects Elly’s role as a partern.

John- Say “oink”. Good boy. Now go wallow in mud, ‘cause your name’s MUD!

Welcome to the seventies! I didn’t like them the first time around, and they’ve ripened to a deeper stench now.

Anyone notice how Ellie has aged in a year? When this comic “reset,” she was young and pretty again. Suddenly, she has a light bulb for a nose and does nothing with her hair.

Lynn would be better off just to re-run the old comics, rather than re-draw them.

Remember, Lynn has said that the strip takes place now “in modern times”.

I wish the people who dislike the comic would simply NOT READ IT. They should go away and stop commenting on it if all they can do is complain. A certain person (in Archie Bunker lingo, I’ll just look at the party and whisle…) gripes over the storylines here and on Gasoline Alley and probably on others I don’t read. He seems to hate the comics so why does he bother to read them? He’s wasting his time.

Now be a good boy and go do a little housework, it’ll help your disposition!