Doonesbury by Garry Trudeau for October 20, 2011

Alex stay with him. He is more important than some demonstration. And also, I was mistaken about Leo’s reasons for not joining the demonstration.

Which will Alex do, join the march or comfort Leo?

I see both Toggle and Ray have been retconned to Afghanistan. As far as I recall both of them were depicted only in service in Iraq, along with BD.

This weeks arc started about Leo meeting Joannie. Then it was about OWS, 125 posts yesterday. Now, we are dealing with PTSD. GT keeps you on your toes

Yeah, it makes such a pleasant change from Luann. I used to read this strip on Slate (for eight years now, more or less) and now that I know it’s here as well I’ll be hanging out here. At least one can comment here.

Keenly observed, BB. GBT wants to make the violence of a suicide bombing more immediate to Alex, the OWS crowd, and his readers.And retconning (had to look it up on the Urban Dictionary) is a fair description of the way authors like GBT and Cervantes switch their historical perspective.

That’s why it’s strange that he talks of being in Kandahar.

What timing – Occupy Athens is at full boil.

Did Leo say "I’ll be okay?” Or did he say “the market in Kandahar”?@RSR: The terrorists have done this to people. Christlibs who deplore PTSD are not guilty of the evil act, only of wishing it hadn’t occurred.

Could Leo have had a tour in Afghanistan before Iraq? (Not sure where US troops were on the ground when)

Alex, stay with him – caring for someone you love has value for everyone.

I know the market in Kandahar. I ran a program that laid all pavers on the pavements in the main street.

These things tend to blur. BD did ’Nam, Grenada or Panama (met Ray there?), & bought his cyberleg in Iraq. Since Jr. Bush, Afghan veterans went to Iraq, & back to Kandahar. I have regular customers who did both, 2 or 3 times. 4 bus loads got back this evening. Older regulars did Inchon or Khe Sahn. Leo could easily have gotten his med problems in Iraq with BD & psych problems in Kandahar with Ray.

My father was stationed in Japan. And Germany. And the Philippines. Servicemen tend to not stay put.

Whew, I was hoping this didn’t turn into a Lib v. Conserv thing. I like DB, but I skip it when it gets to political.

Alex, ALEX

Your boyfriend is freaking out about the crowds! Get him out of there! He’s a human being in distress, Help him!

Hang tight Alex! Reorg is on the way buddy! (BTDT!)

What does this say about us that some don’t know which country was invaded first?

stay put, Alex! listen very well!

Sorry about yesterday. Sometime I just need to know that someone knows I exist. Need help on one thing if possible. I have a court date as a witness for a misdemeanor. I can’t be in crouds also. PTSD and anxiety disorder with agoraphobia 100% service connected disabled. Wouldn’t be someone out there who can tell me how to not punch out the DA. Won’t squash my subpoena even though I don’t remember the incident.

The war isn’t over until someone else closes your eyes.It’s going to be a rough day.

Not the direction I thought he was going Thought he would offer a counter point for the demonstartions. Pleasent surprise.

I have PTSD from childhood abuse and if an SO walked off during a flashback it would be over. This could be Leo’s clue to find someone less self-absorbed, or Alex’s clue to really look outside herself.

Grenada? Lebanon?

I was in combat in nam and I don’t like crowds and I need to sit with my back to the wall where no one can walk up on me

Alex, get him the heck out of there away from the crowds.

News just in…gaddafi is dead.

Doonesbury is like a great sprawling multigenerational novel or series of such novels. Trudeau is to the comic strip culture as Tolstoy was to the novel-culture of his time and place. Both are creative geniuses, from whom we can learn a great deal about ourselves and our culture, which now includes the entire planet.  We have reached another flashpoint. Alex faces a dilemma. What she should do is clear: HELP LEO. Get him some top-rated medical attention NOW. He’s precious and comes first. She has already “chosen” him by sleeping with him. We humans are supposed to be “higher” than other animals. They are mystically linked together, and she must not now abandon him in his need.

We have been working on Afghanistan and Pakistan since the early 1990’s. I was working on the logistics plan as early as 1994. And troops are deployed by your government all the time without your knowledge. We were also watching Iran and Iraq, but there own 10 year war reduced their threat to us.

Wow, Alex is being callous today. I didn’t want these two to break up but if she goes to march instead of getting him out of there, he will have no choice.

I can’t do crowds, or especially “traffic jams” at checkout counters in markets or stores. Don’t do rallies since protesting the entry into Iraq (where my son ended up) because I can’t handle crowds OR “in your face” idiots who want war and other stupidity.

Larry- while VA can’t help you with your “legal problems” , you might find a VSO who can help you, or find you help with they psych angle, and VA can give you support for the PTSD component. After 40+ years, part of it in law enforcement, there ARE ways, legitimate ways, to deal with your situation!

My son now has similar problems to mine after serving in Iraq, Bosnia and elsewhere. He actually deals with most “crowds” better than either I, or Leo.

It’s time we spent more time trying to help our vets, and average civilians, instead of giving all the wealth and energy to the “1%” capable of caring for themselves, who see no benefit in lending the rest of us a hand.

Gadaffi is gone, reportedly dead. Interesting that another dictatorship has ended without OUR troops boots on the ground. The man who actually attacked the U.S. is gone, after nearly ten years of failures. The simple fact is that letting our diplomats, and yes troops and military forces, do their jobs the way they know how, instead of dictating their actions from false bravado, and greed, is more functional.

I have treated veterans in my practice. So many describe these feelings in crowds, and like Alex, the families don’t understand what is going on. I would like to thank Mr. Trudeau for bringing this to the public’s attention.

PTSD needs to be understood as the medical condition that it is, and how it affects so many of our brave young people.

Keep in mind who Alex’ mother is. This could literally go either way. Does her father’s side kick in and she helps the man she’s supposed to love, or does her mother’s side kick in and she goes to the drama outside?

Or does her mother’s side recognize the drama inside the car and she helps Toggle after all?

Quite the suspense here.

Gives me the creeps. I, too, can’t do crowds anymore, and sit with my back to the wall. Really sympathize with Toggle.

♫DING-DONG KADAFFYS’ DEAD!♫

Alex, get out of the truck, go around, push Leo into the passenger seat, and get him the hell out of there. NOW.

Note Alex’s body language in panel 4. Looks like she is in process of exiting the truck. Also, her remark — “You sure you’ll be okay? — assumes that she’s already decided to leave him to drive back alone or to sit there till the crowd subsides. (”You sure you’ll be okay [IF I GO]?") If this is what really does transpire, then Leo could possibly then decide to end the relationship forever. And I, for one, wouldn’t blame him. But tomorrow is another day. Stay tuned. Same time, same station.

Mayhap Leo is simply cleverly manipulating Alex? Getting her to stay with him rather than join the protest?I’m not denying his PTSD – that was established long ago – just saying that he’s no dummy.Using Kandahar rather than Baghdad might be much healthier for him – he might avoid a PTSD episode this way..

Remember, also, that Leo and Alex are on their way to meet with Joanie. So Alex has two powerful motivations to combat the powerful motivation to join the OWS anti-unregulation demo. This remembrance hints that she’ll change her direction and continue on with him to meet their appointment. Probably late due to the march, but Joanie, of all people (!), will surely understand.

Note panel 2. See the dude in the hat and shades? CIA infiltrator? FBI infiltrator? Koch brothers stooge? Faux Noise “reporter”? Shiver.

GT is a true genius. Who else would have thought of this angle. Leaves me with a large lump in my throat and an unmanly tear in my eye.

Ever notice that GOPper rhymes with COPper?

On speak-truth-to-power OWS demos, what’s needed is a GOPper COPper STOPper.

Re the strip: I only now JUST noticed something: In panel 1 the passenger-side door is closed, but in panel 4, it is open by a number of inches. Alex is clearly in the process of leaving the truck. I hope her good sense, if she has any, kicks in and she changes her mind. Leo could fall victim to syncope (fainting due to insufficient blood supply to the brain).  SYNCOPE IS A SERIOUS LIFE-THREATENING CONDITION WHICH OFTEN REQUIRES HOSPITALIZATION.

Alex, like her creator, troodough, really is an inexperienced ditz!!!

Thank guys. I like the strip, but it is your posts i am most interested in.

Crowds wouldn’t be so bad if it wasn’t for all the people.