For Better or For Worse by Lynn Johnston for August 28, 2008

OK, I’m misting up.

My two kids are just about the same ages as the two eldest in this strip and have kind of followed the same paths.

I just love this strip.

Actually, a wise man like Jim recognizes homphobia as the abomination.

He can die gratified that small-minded twits concerned with the sex lives of fictional characters lie in a world where they can come out of their closets and stop “protesting too much”.

How can anyone turn a sweet comic strip that has never been called political and turn the discussion into one? Please find a political cartoonist and continue this discussion there.

wait a minute. is this the last strip? on a Thursday? this cannot be.

I enjoyed this stip. If this is the end, it went out gracefully.

Gay means they have chosen to act in an aberrant fashion - it doesn’t mean they’re not human. Let’s remember that and not treat gay people as less than human, any more than we would treat someone who is a heterosexual who lives a promiscuous life or lives with someone outside marriage. Both have a similar end result!

Lynn; just a reminder that although the sun is approximately 92 million miles away, there is a high level of confidence that intelligent life exists….somewhere….just not in the preceeding comments. HAGD

Now that this strip is coming to a close, I think it is entirely appropriate to comment on its impact, especially regarding Lawrence. Whether or not you agree with his lifestyle, kudos to Lynn for presenting Lawrence with the same humanity and flaws as any other character.

txmystic said it best. My son and daughter are the same ages as Michael and Elizabeth and I’ve followed this strip since the beginning. I will miss Lynn’s compassionate as well as humorous way of portraying everyday life. Please save your almighty judgement of the characters for the editorial cartoons.

i congadulate lynn on the way she has presented this strip. and to those ney sayers out there…..from one gay person to a staight one………….welcome to the real world and we won’t hold it against you that you are strait….we love everyone just the way they are.

Is this really the last strip? Because the last day of the month just happens to fall of a Sunday. What a wonderful coincidence! Not that I’m complaining about the last one (I thought it was perfect), but wouldn’t it be great to have one big closing Sunday strip? Although, I just reread the last panel of this strip, and now I wonder. I still say a big Sunday finale strip would be the way to go.

Sunday the 31st will be the last strip. It will probably also be the one to move us smoothly into the new strip style.

Okay, that’s cool. I just read that on her site, too. Maybe today’s strip was the last strip for the story. That works for me, I guess, but I’m still sad to see this “ending”.

“it’s certainly a nice way to end TODAY” ;-D

Why is it that, as a culture, we are more comfortable seeing two men holding guns than holding hands? ~Ernest Gaines

Hmmm… my guess is that at least on Sat. we’ll have a “group photo” Possibly fri. as well. Her little monument to these characters who’ve been such a huge part of her life for such a long time.

Jim reminds me of a patient I used to take care of. :P

Might as well add my 2-cents, too! This has been a good series.

Homosexuality IS a choice, just as becoming an alcoholic is a choice, gluttony, overeating, etc. While you may have a weakness toward these things, that weakness does not mean you should say it’s okay as an excuse to give in to it. We are all given tests in this mortal life, and sometimes the test is to help make us strong when we resist. The strength we gain, will help us in other trials.

But, ‘nuff said. A happy marriage and a new life for a couple - beautiful!

i think since after this weekend half of the comics will be reruns updated from the 1970’s the perfect way to do it is grandpa could be dreaming of the early years brought on by seeing elizabeth in her grandma’s wedding dress so if lyn unretires it was all a dream. perfect imo i love this comic but i cant remember much from the 70’s so i dont think i will hate the new concept if it keeps the strip in the newspapers. we just have to make sure the newspapers keep the new (old) comic in the lineup

I don’t want to get into an argument about the rights and wrongs of homosexuality. However when Lawrence came out it was a big deal in many political circles from Canada to the U.S. at least. Heck talk about political, Farly’s and Serra’s romp was political about the dangers of not spading and neutering pets and don’t forget April’s birth. Home delivery vs. hospital. All of these were political stands and concepts that Lynn did.

As for Lawrence he is based off of Lynn’s brother in law. So she is definitely in favor of homosexuality.

Interesting argument that homosexuality is a choice. Does the argument include being straight is a choice? Or will you say..duh! It is NOT a choice to be straight. It is natural. Did you choose to be straight? Did you choose to have your hair blond or brown or black or white? Did you choose to have your hair straight or curly? Did you choose to be black or white? Did you choose to be tall or short? Did you choose to be dumb or smart? These are all in our gene. What would you say to your child who come to you and say, “Mom/Dad…I am gay.” Will your answer be, “Bah humbug son/daughter…it is a CHOICE! CHANGE!! YOU CAN NOT LOVE THAT PERSON!!”? Why would a person choose to be gay and have to live with people like you who are judgmental and discriminating and mean and rude? You must think it is ok for men and women to sleep around with each other, get married and have a HIGH divorce rate and it is not okay for gay people to be together. A choice? I think not. Hopefully, you don’t have a gay relative and tell them about your posting.

Being straight is natural, whereas homosexuality is a choice. I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with being gay, but to portray it as natural is patently false.

Forget all that religion stuff, I’m talking purely from an evolutionary stance. All beings have evolved so that they may best propagate their species, while being gay flies in the face of that. It’s fine to choose to be gay, but as far as it being natural, millions of years of evolution say otherwise

The evolutionary imperative is not to simply propagate but rather to flourish. A species that successfully emphasizes propagation experiences overpopulation which brings disease and famine. Different species have different methods of balancing population growth with availability of resources. Homosexuality is one entirely natural way to remove some individuals from the breeding pool.