sympathy-2
Original: sympathy-2 on Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal
Transcript
Panel 1 (caption over a silhouetted street scene of two people walking past shopfronts):
HOW COME SUBSTANCE ADDICTION IS CONSIDERED REAL AND WORTHY OF SYMPATHY WHILE BEHAVIORAL ADDICTION IS CONSIDERED FAKE AND PATHETIC?
Panel 2 (a bearded man speaking to a woman):
Bearded man: LIKE YOU CAN'T DO A MOVIE WHERE A SINGLE DAD IS TRYING TO DO HIS BEST FOR HIS TEEN DAUGHTER, BUT LOSES HIS CONSTRUCTION JOB BECAUSE HE CAN'T STOP WATCHING CATS PUSH THINGS OFF TABLES.
Panel 3 (the woman speaking):
Woman: I THINK THE FACT THAT ENDLESS MILD AMUSEMENTS ARE AS ADDICTING AS HARD DRUGS IS SO EMBARRASSING THAT WE AS A SPECIES ARE NOT COLLECTIVELY READY TO ACCEPT IT.
Panel 4 (the woman continuing):
Woman: NOR HAVE WE ADMITTED THAT THE BARRIER BETWEEN 'REAL LIFE' AND LIFE ONLINE IS NO LONGER MEANINGFUL. MOST OF OUR HOURS ARE NOW NON-REAL, AND SO WE CLASS THE RUINATION OF THE MAJORITY OF OUR LIVES AS NON-REAL.
Panel 5 (the bearded man and woman, the man now speaking):
Bearded man: AND WHO WOULD BE SYMPATHETIC FOR A PROBLEM THEY CONSIDER IMAGINARY?
Bearded man: THAT'S WHY *I* STICK TO HEROIN.
Votey:
The bearded man (sweating, wide-eyed, nervous expression), in a speech bubble: I ALSO WATCH CATS PUSHING STUFF, BUT ONLY IN SOCIAL SETTINGS.
HOW COME SUBSTANCE ADDICTION IS CONSIDERED REAL AND WORTHY OF SYMPATHY WHILE BEHAVIORAL ADDICTION IS CONSIDERED FAKE AND PATHETIC?
Panel 2 (a bearded man speaking to a woman):
Bearded man: LIKE YOU CAN'T DO A MOVIE WHERE A SINGLE DAD IS TRYING TO DO HIS BEST FOR HIS TEEN DAUGHTER, BUT LOSES HIS CONSTRUCTION JOB BECAUSE HE CAN'T STOP WATCHING CATS PUSH THINGS OFF TABLES.
Panel 3 (the woman speaking):
Woman: I THINK THE FACT THAT ENDLESS MILD AMUSEMENTS ARE AS ADDICTING AS HARD DRUGS IS SO EMBARRASSING THAT WE AS A SPECIES ARE NOT COLLECTIVELY READY TO ACCEPT IT.
Panel 4 (the woman continuing):
Woman: NOR HAVE WE ADMITTED THAT THE BARRIER BETWEEN 'REAL LIFE' AND LIFE ONLINE IS NO LONGER MEANINGFUL. MOST OF OUR HOURS ARE NOW NON-REAL, AND SO WE CLASS THE RUINATION OF THE MAJORITY OF OUR LIVES AS NON-REAL.
Panel 5 (the bearded man and woman, the man now speaking):
Bearded man: AND WHO WOULD BE SYMPATHETIC FOR A PROBLEM THEY CONSIDER IMAGINARY?
Bearded man: THAT'S WHY *I* STICK TO HEROIN.
Votey:
The bearded man (sweating, wide-eyed, nervous expression), in a speech bubble: I ALSO WATCH CATS PUSHING STUFF, BUT ONLY IN SOCIAL SETTINGS.
Alt text
A six-panel SMBC comic about behavioral vs. substance addiction. Panel 1 is a dim street scene of two silhouetted figures walking, with a caption: "How come substance addiction is considered real and worthy of sympathy while behavioral addiction is considered fake and pathetic?" In the following panels a bearded man and a woman discuss it. The man says you couldn't make a movie where a single dad trying his best for his teen daughter loses his construction job because he can't stop watching cats push things off tables. The woman argues that endless mild amusements being as addicting as hard drugs is so embarrassing that humanity isn't ready to accept it, and that the barrier between 'real life' and online life is gone, so we dismiss the ruin of most of our lives as 'non-real.' The man asks who would be sympathetic to a problem they consider imaginary, then concludes: "That's why *I* stick to heroin." In the bonus votey panel, a close-up of the bearded man, sweating and wide-eyed, admits in a speech bubble: "I also watch cats pushing stuff, but only in social settings."
Transcribed by Claude Opus 4.8.