# Does this cartoon offend you? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 10, 2004, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-cartoon-offend-you/233551 "2004-03-10T21:28:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2004, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-cartoon-offend-you/233551/1 "2004-03-10T21:28:44Z")
The cartoon in question is the new [Bob the Angry Flower](http://angryflower.com/dogkil.gif) strip. Warning: it may be upsetting to some. Fans of Bob will already know that Bob is not a particularly nice character; indeed, he is often needlessly cruel and destructive (as his casual comment in the third panel shows). Yet despite the brutality of the act and his complete emotional detachment (as shown in the last panel), he demonstrates startling kindness for the dog itself. Is this another side of Bob we’ve not seen before? Or is it just part of the job? And has he been cruel or merciful to the dog? It is the mark of a good artwork that it keeps you coming back to it (or at least I do) to think about it again and consider new interpretations. I would be interested to hear what y’all think. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2004, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-cartoon-offend-you/233551/2 "2004-03-10T21:44:25Z")
Well, I don’t find it funny. I find it a little disturbing. But I wouldn’t go so far as to say I am offended by it. ---
**Author:** ![In\_Conceivable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/4bbf92/32.png) [@In\_Conceivable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/In_Conceivable)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2004, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-cartoon-offend-you/233551/3 "2004-03-10T22:03:43Z")
I am not offended and I didn’t laugh. I did not even find it interesting. I think it is kind of stupid. ---
**Author:** ![Fox\_Paws](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/85e7bf/32.png) [@Fox\_Paws](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fox_Paws)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2004, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-cartoon-offend-you/233551/4 "2004-03-10T22:26:06Z")
Offended? No. But I definitely feel like the joke (or message, or whatever) flew right over my head. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2004, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-cartoon-offend-you/233551/5 "2004-03-10T22:33:18Z")
The “joke” is that despite his “not man enough” comment up at the top, he whines about burning his finger. Didn’t find it offensive, but I didn’t find it funny either. A thouroughly “blah” strip. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2004, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-cartoon-offend-you/233551/6 "2004-03-10T22:35:55Z")
Same here. It’s the third or fourth Bob I’ve seen, and I’ve yet to find it funny. Now, if he’d just booze up and riot, THEN we’d be talking about comedy! Daniel ---
**Author:** ![MrVisible](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@MrVisible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrVisible)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2004, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-cartoon-offend-you/233551/7 "2004-03-10T23:57:42Z")
Now that’s how I like my comedy: gross and depressing. I’m not offended, but man, that was stupid. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2004, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-cartoon-offend-you/233551/8 "2004-03-11T00:48:47Z")
Gee, other than the graphic depiction of the dog’s head getting blown apart I thought it was kind of sweet. Bob’s obviously in denial of the emotional impact of putting the dog down so he sublimates it into pretending his finger hurts. Sort of like how straight guys never cry; they just “have something in my eye.” ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2004, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-cartoon-offend-you/233551/9 "2004-03-11T01:30:07Z")
I don’t think it’s funny, but I wasn’t offended. In fact, it seems, from what you’ve said about the character of Bob, one of his better moments. Given the choice to use a shotgun, rather than anaesthetic, it was as mercifully done as possible. **Otto** , I can’t say I agree he’s sublimating deeper emotions, but I’ll agree that overall the tone seemed rather touching. (Of course, I’d spent this afternoon reading the ‘Suicide Girl’ story from [Sexy Losers](http://www.sexylosers.com/). It is possible the mind warp of someone trying to have a romantic necrophiliac relationship has affected my judgement…) ---
**Author:** ![Raygun99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Raygun99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raygun99)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2004, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-cartoon-offend-you/233551/10 "2004-03-11T01:44:27Z")
> [@OtakuLoki](#): > > I don’t think it’s funny, but I wasn’t offended. In fact, it seems, from what you’ve said about the character of Bob, one of his better moments. Given the choice to use a shotgun, rather than anaesthetic, it was as mercifully done as possible. It was a flamethrower. Bob loves excess. The comedy comes from his complete and utter detachment and perspective from the fact that he’s gone rather over the top in euthanizing this dog while complaining about the results. Not the funniest Bob ever, but it made me laugh. ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2004, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-cartoon-offend-you/233551/11 "2004-03-11T02:12:31Z")
I can enjoy some kinds of sick humor, but I really wish I hadn’t seen that cartoon. ---
**Author:** ![Wearia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/13edae/32.png) [@Wearia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wearia)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2004, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-cartoon-offend-you/233551/12 "2004-03-11T02:33:12Z")
If you check the [frontpage](http://angryflower.com/) of the site, you’ll see that the purpose behind the strip is having people tell him what the thought. Me? Well, I could have done without the panel of the dogs head being blown apart, but other than that, I’ve seen worse. ---
**Author:** ![Scoo8b](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Scoo8b](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scoo8b)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2004, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-cartoon-offend-you/233551/13 "2004-03-11T04:30:50Z")
Well, it’s nice to see that there’s still stupid people left to make comic’s like that… Personally, I’m struggling to see see how anyone could be amused by the idea of a flower shooting a dog in the head… ---
**Author:** ![Raygun99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Raygun99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raygun99)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2004, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-cartoon-offend-you/233551/14 "2004-03-11T04:39:14Z")
> [@Scoo8b](#): > > Well, it’s nice to see that there’s still stupid people left to make comic’s like that… > > Personally, I’m struggling to see see how anyone could be amused by the idea of a flower shooting a dog in the head… If that’s not sig material then I don’t know what is. It’s important to note that it’s not some random dog he killed but a dog that’s being put down at the end of its life like thousands of dogs are every day. Bob just chose an extreme method of doing so. ---
**Author:** ![Sqube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aca169/32.png) [@Sqube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sqube)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2004, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-cartoon-offend-you/233551/15 "2004-03-11T05:12:05Z")
I wasn’t offended, but I definitely don’t see where it was “funny”. ---
**Author:** ![SirRay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@SirRay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SirRay)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2004, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-cartoon-offend-you/233551/16 "2004-03-11T05:58:06Z")
Well, In my take, Bob wasn’t being emotional to the dog at all - he was just using sweet talk and petting to keep the dog calm (yeah, the dog doesn’t really seem to need calming) so that the dog doesn’t move and spoil his shot (his weapon definitely seems to be some sort of rifle/shot-gun, not a flame thrower). Perhaps even a bit of mocking the attitude of (normal) pet owners to their pets. ---
**Author:** ![Raygun99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Raygun99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raygun99)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2004, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-cartoon-offend-you/233551/17 "2004-03-11T06:01:21Z")
On second read it is a shotgun, not a flamethrower. My mistake. It doesn’t change my reading of the strip though. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2004, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-cartoon-offend-you/233551/18 "2004-03-11T06:06:44Z")
Bob the Pointless Flower, eh? ---
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2004, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-cartoon-offend-you/233551/19 "2004-03-11T07:59:49Z")
Hehehehehehehe… hee hee hee… teeheeheeheehee… hehehehehe… teeheeheeheehee…! Heh heh heh heh… Teeheeheehee…! Okay, I’m done… Teehee… Fuck me with fries, that was funny. Best giggle I’ve had all week, I tells ya! … To sum up, no, it doesn’t offend me. ---
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2004, 8:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-cartoon-offend-you/233551/20 "2004-03-11T08:25:35Z")
Holy shit. That comic strip is the funniest I’ve ever read. Holy shit. (Yeah, it warranted saying “Holy shit” twice… thrice, now.) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-cartoon-offend-you/233551.md?page=2)