# "Family Circus" diminished my view of humanity today **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 11, 2013, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-circus-diminished-my-view-of-humanity-today/671002 "2013-10-11T17:28:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Homo\_litoralis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Homo\_litoralis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homo_litoralis)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2013, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-circus-diminished-my-view-of-humanity-today/671002/1 "2013-10-11T17:28:31Z")
I mean, I stopped being amused by that comic around the age of nine, and I have all but ignored it for many years. Why today of all days did I decide to glance at what Billy had to say to his ailing sister? Here’s the caption, exactly: “Just so you know, if your too sick to go to school, Mommy’s gonna say your too sick to watch TV.” The first “your” rolled my eyes. What this? An egregious typo in a comic? That’s a crack editing team right there. Bravo! Then my refocused eyes get assaulted by yet another “your” that has no business being there! Gah! Look, I know English is all, like, hard and stuff. We can forgive all manner of typos and grammatical errors by amateurs who are blithely broadcasting their literary drivel such as I’m doing right now, but if you’re going to write simple captions for a nationally syndicated comic strip, please abide by the fundamental rules of English usage expected from the average seventh-grader. Double gah! By the way, if you’re reading this and still don’t know what the problem is, shame on you. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2013, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-circus-diminished-my-view-of-humanity-today/671002/2 "2013-10-11T17:29:31Z")
I don’t get it; what’s you’re problem? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2013, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-circus-diminished-my-view-of-humanity-today/671002/3 "2013-10-11T17:34:34Z")
Maybe your over-reacting. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2013, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-circus-diminished-my-view-of-humanity-today/671002/4 "2013-10-11T17:35:19Z")
It does appear to originate with the master release. Many newspapers do - or used to - reset the captions for single-panel cartoons and I could see one doing so. But, y’know, if THIS is what made FC diminish your view of humanity… I don’t think you’ve been paying attention. Even the FC website is annoying (go look). ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2013, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-circus-diminished-my-view-of-humanity-today/671002/5 "2013-10-11T17:44:02Z")
Obligatory reference to [the one place that can make the Family Circus bearable.](http://dfc.furr.org/) ---
**Author:** ![malaka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecc23a/32.png) [@malaka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/malaka)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2013, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-circus-diminished-my-view-of-humanity-today/671002/6 "2013-10-11T17:45:09Z")
Now I’m eager to find out if Billy’s sister makes it! ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2013, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-circus-diminished-my-view-of-humanity-today/671002/7 "2013-10-11T17:46:43Z")
Billy’s only supposed to be, what, seven years old? He doesn’t appreciate these grammatical distinctions yet. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2013, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-circus-diminished-my-view-of-humanity-today/671002/8 "2013-10-11T17:50:05Z")
My view of humanity was diminished beginning when an instructor in medical school regularly used “Family Circus” as a teaching tool. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2013, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-circus-diminished-my-view-of-humanity-today/671002/9 "2013-10-11T18:02:31Z")
“Who forgot their fourth-grade English lessons, and used ‘your’ instead of ‘you’re’, not once, but twice, in today’s strip?” “Not Me!” ---
**Author:** ![Homo\_litoralis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Homo\_litoralis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homo_litoralis)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2013, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-circus-diminished-my-view-of-humanity-today/671002/10 "2013-10-11T18:02:39Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > Even the FC website is annoying (go look). I did go look. Your rite. But I found a funny comic! It was a “Bizarro” take-off tucked in the “Files” section. Two men are peering through the bushes at the family having dinner. The men discover the reason behind their popularity, their longevity, the fact that they don’t age. They are dining with Satan! ---
**Author:** ![Greg\_Charles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@Greg\_Charles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greg_Charles)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2013, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-circus-diminished-my-view-of-humanity-today/671002/11 "2013-10-11T18:28:30Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > Obligatory reference to [the one place that can make the Family Circus bearable.](http://dfc.furr.org/) I like it! It’s not “the one place” though. There is [another](http://www.nietzschefamilycircus.com/). ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2013, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-circus-diminished-my-view-of-humanity-today/671002/12 "2013-10-11T19:30:05Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > “Who forgot their fourth-grade English lessons, and used ‘your’ instead of ‘you’re’, not once, but twice, in today’s strip?” > > “Not Me!” For the win. Roddy ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2013, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-circus-diminished-my-view-of-humanity-today/671002/13 "2013-10-11T22:14:28Z")
[The Comics Curmedgeon](http://joshreads.com/?p=19610) noticed too. ---
**Author:** ![want2befree](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/3e96dc/32.png) [@want2befree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/want2befree)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2013, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-circus-diminished-my-view-of-humanity-today/671002/14 "2013-10-11T23:05:08Z")
I’ve notified comic strip artists before to tell them about their typos. Someone should do the same with this guy. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2013, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-circus-diminished-my-view-of-humanity-today/671002/15 "2013-10-11T23:06:38Z")
What’s next for grammar nazis? Your up. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2013, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-circus-diminished-my-view-of-humanity-today/671002/16 "2013-10-11T23:40:11Z")
Your fiting a loosing battle, sun. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2013, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-circus-diminished-my-view-of-humanity-today/671002/17 "2013-10-12T05:07:53Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > “Who forgot their fourth-grade English lessons, and used ‘your’ instead of ‘you’re’, not once, but twice, in today’s strip?” > > “Not Me!” “Ida Know!” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2013, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-circus-diminished-my-view-of-humanity-today/671002/18 "2013-10-12T07:31:05Z")
I’d like to know what newspaper was involved in the OP. My newspaper, the South Bay _Daily Breeze_ in Torraance, CA, printed the caption with the words spelled properly. On another topic dragged into this thread: The enduring popularity of Family Circus being what it is, I’d say that those who criticize it are the ones who want “edgy” content in comic strips; they are bigoted against newspaper readers who **don’t** want “edgy” content. ---
**Author:** ![MacTech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MacTech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacTech)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2013, 8:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-circus-diminished-my-view-of-humanity-today/671002/19 "2013-10-12T08:41:54Z")
Well, irregardless of that fact… ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2013, 9:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-circus-diminished-my-view-of-humanity-today/671002/20 "2013-10-12T09:49:16Z")
> [@Homo\_litoralis](#): > > I mean,… Comma splice? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-circus-diminished-my-view-of-humanity-today/671002.md?page=2)