The Adventure of the Blue Diamond Shrimp continues as Mark finally got out of the cabin to meet with Robbie’s dad, Ranger Shaw. I’m hoping that Ranger Shaw is being sarcastic with his comment in panel 4, slapping down Mark’s paranoid delusions. It’s hard to tell with him.
Is it just me, or do you think it is a bit insulting for Mark to imply (panel 3) that Ranger Shaw is a negligent parent for not knowing that his son makes online purchases? I mean, does Mark think Robbie has his own credit card!? Well, does Rusty? (feel free to disagree)
But honestly, Mark sounds like one of those self-righteous neighbors who gets upset and starts up a petition because the Hobsen’s teenage girl across the street started coloring her hair and wears tats that are only partially visible below her dress. What’s Mark’s next fear, I wonder: That Rusty and the other kids in school dress up like blue diamond shrimp for Halloween!?
Alas, I can’t figure out what Mark is focused on here: Kids buying ornamental shrimp? Kids buying stuff on the Internet? Possibly letting shrimp loose in the river? The machinations of a mysterious online dealer? The possibilities numb the mind. Or maybe it’s the story, itself. I’ll get back to you on that.
What’s Mark’s next fear, I wonder: That Rusty and the other kids in school dress up like blue diamond shrimp for Halloween!?
Worse: he heard about “furries” in schools…
(For those who don’t know: middle and high school students sometimes have organized “furry pajamas” days, often connected to “school spirit” events. These things are completely benign and harmless. A few years ago, some high school kids in Nebraska joked, I think in the school paper, that some kids who wore cat pajamas to these events wanted a litter box and only spoke in meows. A state senator took it seriously and went on the warpath about “furry culture destroying our moral fiber.” When informed that the thing was a high school joke, he admitted it was a pretty good one and he’d been had… but by then, certain media had latched onto the story and run with it. Some of them are still running to this day; every now and then a politician who should know better goes on about “furry culture.”)
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Yeah, but I’d be quite put out if Rivera has Mark going on about conspiracy fears like that.
I’m somewhat familiar with the Furries nonsense (school kids acting like animals, litter boxes in schools, etc). In fact, a Texas Senator (Stan Gerdes) sponsored a “Furries Act” bill (HB 54) with hefty school fines. Fortunately, it died in committee.
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It’s not just schools anymore. According to the nation’s leading intellectual Tubby Tumorville airline piolets have joined the furry community!
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