He’s going to disrupt the vending machine industry with his new Nachitos delivery service, Chypp. For a mere $20 per month you have access to an app that lets you summon a”contractor” to deliver you a bag of Nachitos, wherever you are, whenever you want. You can also sign up as a delivery courier “contractor” and get paid to simply deliver bags of chips! Who cares about the logistics of distributing the wholesale goods, that’s the Old Way of thinking about business. $50mil in venture capital, please!
As someone who A. failed out of college (for the third year, after multiple appeals) in April and B. is planning on starting a webcomic, this hits a little closer to home than I was expecting today.
^ Man, same. I have my own house and mortgage to pay, and then I look over at my parents who are still paying off theirs after putting three kids through college.
I dream of being rich some day so I can pay all their shit off for them, because literally the only way they would accept it would be if I had more money that I knew what to do with. And even then…
LARPing, Magic, a club of magicians that want to be taken seriously, a girlfriend that doesn’t look like Dorothy and Brunette Dorothy, following tumblr pages of Dexter and Monkey Master, proving to Joyce that he isn’t stupid, attend Indiana’s equivalent of comic con, join antifa, get kicked out of antifa, buy a Bible and throw it at Billie, join a Hamilton fan play, prank Joyce and make her believe God made evolution through the crappy Noah movie of 2013, etc.
But at the same time – put in a bit of work, figure out how to study, don’t fail out.
Other hobbies are great. Not tying all your self-esteem up in getting good grades without effort is great. Not failing out of school is also a good thing.
Oh yes. It’s almost a cliche where the Favored Child doesn’t turn out like Mom & Dad’s expectations predicted. Walky’s just gotten that he’s a grown man now, and his parents are too busy deluding themselves over Linda’s plans and how they’re all that matters (guaranteed not to suffer from a lack of actual parenting!) to be of any real help with this.
I’m still wondering where Charles fits into this. He’s complicit to some degree, but Walky definitely fears his mom more, while Sal seems to put equal blame on both of their parents.
A) More subtle. His digs are the kind of thing you’d either need to have experience with or think about for a second to notice.
B) Charles will keep talking to you through disappointment while Linda either gets really mad or stops talking to you.
C) Less focused on specific kinds of success. Linda has a lot riding on Walky being a doctor or lawyer or something. Charles insults Sal to her face but doesn’t seem to have any particular career plans. So yes, Linda is going to flip her lid. Charles probably won’t. He might make a few digs to Walky’s face but it’ll be with a smile and concerned tone and it’ll take a minute or two for Walky to even notice ‘That’s…really not a compliment’.
Plus, Walky’s seen how they handle being mad or disappointed in Sal, even if he spent a long time not knowing why. Now that that shoe’s on the other foot, he thinks that’s going to be him.
Huh. that sounds a lot like my dad. MY mum is the opposite, she is all love and concern and protection to teh point it may have been a bit harmful to my development.
I’m betting Linda is the one who puts the academic pressure/discipline/scorn of failure combo on for the most part, while Charles is more hands-off but was still going along with all of Sal’s punishments. Plus we know he makes rather backhanded, super racially-loaded comments about Sal’s hair, wouldn’t be surprised if there were other moments of him ‘encouraging’ her to do things like that.
Hrmm. Okay, so, back when this conversation last happened I was not a regular commenter or even a “Comment-reader” but I kinda sorta maybe remember that there was this problem in the comment section a few years ago about Walky’s parents and racism? Anyone mind linking me to that or explaining it?
Linda and Charles are racist, specifically in the way of treating traits like kinky hair badly and probably associating it with being disobedient, difficult, etc. So they treated Sal like that which, obviously, led her to push back against them, so they cracked down more and we can see a vicious cycle here. This also leads to things like reacting more angrily to Sal when Walky does the same thing (see the strip with them auditioning for the Joyce strip – Linda yells at Sal while she calls Walky) and giving Walky opportunities they don’t give Sal (see: Linda picking Walky to audition) as well as generally favouring him while insulting traits Sal has that he lacks (see: Charles insulting her hair to her face). Sal also identifies more as black while Walky calls himself ‘beige’ (not uncommon among infants where one is lighter or fits better with mainstream Western – i.e. predominantly white – culture. The lighter one tends to call themselves mixed or beige or something along those lines while the darker one tends to call themselves black).
Well, that’s when she first straight out says it. The first time it’s suggested, it’s when Walky says Sal ids as black while he’s ‘generically beige’ and the second time it’s when Charles insults Sal’s hair.
Anyway, point being: you can be mixed-race and still subconsciously say/do negative things that are racially charged, due to your own biases.
In Charles’ case, I really doubt he’s fully conscious of the implication of the comment about Sal’s hair. He doesn’t seem motivated to make her feel badly, but he *is* being shittily unaware of the impact on her.
(Was wording that last before you wrote your reply.)
There are levels of shitty here, for sure. Humanity’s overall shittiness is a spectrum. The Walkertons, in this case, have failed to provide adequate support for one of their children and given the other some complexes, but TBH, I feel like no parents IRL are perfect and we all have to undo baggage like this sooner or later.
I tend to categorize him as such too because almost everything Sal says is her parentS plural. And we know he did things like not speak to her while she was at school (so like…5 years of not talking to her?) That’s still definitely emotional neglect.
I can see him not understanding the racially specific issues with what he said, but I find it hard to believe he couldn’t see how saying ‘Too bad’ to his daughter’s new hairstyle could be hurtful.
Especially since she makes it clear straightening requires an appointment and I’m pretty sure she implies it’s a long one. (Plus, money, college student.) Since she was at boarding school for so long I can see him being oblivious to the commitment it is (even though, if I’m remembering right, Walky isn’t), but straightening that much hair is pretty obviously more intensive than just, like, a simple ponytail versus down. (And it would still be shitty to say ‘oh I don’t like ponytails’.)
Doubly especially since he didn’t actually know whether she likes her hair that way now or not. He just said he noticed it was curly, she said ‘It just kinda happened’ and he said ‘Too bad.’ Like, on what level is that not a crappy reaction? And yeah, Walky said she murders the curls out of her hair – and even if Charles doesn’t know what a commitment it is initially, Sal straight up tells him ‘It’s gonna take hours’. It was why she couldn’t stay with her family.
Yeah, all fair points. It’s not like I’m giving him a pass or anything. I’m only saying it’s relatably human in that it’s a thing humans do until we can identify what we’re doing wrong and learn to be better. Which, at his age, he really should have already.
Well, I think she scheduled the hair appointment for that time on purpose so as to avoid spending time with her family. It must be hard not to hate Walky after a day of being put down while his ass is polished to a golden sheen.
Though given the effort she was making, I suspect she would have dropped the appointment in a flash if they hadn’t treated her like she knew they were going to.
It went on several times. You’ll find it in the parents’ day arc and where Walky gets a care packet, the one for Billie was smaller and the one for Sal minute.
Okay, I’ve worked out what my feelings and thoughts were when I was “defending” Charles compared to Linda. (Note that I never said he was a good parent.)
The thing is, ignoring a child is awful. It does more damage than many might think. I’m sure most people heard of some kid acting up for attention- that is a very real thing that children do, because if they don’t get positive attention they will absolutely seek negative attention because it’s better- especially from parents- than nothing. (Note that a child needs more than superficial attention too- just acknowledging their existence won’t fulfil their needs.)
Charles immediately gave Sal attention. It seemed to be well-meaning attention too- he seemed happy to see her, and yes his comments on her hair were problematic but he didn’t seem to see them that way. (That can matter.)
But we have never seen Linda pay Sal more than the most superficial attention, and then it was to scold her. And that is devastating to a child. Believe me when I say- based partly on my own experiences- that if the Walkerton’s interactions with Sal that we’ve seen are indicative of their behaviour throughout her life (and we can reasonably assume they are), Linda has done far, FAR more damage to Sal’s wellbeing than Charles. (And to follow up on Charles specifically, we don’t have enough knowledge to know what their early relationship was like- and I feel like that could vary hugely.)
I can understand but I still don’t agree. Charles giving her attention and insulting her to her face during it still doesn’t seem better to me.
Like I said above, I can understand him not seeing the racial implications but I don’t see how he can’t see saying things like ‘too bad’ about her hair can be hurtful. Sal having to give herself a pep talk before she goes to see them (again about her parentS plural) and her nervous freaking out smile at her dad don’t give me any hope for him.
I have separate hours for Carol, Toedad, Billingsworth Sr, Blaine, “Sir”, Naomi, and the Wilcoxen. Keeps a nice, organized schedule for my yelling at shitty parental figures. (Ryan gets a day devoted to him. It’s June 4th 😉 )
It’s one F, Walky. Do well in the others and it’ll ride. Trust me I’ve played the math sucks rodeo a few times. Better yet, find a degree that doesn’t require it.
I think Indiana University in Bloomington requires certain core courses. It seems the degree maps on the website are now password protected but when they weren’t, I recall that you always had to pick a math. It didn’t have to be intro to calculus though so maybe try an easier math, like Sarah did?
Walky’s problem isn’t that he’s bad at math. It’s that he doesn’t pay attention in class and doesn’t study. He’s never needed to, so he’s never developed the skills and habits.
Even putting the self-esteem issues aside, this isn’t a “math is hard” story. That’s just where it first cropped up. If he doesn’t deal with it, he’ll run into the same wall elsewhere later on. At some point, he actually has to learn to do the work.
True. My sister skated all through high school, so college was a rude awakening. I on the other hand haved sucked at math since they introduced multiplcation and was in special ed classes for pretty much ever, so studying was natural by the time college rolled round. I was genuinely surprised when people went into shock over studying when I was in TA hours eevery week. Didn’t pass math, but I did well in the others and my academic advisor helped me find a major where math need not apply. Tho I have a disability so that’s probably why she helped.
I often wish it wasn’t math he was struggling with, since it’s often perceived as the hard class and it’s easy to just assume the answer for him would be to not take the class.
He definitely needs to develop the study skills, but I feel like his going to the more advanced course right off my he bat (no problem he’s the Smart One) didn’t help. Probably missed out on things that could help him build on it. And if he’s responding by avoidance, that just doesn’t end well ever. He should be getting a sympathetic tutor, preferably one who can teach him basic study skills as well as the math, and possibly looking into learning disabilities if he makes an earnest effort there and still struggles, but if this keeps up? Drop the class, it’s not worth the downward spiral, and keep the tutoring. Buuuut that would be Walky making good life and academic choices. (Also worth noting: this particular section wasn’t worth it because neither the teacher nor the TA was anywhere near effective and the TA didn’t have basic student handling skills. But that would’ve been a ‘wish I realized this in the first week’ thing.)
eh, I first ran into this with english and social studies, and the perception (mine and my parents’) was that those were stupid classes that I wouldn’t have to bother with after high school, so just drag me up to a pass and everything will be fiiine 😛 (it wasn’t fine, but I was still smart enough to pass the uni math courses without studying, so I didn’t crash until I was working)
…then again, it wasn’t a studying problem, it was an output problem. the studying problem only became visible in my last year of uni, so it never got acknowledged at all.
Completely agree. I’ve never been a big fan of Walky (not that I wish him harm or anything), but I agree that he and Joyce haven’t endeared themselves to me either. (Especially Joyce, I think her last two scenes (if not the last and a recent one) just had me going “what the HELL?”)
I doubt his problems lie with an actual learning disability. Possibly some level of ADHD. Nor are they simple laziness either.
He’s always been able to get good grades without studying or even paying much attention in class. Now he can’t. He’s smart, but he’s hit the level of material he can’t just pick up without effort. Studying is a skill like any other and it’s one he’s never needed to learn. He probably doesn’t even realize it is something he needs to learn to do.
On top of that, his self esteem is tied up in the whole effortlessly smart thing. Even having to try is a challenge to his self-image.
Yeah, I think it’s mostly Gifted Kid Burnout and his own self-conception as the smart good kid. But at the same time I could definitely see a bit of ADHD that managed to go under the radar because ‘gifted kids don’t have learning disabilities’* (you see a fair bit of that, particularly with a parent like Linda, and there’s a serious problem with racial bias in diagnosing kids). That said, we haven’t seen him seriously try to take notes and have focus issues, and I don’t recall any executive dysfunction or the like. * Aware that ADHD isn’t classed as a learning disability, but as it does impact academics it gets a lot of the same stigmas in a school setting, especially since the stereotype is an elementary school aged kid, usually white and male. (At this rate I should change my username to ‘Ask Me About Disability In Academic Settings!’ or something.)
Feeling like a huge disappointment to my parents because I didn’t do well in college right from the start? Constantly failing everything and getting low-to-average grades after being hailed as a prodigy back in school? Why, it’s almost like I’m Walky (except I was never under the illusion that college would be easy and I got my low grades even after studying hard for my evaluations).
Like, maybe it’s the worst possible outcome his depressed mind can come up with for him, but I still imagine it being this entertaining show where he does passionate reviews of cartoons and stuff.
… wait, do you mean that there is 100% chance that he would talk about his poop during the podcast, or do you mean that he would spend 100% of the podcast talking about his poop?
… because as much as I hate to even think about it, I’m sure there’d be a niche for the latter and he might even be able to sell “buy me a dinner of your choice” as a patron perk.
839/22
On Episode 39 minute 3 of the series. I think that’s when they first foreshadowed that Dexter would be cloned. And it has the setup for one of the series best jokes that won’t payoff for another 78 seconds.
Aaaah yes. One failing grade means it’s all over, stop trying with everything, I am a sham not worth the oxygen I breathe. Been there. Wasn’t pleasant. And my parents were SUPPORTIVE during my mental breakdowns.
Walky: “A small liberal community where the sun is hot and mysterious aliens kidnap people while we are busy watching netflix. Welcome… to Indiana. Hello listeners.”
Walky is taking the rout of the coward. Doesn’t he know college costs a lot and his parents probably pain thousands of dollars? Also, I know I shouldn’t be angry at Walky. By what I see here Walky wasn’t really that much into academics and was only following the expectations of his perfectionist mother. Maybe Sal was right that their mother is kind of racist, and if not racist she favors Walky for being obedient and easy to shape intp a “perfect son”.
Maybe Walky could quit college and get a job that allows him to pay for a small apartment and chicken nuggets, but knowing the economy of the United States Walky should just quit his boring career and seek an academic career that is more interesting and less related to math, like animation, or liberal arts, or necromancy.
His mom plans on him being a doctor, no matter how suited he is to that career. If she spends loads of money on that plan without checking in with reality that her problem, not his.
He also obviously hasn’t checked in with reality often, else he might have come up with actually knowing what he wants, is good at and is willing to work for. That’s what comes from being the golden boy all the time.
I doubt he’ll actually drop out, but until he realizes his life won’t end if he fails the class (probably with outside help because that’s how you break these kinds of thought patterns), anxiety brain will take over and his anxiety brain is clearly of the avoidant category. I had to take an incomplete on three classes one semester and ended up failing the one because my anxiety had gotten so bad I couldn’t complete assignments, so I didn’t go to class, so eventually my professors all called Counseling who called my mom who drove up an hour on a Monday night because no one had seen me, I wasn’t answering my phone, and everyone was worried I might be dead. (Not my finest moment in mental health management.) Turns out once I took those incompletes and finished the class work, everything was fine. (Though thinking on it, that may have been in part because everyone was relieved I was in fact fine.) Also not helping: the massive expectations Linda has for him as her golden boy (she seriously thinks Walky’s gonna be a Doctor and that pressure was why he took an advanced math course in the first place, especially with his Gifted Kid expectations/defining of himself) and the knowledge of what she’s like when you fail her, with bonus racism. As a third thing not helping: I still don’t trust Jason when he said they were past the withdraw without issue date. Drop/add, certainly, but I could withdraw from classes up until near finals and we aren’t even at midterms. Sure, there is a W on your transcript, but it isn’t actually a mark against you or anything. Maybe IU’s got seriously different policy but it’s REALLY odd.
“Withdraw without issue” usually means “the class is removed from your permanent record, as if you never took the class in the first place, and you get a full refund for the money you spent enrolling in the class”. The W may not be an F, but it’s still a grade and you still owe the college money for taking the class.
Also, there’s no way Jason could have meant this, but I’m sure a W is worse than an F in Linda’s eyes.
True. Rechecking, what he said was ‘academic penalty’, though, which is separate from the financial matter. Linda would totally still be incensed, though. And as pointed out, Walky probably can salvage the class with an actually good tutor and effort on his part, I just worry about him spiraling from here and would rather him not.
Here’s another issue with that: How many credits is the math course? How many credits is Walky taking in total? Would he still be a full-time student if he dropped it?
That can matter for a lot of things, including whether you can live in the dorms.
Also true. (To the like, zero people who read these comment threads the day after.) I’m guessing based on no evidence whatsoever other than general college trends that he’s taking four courses and there’s probably enough credits there he could float it? But I don’t have that information. Then again, I doubt Jason did either when he gave that advice, and while I think it should be an option on the table for Walky, Jason definitely has a trend towards telling students (or at least Walky and Sal) they should drop as the first line. Which is yet another ‘Jason was a completely terrible teacher’ thing. Point is, Walky probably never got accurate information to make an informed decision with, and also he needs an all-around tutor and probably a session with the Counseling session and maybe his advisor.
Walky is taking the rout of the coward. Doesn’t he know college costs a lot and his parents probably pain thousands of dollars?
Funny, that is exactly what I tell myself whenever I get a bad grade or fail a course and I’m struggling with my intense self-loathing and my fear of disappointment my parents (replace the names, though). They’re not even bad people; they’re actually quite supportive and tell me not to worry about the money but somehow, that just makes it worse. What I’m trying to say is that it’s bizarre to see my inner thoughts put into words like that by someone else.
Same for me when I was in high school- I grew up in a really expensive private school. Except rather than being supportive when depression and anxiety made school life impossible, they (mostly my mom) would just hold the tuition over my head which would just make me do even worse
I think that, in some ways, Amber feels reassured that she isn’t the inhabitant of the biggest emotional sinkhole in the college! Seriously, Walky is in trouble here and needs help before he suddenly decides getting off the roof by climbing over the railings is the right way to solve his problems.
So how much do you guys want to bet Linda finds a way to blame Sal for this? I can see some sort of ‘You’re the oldest, you’re supposed to be helping’ or ‘Why do you have to drag your brother down to your level’ or god, even ‘maybe your grades were switched’ (especially if she finds out about her and Jason oh god).
Oh, I’m sure. ‘You were struggling until you found a tutor? Well why didn’t you tell Walky about that tutor?’ (Never mind that Danny was just some guy Sal knows being a good egg, never mind that Sal almost certainly doesn’t know Walky’s struggling or else she would’ve told him Jason was a dead end…) My bet’s on, once she gets the grade switching thing in her head, her pressuring the math department to do something and using her in with the dean to do it. Fuck Linda.
Well she can’t really use the “You Dragged him down to your level” line since Sal’s excelling. No the more likely outcome that will happen is she starts to feel that she bet all her chips on the wrong kid and switches favorites.
I find that unlikely. The sunk cost fallacy is a fallacy but it’s also super super common especially among families with favouritism.
Also ‘your level’ is meant to be a dig at Sal’s usual ‘poor’ performance (air quotes since I’m not sure we’re ever given an indication she’s had poor grades in the past) – she’s doing well now but Linda seems like the type not to be interested in anything unless it’s her golden baby boy’s honour roll status.
YEP. My sister was Walky in the sense of being the deadbeat who gets favorite treatment and is utterly convinced she deserves it (well early Walky not now Walky) and I was Sal in the sense of getting blamed for everything my sister did.
If Sal does well and Walky fails, they’ll either assume Sal cheated or accuse her of delighting in Walky’s struggle and wanting to sabotage him. Or she’ll ask Sal why she didn’t make Walky go to class and study.
Seriously when my sister flunked out the first time, Mom did for all the above. Also had me managing her money after the 4th time she blew what I would spend on living expenses in a year in two weeks (my rents are well off but not crazy rich so they actually took out a mortgage to cover my sib’s partying).
Sib has flunked out 4 more times since. Rents still cover her living expenses. Each flunk out was somehow my fault from 1000km away as is the fact that she hasn’t held a job for more than 2 months in her life. Never underestimate the power of favoritism to shield the Golden Child from consequences.
Would not be surprised. Especially if Captain Enableism tries to jusrify Linda’s BS by telling Sal they always had higher expectations of her because she was “more mature” or some shit. That is a very weasley way for a parent to manipulate a child into being complicit in/justifying their own neglect or abuse.
Hey, Walky, keep that chin up. Sure, your mom is overbearing, racist, doesn’t care what you want for yourself, and wishes you’d absorbed your sister in the womb. And that’s some awful stuff. But at least she didn’t marry the guy who abused you both, join in on that abuse, basically disown you the moment you protested, and go to every possible length to ensure you can never look her in the eye again without being overcome with an all-consuming rage and blacking out from hyperventilation.
When is someone gonna suggest he’s ADHD? Get that kid some Ritalin or Adderall. He checks a lot of the boxes, and I’ve read that for a lot of kids college ia where it all falls apart; when they need to determine their own structure for the first time.
I’m…not good at this part. I generally think of myself as a good listener, willing to hear people out and really listen as they talk about their troubles. But at some point some people talk like they’re in total despair and are just waiting for the axe to fall on their lives. And it feels totally wrong in every fiber of my being to just do nothing. Yet encouraging them builds resentment, resistance? What is one supposed to do?
It’s a difficult path to thread.
With some people, asking them to explain why whatever failure they met means the end of the world and encouraging them to explain in detail is sufficient to make them realize they are talking rubbish.
Some don’t listen to themselves when they talk and don’t notice they are talking out of a child’s perspective.
Some do and still cling to the TRUTH of it.
Some just need someone who accepts that this feel really bad and then can move on. It all depends.
Yeah sometimes people don’t want a fix it, they want a sympathetic ear (which I think is why Walky goes to Garbage Roof, cuz he’s allowed to be vulnerable there).
Some people want reassurance (Walky doesn’t seem to want it but many folks dealing with anxiety disorders want reassurance).
Some just need to bleed it out and vent.
And a minority genuinely want to troubleshoot and help in solving the problem.
The problem is that a lot of people with problem-oriented personalities like me mistake the last group of people for everyone.
Nowadays if someone starts venting at me, I just straight-out ask them, “Are you looking for reassurance, a sympathetic ear, or troubleshooting here?” Most friends of mine know I suck at the whole nonverbal communication thing so they know I’m sincere with it and that way I don’t add to the stress of someone by trying to troubleshoot when they’re looking for reassurance or what have you.
Reading the comments I noticed someone incorrectly said Walky had a learning disability.
It’s demonstratably untrue, but considering how Walky acts and his obvious skipping I kinda want that to be the assumption of his floormates.
Just imagine Linda’s face when she finds out.
At the very least there should be at least one guy who considers Walky the previously repressed kid whose going to OD before Winter Break. (Again not true, but he’s spent all the time we’ve seen him, he’s skipping class, eating McDonald’s, watching cartoons, and/or banging).
Actually, it’s still not “demonstrably untrue”. It’s not likely and there’s been little if any evidence shown, but it’s not unheard of for smart kids to do well despite some kinds of learning disabilities, even undiagnosed ones.
Loading ...
“or worse yet, a webcomic”
Too old school. These days it’s “he has a start up”, no?
He’s going to disrupt the vending machine industry with his new Nachitos delivery service, Chypp. For a mere $20 per month you have access to an app that lets you summon a”contractor” to deliver you a bag of Nachitos, wherever you are, whenever you want. You can also sign up as a delivery courier “contractor” and get paid to simply deliver bags of chips! Who cares about the logistics of distributing the wholesale goods, that’s the Old Way of thinking about business. $50mil in venture capital, please!
No cryptocurrency? Walkoins?
NachitoCoin
A youtube channel where he makes slime.
As someone who A. failed out of college (for the third year, after multiple appeals) in April and B. is planning on starting a webcomic, this hits a little closer to home than I was expecting today.
I feel this lately, and I own my own house and shit
then again, if I can’t pay the mortgage anymore and have to move back in with my parents, at least there’s a cat there
Man, I worry that they won’t be able to pay the mortgages.
^ Man, same. I have my own house and mortgage to pay, and then I look over at my parents who are still paying off theirs after putting three kids through college.
I dream of being rich some day so I can pay all their shit off for them, because literally the only way they would accept it would be if I had more money that I knew what to do with. And even then…
I swear, when I first loaded this page your comment was first (and the only one at all, no less). Now it’s second?
…there are some time shenanigans going on here.
This website hates Wack’d and so I have to manually approve all his posts.
I guess you could say that for him, the website is…whacked?
…I’ll show myself out.
You whacked that one right outta the park!
..and then it bounced off a tree, flew back in, and hit you right in the face.
..I’m so glad to finally have someone to commiserate with.
Walky needs to get out more. Get a job, find some personal successes outside of grades
LARPing, Magic, a club of magicians that want to be taken seriously, a girlfriend that doesn’t look like Dorothy and Brunette Dorothy, following tumblr pages of Dexter and Monkey Master, proving to Joyce that he isn’t stupid, attend Indiana’s equivalent of comic con, join antifa, get kicked out of antifa, buy a Bible and throw it at Billie, join a Hamilton fan play, prank Joyce and make her believe God made evolution through the crappy Noah movie of 2013, etc.
But at the same time – put in a bit of work, figure out how to study, don’t fail out.
Other hobbies are great. Not tying all your self-esteem up in getting good grades without effort is great. Not failing out of school is also a good thing.
Oh yes. It’s almost a cliche where the Favored Child doesn’t turn out like Mom & Dad’s expectations predicted. Walky’s just gotten that he’s a grown man now, and his parents are too busy deluding themselves over Linda’s plans and how they’re all that matters (guaranteed not to suffer from a lack of actual parenting!) to be of any real help with this.
Oh, huh, is it Fuck You Linda Walkerton O’Clock already?
It’s a trick question. In my world it is ALWAYS Fuck You Linda Walkerton O’Clock.
I’m still wondering where Charles fits into this. He’s complicit to some degree, but Walky definitely fears his mom more, while Sal seems to put equal blame on both of their parents.
Charles strikes me as
A) More subtle. His digs are the kind of thing you’d either need to have experience with or think about for a second to notice.
B) Charles will keep talking to you through disappointment while Linda either gets really mad or stops talking to you.
C) Less focused on specific kinds of success. Linda has a lot riding on Walky being a doctor or lawyer or something. Charles insults Sal to her face but doesn’t seem to have any particular career plans. So yes, Linda is going to flip her lid. Charles probably won’t. He might make a few digs to Walky’s face but it’ll be with a smile and concerned tone and it’ll take a minute or two for Walky to even notice ‘That’s…really not a compliment’.
Plus, Walky’s seen how they handle being mad or disappointed in Sal, even if he spent a long time not knowing why. Now that that shoe’s on the other foot, he thinks that’s going to be him.
Huh. that sounds a lot like my dad. MY mum is the opposite, she is all love and concern and protection to teh point it may have been a bit harmful to my development.
Yeah, the Walkertons are a piece of work.
I’m betting Linda is the one who puts the academic pressure/discipline/scorn of failure combo on for the most part, while Charles is more hands-off but was still going along with all of Sal’s punishments. Plus we know he makes rather backhanded, super racially-loaded comments about Sal’s hair, wouldn’t be surprised if there were other moments of him ‘encouraging’ her to do things like that.
Yeah, Linda seems more ‘blatant/undeniable’ when she’s mad but Charles is more subtle and says his shitty things with a smile and a nice tone.
Hrmm. Okay, so, back when this conversation last happened I was not a regular commenter or even a “Comment-reader” but I kinda sorta maybe remember that there was this problem in the comment section a few years ago about Walky’s parents and racism? Anyone mind linking me to that or explaining it?
Linda and Charles are racist, specifically in the way of treating traits like kinky hair badly and probably associating it with being disobedient, difficult, etc. So they treated Sal like that which, obviously, led her to push back against them, so they cracked down more and we can see a vicious cycle here. This also leads to things like reacting more angrily to Sal when Walky does the same thing (see the strip with them auditioning for the Joyce strip – Linda yells at Sal while she calls Walky) and giving Walky opportunities they don’t give Sal (see: Linda picking Walky to audition) as well as generally favouring him while insulting traits Sal has that he lacks (see: Charles insulting her hair to her face). Sal also identifies more as black while Walky calls himself ‘beige’ (not uncommon among infants where one is lighter or fits better with mainstream Western – i.e. predominantly white – culture. The lighter one tends to call themselves mixed or beige or something along those lines while the darker one tends to call themselves black).
Don’t know about comment thread, but the supporting evidence in the comic itself started about here:
http://www.dumbingofage.com/2013/comic/book-3/04-just-hangin-out-with-my-family/princess/
Well, that’s when she first straight out says it. The first time it’s suggested, it’s when Walky says Sal ids as black while he’s ‘generically beige’ and the second time it’s when Charles insults Sal’s hair.
Anyway, point being: you can be mixed-race and still subconsciously say/do negative things that are racially charged, due to your own biases.
In Charles’ case, I really doubt he’s fully conscious of the implication of the comment about Sal’s hair. He doesn’t seem motivated to make her feel badly, but he *is* being shittily unaware of the impact on her.
(Was wording that last before you wrote your reply.)
There are levels of shitty here, for sure. Humanity’s overall shittiness is a spectrum. The Walkertons, in this case, have failed to provide adequate support for one of their children and given the other some complexes, but TBH, I feel like no parents IRL are perfect and we all have to undo baggage like this sooner or later.
I would argue that they’ve crossed the line from merely ‘imperfect’ and into abusive. At the very least, they’re guilty of emotional neglect with Sal.
Linda I would absolutely categorise as abusive. Charles, we don’t have enough information.
I tend to categorize him as such too because almost everything Sal says is her parentS plural. And we know he did things like not speak to her while she was at school (so like…5 years of not talking to her?) That’s still definitely emotional neglect.
I can see him not understanding the racially specific issues with what he said, but I find it hard to believe he couldn’t see how saying ‘Too bad’ to his daughter’s new hairstyle could be hurtful.
Especially since she makes it clear straightening requires an appointment and I’m pretty sure she implies it’s a long one. (Plus, money, college student.) Since she was at boarding school for so long I can see him being oblivious to the commitment it is (even though, if I’m remembering right, Walky isn’t), but straightening that much hair is pretty obviously more intensive than just, like, a simple ponytail versus down. (And it would still be shitty to say ‘oh I don’t like ponytails’.)
Doubly especially since he didn’t actually know whether she likes her hair that way now or not. He just said he noticed it was curly, she said ‘It just kinda happened’ and he said ‘Too bad.’ Like, on what level is that not a crappy reaction? And yeah, Walky said she murders the curls out of her hair – and even if Charles doesn’t know what a commitment it is initially, Sal straight up tells him ‘It’s gonna take hours’. It was why she couldn’t stay with her family.
Yeah, all fair points. It’s not like I’m giving him a pass or anything. I’m only saying it’s relatably human in that it’s a thing humans do until we can identify what we’re doing wrong and learn to be better. Which, at his age, he really should have already.
Walky and Sal’s relationship to their parents reminds me eerily of IRL ones I’ve seen, and that’s the reason I feel complexly.
I get that, I just have a lot of thoughts on the Walkertons and all the ways they suck in regards to their kids.
Well, I think she scheduled the hair appointment for that time on purpose so as to avoid spending time with her family. It must be hard not to hate Walky after a day of being put down while his ass is polished to a golden sheen.
Though given the effort she was making, I suspect she would have dropped the appointment in a flash if they hadn’t treated her like she knew they were going to.
It went on several times. You’ll find it in the parents’ day arc and where Walky gets a care packet, the one for Billie was smaller and the one for Sal minute.
And the one for Dorothy existed.
Okay, I’ve worked out what my feelings and thoughts were when I was “defending” Charles compared to Linda. (Note that I never said he was a good parent.)
The thing is, ignoring a child is awful. It does more damage than many might think. I’m sure most people heard of some kid acting up for attention- that is a very real thing that children do, because if they don’t get positive attention they will absolutely seek negative attention because it’s better- especially from parents- than nothing. (Note that a child needs more than superficial attention too- just acknowledging their existence won’t fulfil their needs.)
Charles immediately gave Sal attention. It seemed to be well-meaning attention too- he seemed happy to see her, and yes his comments on her hair were problematic but he didn’t seem to see them that way. (That can matter.)
But we have never seen Linda pay Sal more than the most superficial attention, and then it was to scold her. And that is devastating to a child. Believe me when I say- based partly on my own experiences- that if the Walkerton’s interactions with Sal that we’ve seen are indicative of their behaviour throughout her life (and we can reasonably assume they are), Linda has done far, FAR more damage to Sal’s wellbeing than Charles. (And to follow up on Charles specifically, we don’t have enough knowledge to know what their early relationship was like- and I feel like that could vary hugely.)
I can understand but I still don’t agree. Charles giving her attention and insulting her to her face during it still doesn’t seem better to me.
Like I said above, I can understand him not seeing the racial implications but I don’t see how he can’t see saying things like ‘too bad’ about her hair can be hurtful. Sal having to give herself a pep talk before she goes to see them (again about her parentS plural) and her nervous freaking out smile at her dad don’t give me any hope for him.
I have separate hours for Carol, Toedad, Billingsworth Sr, Blaine, “Sir”, Naomi, and the Wilcoxen. Keeps a nice, organized schedule for my yelling at shitty parental figures. (Ryan gets a day devoted to him. It’s June 4th 😉 )
Reasonable! I’ve always got room to say ‘fuck those guys’ too.
Can we just have the Ruttens adopt everyone? They can afford it, apparently.
Or at least be their ‘friend’s cool parents’ who provide the team parent role?
I think some of us, myself included at times, may have been overestimating Walky’s ignorance. He’s very aware of his situation, painfully so.
Not sure if you read original Walkyverse, but that’s basically his character to the letter.
It’s amazing how Willis grows these characters while keeping to their core truths.
feeling like a huge disappointment. im still kinda there.
He’s finally admitting everything I ever wanted to hear… I hate it. Damn you Willis and your monkeys paw of writing.
The world needs more Dexter and Monkey Master podcasts anyway. I checked podbean, and couldn’t find a single one.
I feel personally attacked by this strip
Do you even go here?
Meredith is still off to the corner smoking weed like “Pfft. Bad grades? Failing classes? Parental disappointment? Been there done that.”
Hey, maybe she’s got straight A’s, you don’t know her story.
Smoking weed on the roof is a daring and innovative performance art piece.
…. how is it innovative, again?
Stuff that’s forbidden seems innovative at that age.
Some people never grow out of it.
It’s one F, Walky. Do well in the others and it’ll ride. Trust me I’ve played the math sucks rodeo a few times. Better yet, find a degree that doesn’t require it.
I think Indiana University in Bloomington requires certain core courses. It seems the degree maps on the website are now password protected but when they weren’t, I recall that you always had to pick a math. It didn’t have to be intro to calculus though so maybe try an easier math, like Sarah did?
And they’re in calculus? My school didn’t let you skip, you HAD to pass intermediate algebra first. Guess thisvis why.
Walky’s problem isn’t that he’s bad at math. It’s that he doesn’t pay attention in class and doesn’t study. He’s never needed to, so he’s never developed the skills and habits.
Even putting the self-esteem issues aside, this isn’t a “math is hard” story. That’s just where it first cropped up. If he doesn’t deal with it, he’ll run into the same wall elsewhere later on. At some point, he actually has to learn to do the work.
True. My sister skated all through high school, so college was a rude awakening. I on the other hand haved sucked at math since they introduced multiplcation and was in special ed classes for pretty much ever, so studying was natural by the time college rolled round. I was genuinely surprised when people went into shock over studying when I was in TA hours eevery week. Didn’t pass math, but I did well in the others and my academic advisor helped me find a major where math need not apply. Tho I have a disability so that’s probably why she helped.
I often wish it wasn’t math he was struggling with, since it’s often perceived as the hard class and it’s easy to just assume the answer for him would be to not take the class.
He definitely needs to develop the study skills, but I feel like his going to the more advanced course right off my he bat (no problem he’s the Smart One) didn’t help. Probably missed out on things that could help him build on it. And if he’s responding by avoidance, that just doesn’t end well ever. He should be getting a sympathetic tutor, preferably one who can teach him basic study skills as well as the math, and possibly looking into learning disabilities if he makes an earnest effort there and still struggles, but if this keeps up? Drop the class, it’s not worth the downward spiral, and keep the tutoring. Buuuut that would be Walky making good life and academic choices. (Also worth noting: this particular section wasn’t worth it because neither the teacher nor the TA was anywhere near effective and the TA didn’t have basic student handling skills. But that would’ve been a ‘wish I realized this in the first week’ thing.)
eh, I first ran into this with english and social studies, and the perception (mine and my parents’) was that those were stupid classes that I wouldn’t have to bother with after high school, so just drag me up to a pass and everything will be fiiine 😛 (it wasn’t fine, but I was still smart enough to pass the uni math courses without studying, so I didn’t crash until I was working)
…then again, it wasn’t a studying problem, it was an output problem. the studying problem only became visible in my last year of uni, so it never got acknowledged at all.
I’ll sympathize with Walky, but it doesn’t mean I have to like him. Him and Joyce just have not been endearing themselves to me as of late.
Completely agree. I’ve never been a big fan of Walky (not that I wish him harm or anything), but I agree that he and Joyce haven’t endeared themselves to me either. (Especially Joyce, I think her last two scenes (if not the last and a recent one) just had me going “what the HELL?”)
oh no not my sweet bb boi
well, I guess if you’re going down, you go down with revenge?
Better yet, go down on revenge.
Walky, you need to stop tying your grades to your self worth.
It can’t be helped when most schools imprint this on their students.
He needs to start working. Freshman maths is not hard.
He needs to grow up (hopefully thats his arc here) and stop acting like a drama queen
I guess that’s his aim with trying to get his former math instructor tof instruct him on being a man. But I bet he’s on a bit of a learning curve.
If thats the case he’d better suited becoming friends with Jacob and if hes not available then Danny or Joe
He needs to take his problems studying to someone equipped to diagnose and address learning disabilities.
I think his studying problems more lie with him being extremely lazy.
I doubt his problems lie with an actual learning disability. Possibly some level of ADHD. Nor are they simple laziness either.
He’s always been able to get good grades without studying or even paying much attention in class. Now he can’t. He’s smart, but he’s hit the level of material he can’t just pick up without effort. Studying is a skill like any other and it’s one he’s never needed to learn. He probably doesn’t even realize it is something he needs to learn to do.
On top of that, his self esteem is tied up in the whole effortlessly smart thing. Even having to try is a challenge to his self-image.
Yeah, I think it’s mostly Gifted Kid Burnout and his own self-conception as the smart good kid. But at the same time I could definitely see a bit of ADHD that managed to go under the radar because ‘gifted kids don’t have learning disabilities’* (you see a fair bit of that, particularly with a parent like Linda, and there’s a serious problem with racial bias in diagnosing kids). That said, we haven’t seen him seriously try to take notes and have focus issues, and I don’t recall any executive dysfunction or the like. * Aware that ADHD isn’t classed as a learning disability, but as it does impact academics it gets a lot of the same stigmas in a school setting, especially since the stereotype is an elementary school aged kid, usually white and male. (At this rate I should change my username to ‘Ask Me About Disability In Academic Settings!’ or something.)
Oh gosh, I remember this feel. Damn you, Willis, let me give this kid a hug!
……..
….. that sounded suspiciously like a request for plushy merch.
Feeling like a huge disappointment to my parents because I didn’t do well in college right from the start? Constantly failing everything and getting low-to-average grades after being hailed as a prodigy back in school? Why, it’s almost like I’m Walky (except I was never under the illusion that college would be easy and I got my low grades even after studying hard for my evaluations).
*the Tom Petty jam continues*
I would totally listen to whatever podcast Walky put out.
Yeah!
Like, maybe it’s the worst possible outcome his depressed mind can come up with for him, but I still imagine it being this entertaining show where he does passionate reviews of cartoons and stuff.
It would 100% involve talking about his bowel movements.
… wait, do you mean that there is 100% chance that he would talk about his poop during the podcast, or do you mean that he would spend 100% of the podcast talking about his poop?
… because as much as I hate to even think about it, I’m sure there’d be a niche for the latter and he might even be able to sell “buy me a dinner of your choice” as a patron perk.
So is Meredith still there, out of frame, while this conversation is happening?
She was at the beginning of this strip, then she just slowly walked away when she realized things were gonna get depressing.
They are harshing her buzz.
I like to think so.
Walky would be a quarter of the way through episode 76.
Right in the feels…
…I didn’t authorize this autobiography 😐
839/22
On Episode 39 minute 3 of the series. I think that’s when they first foreshadowed that Dexter would be cloned. And it has the setup for one of the series best jokes that won’t payoff for another 78 seconds.
Aaaah yes. One failing grade means it’s all over, stop trying with everything, I am a sham not worth the oxygen I breathe. Been there. Wasn’t pleasant. And my parents were SUPPORTIVE during my mental breakdowns.
Same, but three failed grades.
It would make him at least a thousand dollars a month on Patreon.
Walky: “A small liberal community where the sun is hot and mysterious aliens kidnap people while we are busy watching netflix. Welcome… to Indiana. Hello listeners.”
Walky is taking the rout of the coward. Doesn’t he know college costs a lot and his parents probably pain thousands of dollars? Also, I know I shouldn’t be angry at Walky. By what I see here Walky wasn’t really that much into academics and was only following the expectations of his perfectionist mother. Maybe Sal was right that their mother is kind of racist, and if not racist she favors Walky for being obedient and easy to shape intp a “perfect son”.
Maybe Walky could quit college and get a job that allows him to pay for a small apartment and chicken nuggets, but knowing the economy of the United States Walky should just quit his boring career and seek an academic career that is more interesting and less related to math, like animation, or liberal arts, or necromancy.
His mom plans on him being a doctor, no matter how suited he is to that career. If she spends loads of money on that plan without checking in with reality that her problem, not his.
He also obviously hasn’t checked in with reality often, else he might have come up with actually knowing what he wants, is good at and is willing to work for. That’s what comes from being the golden boy all the time.
I doubt he’ll actually drop out, but until he realizes his life won’t end if he fails the class (probably with outside help because that’s how you break these kinds of thought patterns), anxiety brain will take over and his anxiety brain is clearly of the avoidant category. I had to take an incomplete on three classes one semester and ended up failing the one because my anxiety had gotten so bad I couldn’t complete assignments, so I didn’t go to class, so eventually my professors all called Counseling who called my mom who drove up an hour on a Monday night because no one had seen me, I wasn’t answering my phone, and everyone was worried I might be dead. (Not my finest moment in mental health management.) Turns out once I took those incompletes and finished the class work, everything was fine. (Though thinking on it, that may have been in part because everyone was relieved I was in fact fine.) Also not helping: the massive expectations Linda has for him as her golden boy (she seriously thinks Walky’s gonna be a Doctor and that pressure was why he took an advanced math course in the first place, especially with his Gifted Kid expectations/defining of himself) and the knowledge of what she’s like when you fail her, with bonus racism. As a third thing not helping: I still don’t trust Jason when he said they were past the withdraw without issue date. Drop/add, certainly, but I could withdraw from classes up until near finals and we aren’t even at midterms. Sure, there is a W on your transcript, but it isn’t actually a mark against you or anything. Maybe IU’s got seriously different policy but it’s REALLY odd.
“Withdraw without issue” usually means “the class is removed from your permanent record, as if you never took the class in the first place, and you get a full refund for the money you spent enrolling in the class”. The W may not be an F, but it’s still a grade and you still owe the college money for taking the class.
Also, there’s no way Jason could have meant this, but I’m sure a W is worse than an F in Linda’s eyes.
True. Rechecking, what he said was ‘academic penalty’, though, which is separate from the financial matter. Linda would totally still be incensed, though. And as pointed out, Walky probably can salvage the class with an actually good tutor and effort on his part, I just worry about him spiraling from here and would rather him not.
Here’s another issue with that: How many credits is the math course? How many credits is Walky taking in total? Would he still be a full-time student if he dropped it?
That can matter for a lot of things, including whether you can live in the dorms.
Also true. (To the like, zero people who read these comment threads the day after.) I’m guessing based on no evidence whatsoever other than general college trends that he’s taking four courses and there’s probably enough credits there he could float it? But I don’t have that information. Then again, I doubt Jason did either when he gave that advice, and while I think it should be an option on the table for Walky, Jason definitely has a trend towards telling students (or at least Walky and Sal) they should drop as the first line. Which is yet another ‘Jason was a completely terrible teacher’ thing. Point is, Walky probably never got accurate information to make an informed decision with, and also he needs an all-around tutor and probably a session with the Counseling session and maybe his advisor.
Well, I didn’t read it the day after, but I did read it the day after the day after, so, I guess you were right.
Walky is taking the rout of the coward. Doesn’t he know college costs a lot and his parents probably pain thousands of dollars?
Funny, that is exactly what I tell myself whenever I get a bad grade or fail a course and I’m struggling with my intense self-loathing and my fear of disappointment my parents (replace the names, though). They’re not even bad people; they’re actually quite supportive and tell me not to worry about the money but somehow, that just makes it worse. What I’m trying to say is that it’s bizarre to see my inner thoughts put into words like that by someone else.
I was rather relieved when I started paying for myself. I didn’t depend on my mom. Still was stressful af but at least there was that.
Same for me when I was in high school- I grew up in a really expensive private school. Except rather than being supportive when depression and anxiety made school life impossible, they (mostly my mom) would just hold the tuition over my head which would just make me do even worse
I am sorry for wording it like that. I have failed classes like Walky did, and this is why I find it relatable.
Yeah, got the vibe from your other comments it’s a ‘too relatable’ thing.
Relatable Walky moods.
Poor little mouse boy 🙁
It’s like WTF I’m in a different world now.
My sympathies to Walky.
Hey, at least Walky hasn’t gone through four years to get a college degree only to end up working in retail.
He’s been “the good one” for so long he doesn’t know how to perform any other role. 🙁
Your sister’s up there dude.
Keep talkin and she’s bound to throw out support.
Can’t read this without be reminded of my own short committings. *Sigh* Fuck man that blows.
Not everyone can be tall.
Not with that attitude.
I think that, in some ways, Amber feels reassured that she isn’t the inhabitant of the biggest emotional sinkhole in the college! Seriously, Walky is in trouble here and needs help before he suddenly decides getting off the roof by climbing over the railings is the right way to solve his problems.
I’m going through something like this right now. What’s worse is I’m in my late 30s. So I can’t promise things will get better, Walky.
So how much do you guys want to bet Linda finds a way to blame Sal for this? I can see some sort of ‘You’re the oldest, you’re supposed to be helping’ or ‘Why do you have to drag your brother down to your level’ or god, even ‘maybe your grades were switched’ (especially if she finds out about her and Jason oh god).
Oh, I’m sure. ‘You were struggling until you found a tutor? Well why didn’t you tell Walky about that tutor?’ (Never mind that Danny was just some guy Sal knows being a good egg, never mind that Sal almost certainly doesn’t know Walky’s struggling or else she would’ve told him Jason was a dead end…) My bet’s on, once she gets the grade switching thing in her head, her pressuring the math department to do something and using her in with the dean to do it. Fuck Linda.
That bit about the tutor sounds most likely.
Well she can’t really use the “You Dragged him down to your level” line since Sal’s excelling. No the more likely outcome that will happen is she starts to feel that she bet all her chips on the wrong kid and switches favorites.
I find that unlikely. The sunk cost fallacy is a fallacy but it’s also super super common especially among families with favouritism.
Also ‘your level’ is meant to be a dig at Sal’s usual ‘poor’ performance (air quotes since I’m not sure we’re ever given an indication she’s had poor grades in the past) – she’s doing well now but Linda seems like the type not to be interested in anything unless it’s her golden baby boy’s honour roll status.
YEP. My sister was Walky in the sense of being the deadbeat who gets favorite treatment and is utterly convinced she deserves it (well early Walky not now Walky) and I was Sal in the sense of getting blamed for everything my sister did.
If Sal does well and Walky fails, they’ll either assume Sal cheated or accuse her of delighting in Walky’s struggle and wanting to sabotage him. Or she’ll ask Sal why she didn’t make Walky go to class and study.
Seriously when my sister flunked out the first time, Mom did for all the above. Also had me managing her money after the 4th time she blew what I would spend on living expenses in a year in two weeks (my rents are well off but not crazy rich so they actually took out a mortgage to cover my sib’s partying).
Sib has flunked out 4 more times since. Rents still cover her living expenses. Each flunk out was somehow my fault from 1000km away as is the fact that she hasn’t held a job for more than 2 months in her life. Never underestimate the power of favoritism to shield the Golden Child from consequences.
Hmm, wonder if the thing with Jason will come out in some context like that. Cause that would be nasty.
Would not be surprised. Especially if Captain Enableism tries to jusrify Linda’s BS by telling Sal they always had higher expectations of her because she was “more mature” or some shit. That is a very weasley way for a parent to manipulate a child into being complicit in/justifying their own neglect or abuse.
Yeah, all of this is things I’m worried about. And of course *appropriate gestures of support*
Hey, Walky, keep that chin up. Sure, your mom is overbearing, racist, doesn’t care what you want for yourself, and wishes you’d absorbed your sister in the womb. And that’s some awful stuff. But at least she didn’t marry the guy who abused you both, join in on that abuse, basically disown you the moment you protested, and go to every possible length to ensure you can never look her in the eye again without being overcome with an all-consuming rage and blacking out from hyperventilation.
So, there’s always that.
When is someone gonna suggest he’s ADHD? Get that kid some Ritalin or Adderall. He checks a lot of the boxes, and I’ve read that for a lot of kids college ia where it all falls apart; when they need to determine their own structure for the first time.
I’m…not good at this part. I generally think of myself as a good listener, willing to hear people out and really listen as they talk about their troubles. But at some point some people talk like they’re in total despair and are just waiting for the axe to fall on their lives. And it feels totally wrong in every fiber of my being to just do nothing. Yet encouraging them builds resentment, resistance? What is one supposed to do?
It’s a difficult path to thread.
With some people, asking them to explain why whatever failure they met means the end of the world and encouraging them to explain in detail is sufficient to make them realize they are talking rubbish.
Some don’t listen to themselves when they talk and don’t notice they are talking out of a child’s perspective.
Some do and still cling to the TRUTH of it.
Some just need someone who accepts that this feel really bad and then can move on. It all depends.
Yeah sometimes people don’t want a fix it, they want a sympathetic ear (which I think is why Walky goes to Garbage Roof, cuz he’s allowed to be vulnerable there).
Some people want reassurance (Walky doesn’t seem to want it but many folks dealing with anxiety disorders want reassurance).
Some just need to bleed it out and vent.
And a minority genuinely want to troubleshoot and help in solving the problem.
The problem is that a lot of people with problem-oriented personalities like me mistake the last group of people for everyone.
Nowadays if someone starts venting at me, I just straight-out ask them, “Are you looking for reassurance, a sympathetic ear, or troubleshooting here?” Most friends of mine know I suck at the whole nonverbal communication thing so they know I’m sincere with it and that way I don’t add to the stress of someone by trying to troubleshoot when they’re looking for reassurance or what have you.
Hugs.
…assuming there is consent, that is. don’t force hugs on people, that’s just gross.
David McElroy
Damn, Walky.
So Amber and Walky are gonna doink, right?
I hope not
TOO REAL WILLIS
And this is why he needs someone like Dotty in his life xD. He’s just like me which is really fucking weird.
Reading the comments I noticed someone incorrectly said Walky had a learning disability.
It’s demonstratably untrue, but considering how Walky acts and his obvious skipping I kinda want that to be the assumption of his floormates.
Just imagine Linda’s face when she finds out.
At the very least there should be at least one guy who considers Walky the previously repressed kid whose going to OD before Winter Break. (Again not true, but he’s spent all the time we’ve seen him, he’s skipping class, eating McDonald’s, watching cartoons, and/or banging).
demonstrably untrue? wtf? there are loads of people that suspect walky has ADHD because his behaviour matches their *own* experiences with it.
…oh. TIL ADHD is not considered a learning disability.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learning_disability#Contrast_with_other_conditions
Actually, it’s still not “demonstrably untrue”. It’s not likely and there’s been little if any evidence shown, but it’s not unheard of for smart kids to do well despite some kinds of learning disabilities, even undiagnosed ones.
So we will see Walky join Meredith in setting up an enterprise to offer Glaucoma Medication to an eager nation. That will satisfy his mom.
Yikes, this is too close to Home.
Gorram. Walky is basically me, my first two years of college. Crashed and burned at the University of Minnesota before retreating home.
…i won’t check Apple Podcast app for Monkey Master Minute… ‘eyes phone longingly’