Do kids really think "OMG"? I know it stands for "Oh, my God," but does Dawn? When I was a kid, if I ever said, "Oh, my God" out loud, my mother would patiently and kindly tell me that I had hurt her feelings. Her gentleness was very effective. She would sometimes remind me that saying "Oh my God" was using the Lord's name in vain, and because she loved God ("He is my friend"), she wanted to keep his commandments and wanted her children to do so too. Never wanting to intentionally hurt my mother, I really worked at not using the Lord's name in vain even though all my friends did. So the repeated use of "OMG" in yesterday's and today's strips actually makes me a little bit sad, thinking of how it would disappoint my mother. Of course, I don't know if it would offend Wilbur. Or anyone else on the planet. But then you don't know my Mom who is still the kindest woman on earth.
20 comments:
Worth it for Dawn's Face of Stark Realisation, though.
Wanders, I figure Dawn says internally “oh-em-gee” and never wonders about what it means. Religion doesn’t figure much in this strip. The only vaguely religious incident I remember is Mary dropping off muffins for a bake sale at St. Anne’s Church several years ago. That was the first and last time St. Anne’s came up.
The more Dawn hears from Wilbur, the more her neck stretches. The top of her head might scrape the ceiling soon. Are there any more romance-gone-wrong escapades Wilbur can relate? Something that happened on that island, or in the course of his travels for Survivor Stories? This IS Wilbur, after all.
Very nice words about your Mom, Wanders. I feel the exact same way about mine, God rest her soul.
-- Scottie McW.
Wanders, that is a nice tribute to your mother. I do hope she doesn't stumble upon your secret message today.
To inconsiderate, careless, untruthful, and fickle, we can now add blasphemous. Nice work, Dawn.
Quick, Dawn, call Progressive's Dr. Rick and download "A Guide to Un-Becoming Your Parents." (BTW you ACTUALLY can download this to your Kindle or Cloud Reader for FREE. Check a certain South American Large River website. It's hilarious!)
Dawn looks like a floating head with a tenuous attachment to a tiny body.
I'm not convinced that Dawn's reaction is due to Wilbur's revelations. It may be that that three-week old chili just kicked in.
HelenClark
I love the quotation from a "proverb", "The apple doesn't fall far from the tree". Blunt and almost snarky. Could it be that KM is as annoyed with Wilbur and Dawn as we are? As for "OMG", I have never liked that text-derived acronym, mostly due to its' trendiness. Of course, I also despise the misuse of the word "awesome" for the same reason. Still, I KNOW MY mom would definitely not have approved of my ever using the phrase "Oh, my God!" in any form. I'm really glad you brought this up, M. Wanders. Gave me a sense of grounding. Thanks to your mom.
When idiots engage in introspection, there's a good chance their observations will be idiotic.
LouiseF: I have detested the mis-use of "awesome" ever since the practice started back in the Eighties. The word is supposed to refer to something that inspires awe, such as the glories of the cosmos, or if you're into that sort of thing, (Oh My) God.
It is no better to have "awesome" replaced by "epic." No, the latest cheap pop song composed by an algorithm and sung by someone who needs to be auto-tuned is nothing like the works of Homer.
I just have to remind myself that in my youth we called pop songs fabulous when they did not resemble anything from a fable.
Wanders, LouiseF, Jana C.H. I agree with all of you about the use of OMG, awesome, and pretty much every other text-derived acronym that I've come across. I promised myself ages ago, that if I ever find myself writing "lol" then it's time for the dirt nap.
HelenClark
"Awesome" calls back to a Lucy script:
Percy Livermore : We must rid our speech of slang. Now, besides "OK", I want you all to promise me that there are two words that you will never use. One of these is "swell" and the other one is "lousy".
Lucy Ricardo : OK, what are they?
Percy Livermore : [with emphasis] One of them is "swell" and the other one is "lousy".
Fred Mertz : Well, give us the lousy one first.
OMFG
SPOILER ALERT: my god is Zeus.
Anonymous@4:30. That one is the worst. I hope Wanders deletes your comment.
My mom didn't like us using God's (or Jesus') name in vain either.
Dawn looks shell shocked in that panel.
Classic
My mother had the same sentiments. We were only occasionally allowed to use Gosh. Mom's reasoning was, we should expand our vocabulary and find more creative expressions, ones that didn't offend anyone's spiritual sensibilities.
Side note: Are they eating salad with spoons?
I used to run a community movie night. One time, I showed RKO281, a movie about the making of Citizen Kane. Well, one of the characters must have said “oh my God” or “God damn” because I got an e-mail from an audience member the next day saying it had personally offended them. “It’s like hearing someone make fun of your best friend,” she said.
My daughter, age 6, often says "OMG" (as in literally spells it out). Pretty sure she picked it up from Youtube. She does not know or care what God is.
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