I would like to put aside my usual commentary for today’s comic to make a couple of personal notes. The above comic has absolutely nothing to do with any of this. It was just a funny exchange of absurdity I wrote up on Thursday, long before any of this mess started. The comic is not, in any way, a jab at anyone but this fictional character’s own cynicism.
There has been some mess (caused entirely by me) in my professional/personal life, mostly involving the way in which the two clashed. Unexpectedly, It Gets Worser has been used by some persons in an attempt to damage my career. Specifically, it seems the Christmas Special has become quite unpopular.
I want to make a few notes to address this.
- This comic has absolutely nothing to do with how I function in my day job. Despite the blurring of boundaries between professional and private life caused by the strangeness of social media, I consider this comic to fall clearly into a separate category of my life from my professional career as a social media rep. Yes, I understand that this comic is visible, and I have no desire to hide it from anyone. I believe in authenticity and transparency. But I also believe in respecting boundaries.
- If you don’t like this comic, that is totally fine. It Gets Worser is meant for a very specific demographic. If you’re over thirty or under eleven and had a happy childhood of much joy and mirth, you probably won’t like this at all. That’s fine. I’m entirely comfortable with people not liking this comic. What makes me uncomfortable is people reading this comic, finding it unfunny or irreverent, and then deciding that I am unfit to represent them in the social sphere. I’m not passing out business cards for this comic. It Gets Worser does not affect you so long as you choose not to read it — and no one is making you.
- As much as I hate “explaining” our work, I feel the need to draw your attention to the nature and function of It Gets Worser, since there may be some misunderstandings there. This comic is satire. This is not a statement of my opinions or the opinions of Talon, my partner in crime and one of the nicest and most cheerful guys I know. These characters are no stand-ins for us, nor do the things they say actually represent our opinions or personal philosophies. This comic is a way of looking at the mess that was adolescence and accepting it by laughing at it. Think of this comic as Peanuts, the next generation (with infinite respect to Charles Schulz). This is not a manifesto of despair. This is not meant to entice children to commit suicide. This is a coping mechanism. This is laughing at the pain of being an awkward American teenager so as not to cry. This is not a way for either of us to say “look at depressed we are” or “life is pointless.” Neither of us believe life is pointless. Both of us believe life is beautiful and should be cherished. Even if you don’t like this comic, and even if I feel hurt and frustrated that it’s been used as a weapon against me and my career, I don’t want to make enemies. I want to make friends and help people through laughter. If you don’t find it funny, that’s fine. But you and I can still get along. Can’t we?
Jeremy out.