Posted on 06/11/2007 4:28:27 PM PDT by PercivalWalks
Guy Berkeley "Berke" Breathed (aka "Berkeley Breathed"), creator of the popular, nationally-syndicated cartoon OPUS, gives fathers a nice kick in the teeth Father's Day week with his latest comic "Davie Dinkle has two moms" (pictured).
In the comic, which appeared in many of America's largest newspapers yesterday (6/10/07), two elementary school boys have the following discussion:
Boy with Black Hair: Hey, ya hear about Davie Dinkle in third grade?
Boy with Blond Hair: No.
Black: He's got two moms.
Blond: Two?
Black: Multiple mommies.
Blond: Cool.
Penguin: No dad?
Black: No dads.
Blond: A dearth of dads for Davie Dinkle.
Black: Makes you wonder.
Blond: Makes you wonder what?
Black: Makes you wonder how he'll do without a male role model in the house.
Dad: (Drunk, as he angrily throws the TV out the window) Now THAT was a pitch you @$%* moron!
In "Davie Dinkle has two moms" Breathed's message is clear--dads are useless as role models (when they're not outright destructive), and kids have little need or use for them.
To write a Letter to the Editor of the paper(s) which published this anti-father cartoon, see below. If your letter is printed, please let us know and we will link to it. To see the cartoon in a larger, clearer format, go here: glennsacks.com/blog/?p=816#more-816.
Write a Letter to the Editor Regarding Berkeley Breathed's anti-father OPUS cartoon "Davie Dinkle has two moms"
New York Times -- letters@nytimes.com Los Angeles Times -- use web form here: www.latimes.com/services/site/la-comment-oped-cf,0,86410.customform?coll=la-promo-opinion. Philadelphia Inquirer -- inquirer.letters@phillynews.com Minneapolis Star Tribune -- opinion@startribune.com Boston Globe -- letter@globe.com Miami Herald -- HeraldEd@MiamiHerald.com Kansas City Star -- letters@kcstar.com The Sacramento Bee -- opinion@sacbee.com Fort Worth Star Telegram -- letters@star-telegram.com The Charlotte Observer -- opinion@charlotteobserver.com Atlanta Journal Constitution -- use web form here: www.ajc.com/opinion/content/opinion/letters/sendletter.html. Salon.com -- use web form here:http://letters.salon.com/about/index.html.
Berkeley Breathed can be reached at opus@washpost.com.
Numerous other papers published the OPUS cartoon. Some of them include: Austin American Statesman; Raleigh News & Observer; Fresno Bee; Akron Beacon Journal; Dayton Daily News; The State (Columbia, SC); Wichita Eagle; Lexington Herald-Leader; The Tacoma News Tribune, and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
This anti-father, "two moms are better than a mom and a dad" assertion is not unique to Breathed. Prominent feminist authors Peggy Drexler and Rosanna Hertz received positive media attention after putting forth similar notions in their recent, highly-publicized books Raising Boys Without Men: How Maverick Moms Are Creating the Next Generation of Exceptional Men (Drexler) and Single by Chance, Mothers by Choice: How Women Are Choosing Parenthood Without Marriage and Creating the New American Family (Hertz).
I criticized Drexler in my column "Raising Boys Without Men: Lesbian Parents Good, Dads Bad" (World Net Daily, 9/10/05) and "Are Boys Really Better off Without Fathers?" (San Francisco Chronicle & others, 8/31/05). I criticized both Drexler and Hertz in my co-authored column "Are Single Mothers the 'New American Family?'" (World Net Daily, 9/28/06).
(Note: My commentary above should NOT be construed as a criticism of lesbians, lesbian moms or gays. As I've made clear on many occasions, I fully support the rights of gays and lesbians to live their lives as they choose. What I oppose is the idea--pushed by Breathed, Drexler, Hertz and others--that kids don't need fathers, that moms are better than dads, and that having two moms is better than having a mom and a dad.)
in other news, the Vice President of the United States agrees!
Okay, I got to crosspost this thing. It’s “egg and sperm” not “egg and egg”, it’s impossible to have two biological parents of the same sex no matter how much the culture of death pretends otherwise.
Not necessarily. He simply loves his daughter.
Just continuing to fight stupid battles.
Bashing fathers has been in vogue for decades.
As Bill the Cat would say “Ack”
All children have a mother and a father.
It is just that the homosexual women choose to exclude a father so they can have orgasms.
I can’t remember when men were portrayed as positive role models in the pop culture. Advertisements, sit-coms, etc., all play men as bumbling fools or destructive influences.
Folks, the gloves have been off in the fight against America and solid values for a long time....it’s just so in your face today.
The ‘Loveable Bigot’...Archie Bunker...seems to be the point in time that Fathers have come under attack.
It’s hard to believe it’s come this far and has gotten this blatant, but the powers that oppose traditional America must feel that they are near the finish to be so brazen.
In the early 50’s, my mother disliked “The Life of Riley” because the father was shown disrespect. That’s ahead of Archie by a couple decades.
I've taken just a bit of liberty retitling the book.
If you don't understand how normalizing homosexual relationships can destroy a civilization, ask me. 
I think it went back further than that, and it’s all males, not just fathers. Sitcoms like “Bewitched” and “I dream of Genie” to name a couple both had bumblers for the male lead character.
One reason for the 'dad as role model' is that there are darn few female characters in Opus...and nobody, certainly not the central (bowling pin) figure is close to perfect.
Quite often it is best just to laugh with the rest of the audience - I find that a lot easier than trying to figure out what is funny in 'Cathy', 'Family Circus', or 'Dennis the Menace'
PS: Sherman's Lagoon, and Dilbert paint less than ideal views of man/fatherhood and they are pretty funny as well. I'd also suggest Rose is Rose and Non-Sequiter.
PPS: Want to complain - stick with Doonesbury.
He isn’t.
Glenn Sacks had it right until the stupid PC apology at the end.
Oh I believe it will always be an event, we must keep with a loving societies institutions, they'll just be changed a little bit. Instead of Dad being portrayed by Al Bundy, the new Dad will be Rosie O'Donuts, with all her tolerance and love.
PPPS: You might also discuss Opus’ Memorial Day spread despite the difficulty you might have reading sex into it.
email as follows:
Hi, nice gift right before fathers day for all us single dads - it’s OK to have 2 mommies - but dads are bad.
Mom = good, dad = bad.
I guess you are doing a cutting-edge insightful commentary. Very brave.
Hey, by the way, did you know that MOST child abuse is committed by women? You could look it up.
Here is some “cutting-edge” for you: How about a cartoon about a dad denied custody of his children because the court believes mothers are better parents - the “punch line” is she abuses her kids.
That would be cutting edge and insightful.
Go ahead. Make a cartoon like that. You the brave one.
And let me know how it works out.
I think you are mis-remembering the Jesse Dirkhising case. The two rapists were friends of the mom, who did not see anything wrong with a 12 or 13 year old boy hanging out without supervision with two homos, in their trailer.
I’ve got a better idea: stop buying those lousy dead tree slander rags. They are wasteful, biased, inaccurate, and the ink gets all over your fingers.
That mother in law in Bewitched was the ultimate battle axe.Darren was in a no win situation,her being a witch with magical powers and all.How could he have the upper hand when she could turn him into a frog?
Even way back when it was a schoolyard rule that you could say anything you wanted about dads, but if you said anything about mothers you would get seven bells kicked out of you.
That was why the few acceptable insults you could make about mothers were carefully crafted to be non-serious, like “Your mother wears Army boots!” Even then you had to be very, very careful who you said that to.
Boys were raised to be fearless defenders of the females of the house. Dads, other than being “good providers”, had generally low expectations.
Of course, the higher up the social ladder you went, the more that was expected from fathers, beyond just being the breadwinner.
Here comes the War on Real men; here comes the war to promote sexual perverseness! Does anyone doubt there IS a left wing conspiricicy to #
1) Affect your children to become dependent upon them:
2) Give them psychological and social baggage such as sexual perversion, hang-ups, ect
3) Destroy the immage of Real men to (be fathers) + Husbands
4) A concerted (yet perverted and futile) effort to gain recognition for sexual deviancy such as homosexuality and polygamy?
Back when I was a youngster, men were portrayed positively, perhaps “feminized” to some extent - tender/tough Brian Keith in Family Affair, Fred MacMurry in My Three Sons, more tender than tough Bill Bixby in Courtship of Eddie’s Father.
Before those, there were strong men/feminine women as role models - John Wayne, Gary Cooper, Glenn Ford types and their leading ladies.
You’re right that it’s been a whole long time since those programs and the like were popular - and Archie Bunker may well have been one of the tipping points (or at least in that era) - Edith Bunker was also portrayed as a fairly useless dingdong. When you think about it, that program was fairly anti-family as a whole - only the hippy-ish kids seemed reasonably rational.
However, the stuff in media today makes All in the Family seem positively pro-family. The very popular Grey’s Anatomy, Desperate Housewives and others are so anti-family it’s incredible.
This man doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Maybe he had a lousy father, but he ought to know better than to make the statement he made.
He’s not President.
Problem is lots of kids read the so-called funnies, young people especially are easily influenced. Propaganda and advertising affect people.
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“If he simply loves his daughter to the point of destroying Western civilization, he shouldn’t be president.
If you don’t understand how normalizing homosexual relationships can destroy a civilization, ask me. “
As I consider homosexuality abnormal and immoral and yes, a destructive factor in society, I really doubt I need to ask you anything.
You have absolutely no idea whatsoever what VP Cheney’s views on homosexuality are. Perhaps it is you who could learn something from me. I know how devastated my devout Roman Catholic inlaws were when their youngest son told them he was gay. I also know how much they love him. So do I. I do not condone his lifestyle, but I’m not going to write him off.
Save me a buck sixty and I'll be your friend forever.
Fair enough. It was a minor point, and not yet accurate.
He’s also a human being in a tough spot; one that is exceedingly personal. If I recall correctly, Edwards tried to call him on it in a similar manner. It made Edwards look very small.
Buy a crossword puzzle book at the supermarket.
There are many different patterns for sex-change. Some species will begin life as males and switch to females (protandry), and others switch from female to male (protogyny). Further still, some will change sex in both directions, and others will be both sexes at the same time
“I can’t remember when men were portrayed as positive role models in the pop culture.”
I really enjoy watching the old shows that do portray both mothers and fathers positively, and positively reflect on families. Shows such as “Leave it to Beaver” and “Andy Griffith” are particularly enjoyable, especially when compared to today’s shows.
I couldn’t agree with you more. Loved both of those shows as a kid...and still do.
What a revolting development that was!
(Blink.) Is that Binkley? When the heck did he reappear in the strip?
(And Bearthed’s always had a reoccurring “Dads suck” theme in his strips, as can be seen by the character of Binkley’s dad. This isn’t anything new with him.)
Unfortunately, when you make yourself a public figure, like Bubba, all things personal become tough spots. Like a parent, you have a responsibility. Comes with the power.
“That mother in law in Bewitched was the ultimate battle axe.Darren was in a no win situation,her being a witch with magical powers and all.How could he have the upper hand when she could turn him into a frog?”
“Ever seen this before? It’s Holy water.”
*splash*
“Yeah, the power of Christ compels ya, bitch!”
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