Another Day

After starting my day by having to tell my son about what happened in Texas, I felt compelled to create this new Dustinland comic.

Not much more to say here than what I already said in the comic. It’s just a harsh reality we live in. Very hard not to think humans are just generally shitty and hopeless, even though most of us are nice (maybe). As a whole… it just seems we are doomed to stand in our own way. Hard not to feel hopeless, but still gotta wake up and give it your best every day.

CONvoy

This new Dustinland comic is about how there’s a Trump CONvoy coming to my town soon. Maybe tomorrow. Not sure. Supposedly it’s a “back the blue” convoy but we all know it’s just a parade full of brainwashed fascists for Trump, just waiting to unload their guns in the name of Q. So I churned out this quickie strip just to remind people to not play into their game, don’t meet them with violence, be peaceful, hell, maybe even ignore them. And vote. Let them have their truck and boat parties. The only thing that matters is that we vote out their criminal leader before the year is over, and Moscow Mitch with him.

Sure Shots

What’s frustrating about this week’s new Dustinland comic, is that when I created it less than a week ago, it was very relevant. But between that time and the day of the week when I normally publish new comics, Trump has essentially started a new war with Iran, making any other current event-related political content irrelevant. Basically, I cannot keep up with the insanity — you really can’t unless you’re publishing daily, or maybe even hourly.

That being said, this comic was inspired by the Texas church shooting where a guy tried to shoot a bunch of people, but only shot two people before being shot himself by what was essentially an undercover church security guy. In the comic I do try to be a bit more neutral than your average anti-gun screed, although I do make fun of MAGA red hat types throughout, but I can’t help that part.

Summer of 69 + 50

This week’s new Dustinland comic is about the mental fortitude required to not lose your mind amidst the madness of life in 2019. Not daily life for most of us, but rather the news cycle. The horrible things we hear happening to other people day in and day out, whether it’s Americans getting mowed down in Walmart or people in third world countries getting blown up on their way to work or any of the other awful things we learn about 24/7. I hear that hope is essential for inner peace, but man, it’s hard right now. Things look grim. I mean, Siberia is on fire right now. We really are super fucked. But I guess hey, soldier on, right?!

#YOLO

Slippery Slope

This week’s new Dustinland comic tackles a particularly annoying argument tactic used frequently by conservatives (well, really Trump supporters so basically hypnotized fascists): The Slippery Slope! Any regulation can be argued against by saying, “oh well it starts here and then where does it end?!” Obviously this is ridiculous because we live in a society that must be governed and managed by rules, and if we stand by the philosophy of slippery slope, then any rule can be argued against. “I can’t murder?! What’s next, I can’t defend my own property against a band of armed robbers!” It’s just a thread of nonsense, but that doesn’t stop the NRA from using it every day.

I’m sure people on the left use it too from time to time, but right now the country is essentially being overtaken by an illegal rightwing coup, so that’s my bigger focus for the time being. If the country doesn’t devolve into a complete dictatorship, if the economy doesn’t collapse as the rest of the world begins to isolate us (except our new best friends, Russia), if the boiling planet doesn’t burn us off into extinction along with every other disappearing species, then maybe I’ll make some more comics that point out problems with liberals. Until then I will focus on the party that thinks science is magic and guns are peaceful and up is down.

The Gun Debate

I don’t want people to get this week’s Dustinland comic wrong: It’s not that I’m saying the gun debate isn’t important (although I do think there are more important issues). I’m saying that you can’t argue rationally with people who are illogically obsessed with one issue.

Now, let’s say climate change is your one issue. I get it. The future of the human race is at risk. Or maybe you’re religious and abortion is your one issue. Hey, if you believe God is telling you to stop killing babies, that’s a pretty important issue in your world. But to believe that out of all the issues in the world, gun rights is by far the most important? That is some crazy shit.

I can only imagine what it’s like to live that way. In a constant state of fear, believing that you CANNOT be safe without a gun. That at any moment a horrible intruder will burst through your door with the intent to murder you. Or maybe it’s deeper. You need the gun to feel strong. Let’s be honest, it’s your dick. It’s like a fancy car or a big truck but better. NO ONE CAN FUCK WITH ME NOW. You’re basically still in junior high. Or maybe you had some serious issues as a child, maybe you were robbed or brutalized in the past. Maybe that would at least make sense as to why anyone would be so insanely obsessed with guns as to place gun ownership at the top of all voting issues in a world as screwed up as ours, and at a level where you’re okay with convicted felons and terrorist watch list members being able to buy an assault rifle no problem.

I’m not saying there aren’t reasonable people who are in favor of gun rights. I’ve argued with a gun rights lobbyist on a friend’s podcast once. He had some good points. Again, what I’m saying is that it’s pretty nutty to make this the most important thing in your life.

P.S. If this seems repetitive, I’m just trying to make my point clear here to avoid the onslaught of trolls, although I expect some of it no matter what.

Gun ContrLOL

This week’s comic is about the gun control debate that has been hot and heavy ever since the awful Newtown massacre. Unlike most people, I took some time and did a lot of reading before I decided to weigh in on the matter, and even after all that I still don’t know what the answer is. Ultimately, like most issues it’s a complicated one. It’s easy for one side to say “guns are weapons, they are meant to kill, they are bad,” and it’s easy for the other side to say “guns don’t kill people, people do, I have my rights, guns are great.” But it’s hard to say both sides are right—and wrong—about certain aspects of the issue, and the answer is way more intricate than just yes or now.

The question, by the way, is not “Are guns good or bad?” but “What can we do about the extremely high rate of gun homicide in the U.S.?” Of course, there’s ending the war on drugs, but that’s too extreme for most politicians to stand behind. Then there’s decreasing poverty across the nation, but with two political parties that can’t agree on anything besides which lobbyists to take money from, it doesn’t look like much will happen on that front either. So I guess conservative politicians will line up with the NRA and liberal politicians will try to ban M-16s and nothing will change. The end.

P.S. I was recently on an Internet talk show (oddly enough, about vaporizers) debating some super gun rights dude about all this. You can listen to that here (I come in around the 20-minute mark or so).

P.P.S. As serious as this all is, I did try to have some fun with it. WHEEE!!!! GUNS! UNICORNS!