Difference between revisions of "769: War"

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{{comic
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Telling me to “restart your computer, then find your Start menu” is not only btlnteliig my intelligence, but wasting my time. Go off the script and listen to what I’m telling you! This is what I’ve tried, we’re at this point now, go from there.The problem is that those folks probably can't go off the script, for fear of a superior calling them into the office to tell them they should  stay on message. Or maybe they won't even get called into the office. I (briefly) worked in a customer support  call center for an insurance company  not the same as tech, true  but that happened to me. My supervisor once warned me that I was giving  too much help  to the customers, when my function was to get their information and keep them on the line long enough to pass them along to the guy doing the up-sellSo we as consumers are probably better-served directing our invective at the people on the high end of the totem pole.
| number    = 769
 
| date      = July 21, 2010
 
| title    = War
 
| image    = war.png
 
| imagesize =
 
| titletext =They offered to make me a green beret, but I liked my regular one. Although it gets kind of squashed under my helmet.
 
}}
 
 
 
==Explanation==
 
Today's comic seems to be a parable about the perils of love during wartime. Our protagonist is seen here leaning against his pack behind a low wall, surely a good hiding spot for any gentleman with a rifle and scope. Judging by the letter he's in the midst of writing, he has a complex relationship with Cordelia. On the one hand, she's attractive. On the other hand, she's a sniper, as evidenced by the shots fired mid-missive. Cordelia's ire works against her, though, as her volley of shots has revealed her own position atop the maintenance shed. We can presume that in a matter of minutes, this love affair will go sour as the love letter is wrapped around a live grenade and "delivered," so to speak. War is indeed hell.
 
 
 
As to the image text, the green berets are worn only by Special Forces soldiers. It takes a lot of training to become a green beret, and as evidenced by our protagonist's clever use of decoys to outwit a sniper, he may be qualified for the honor. It sounds, however, as he didn't understand the proposition, preferring his regular beret instead. Further evidence for his idiocy is given immediately thereafter, as he confesses that he wears a beret under his helmet. (Then again, he does not have a choice, since [[291: Dignified|he physically stapled the beret on his head.]])
 
 
 
The comic starts off with the commonly known stereotype of a soldier in war writing a letter to his sweetheart (Cordelia), presumably at home. After the gunshots interrupt his writing, we come to know that Cordelia is actually fighting on the opposite side - it is left open whether they are in an actual relationship or the soldier just writes love letters to his enemies. He explains to her that he can now locate her after she shot a decoy set up by him, closing with the phrase "War is hell", often used in the stereotypical situation described above and now having a much darker tint. The alt text gives the reader some kind of closure - the soldier is revealed to be [[Beret Guy]], from whom this kind of behavior doesn't seem so weird after all.
 
 
 
"Cordelia" is likely a reference to [http://atoracle.wikidot.com/en-cordelia-rosalind Cordelia Rosalind]—the sniper from the {{w|Miniature wargaming|miniature game}} "{{w|Anima: Beyond Fantasy#Anima: Tactics|Anima: Tactics}}".
 
 
 
==Transcript==
 
  [A soldier is on the ground behind a low wall, writing a letter.]
 
My Dearest Cordelia,
 
  It has been far too long since I last gazed
 
upon your lithe and supple body through my
 
telescopic sights, and I fear you may have
 
found a superior vantage poin—
 
 
<<BLAM!>> <<BLAM!>> <<BLAM!>>
 
 
  &mdash;a splendid effort, my love, but your shots
 
find only a decoy, and reveal your position atop
 
the maintenance shed.
 
 
I pray this missive and my grenades find you well.
 
 
War is hell.
 
{{comic discussion}}
 
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]
 
[[Category:Comics with color]]
 

Revision as of 10:22, 8 January 2013

Telling me to “restart your computer, then find your Start menu” is not only btlnteliig my intelligence, but wasting my time. Go off the script and listen to what I’m telling you! This is what I’ve tried, we’re at this point now, go from there.The problem is that those folks probably can't go off the script, for fear of a superior calling them into the office to tell them they should stay on message. Or maybe they won't even get called into the office. I (briefly) worked in a customer support call center for an insurance company not the same as tech, true but that happened to me. My supervisor once warned me that I was giving too much help to the customers, when my function was to get their information and keep them on the line long enough to pass them along to the guy doing the up-sell. So we as consumers are probably better-served directing our invective at the people on the high end of the totem pole.