706: Freedom

Explain xkcd: It's 'cause you're dumb.
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Freedom
Sometimes I'm terrified to realize how many options other people have.
Title text: Sometimes I'm terrified to realize how many options other people have.

Explanation

In this comic, Randall comments on the absence of physical enforcement for social norms. Cueball goes through a list of possible things he could do that only his conscience and learned social mores prevent him from doing, before promptly receiving a punch to the face justified with his own reasoning.

The image text is a restatement of the first line of the comment, but reversed to show Cueball's newfound realization that the same freedoms apply to other people, to his physical detriment.

Transcript

First Man: Sometimes I'm shocked to realize how many options I have.
Second Man: Oh?
[First Man shakes his fist.]
First Man: Like, at any moment in any conversation, I could just punch the person I was talking to, and all these potentially life-changing events would unfold.
First Man: It's only my mental rules that stop me from punching you, or stripping naked, or getting on a plane to Fiji. Sure, rules have reasons. But shouldn't you exercise that freedom at least once before you did?
WHAM
[First man is knocked down on the ground, dazed and bruised.]
First Man: Okay, I should have seen that coming.
Second Man: But you couldn't! That's the beauty!


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Discussion

The last sentence "But you couldn't", is probably also a reference to the fact that even though we and other people have many possibilities, we never expect anyone to actually use them. 173.245.49.128 (talk) (please sign your comments with ~~~~)

More like we didn't expect other people to utilize the possibilities that they did. Or Didn't. Jakee308 (talk) 19:40, 8 June 2015 (UTC)

Sometimes I'm terrified to realize how many options I have 173.245.50.79 03:39, 19 September 2016 (UTC)

I think so much about this! Like, if I punched someone, what would society do? If I edited all of the comments above juuuuust a little, what would happen? If I... SilverMagpie (talk) 00:27, 9 May 2018 (UTC)

I would revert all the edits and delete your user page :]. (I'm joking. Or am I?) Beanie (talk) 14:25, 21 April 2021 (UTC)