When Icons Go All Commie-Pinko: Archie Goes Out With A Bang For Social Justice And Gun Control

It could be worse: Archie could be saving a single immigrant lesbian adoptive mother from Pastor Gary Cass.

All the same, expect Ann Coulter to be pissed ... and the rest of Right Wing America. The iconic Archie Andrews will end his life by saving his gay (senator) friend from a bullet.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. - For the fans of Archie Andrews, his impending death marks a fitting end for the do-gooder comic book icon.
The famous 73-year-old red-headed comic book character will die in Wednesday's installment of "Life with Archie" when he intervenes in an assassination attempt on senator Kevin Keller, Archie Comics' first openly gay character who is pushing for more gun control in Riverdale. Andrews' death was first announced in April and will mark the conclusion of the series that focuses on grown-up renditions of Andrews and his pals.

It's a startling double-punch for the comic book character: the themes of social justice and gun control are so blatantly featured that the Right (Christian or otherwise) will be fuming and foaming.

The 73-year-old Archie Andrews has implanted itself on the American pop culture scene like no other comic book character: there are dozens of Archie pin-offs and franchises and the Archie website has garnered over 40 million views. The Life With Archie series has been perhaps the most dramatic, focusing on adventure stories and highlighted with social issues. It centered on an Archie beset with career and marital problems. And although it also featured a parallel universe with Archie and the gang poised as super-heroes, the underlying tenor was Archie trying to do the right thing.

Doing The Right Thing

It is ironic that perhaps Archie Andrews' moral character is the problem for Right Wing (esp. NRA) America: according to Pastor Gary Cass, as a Christian, Archie should have been carrying a gun and according to Joseph Farah (WND), Archie should have been disgusted with the Senator's lifestyle in the first place, opining that he was probably part of the "Gaystapo". For former General Jerry Boykin, it would definitely not be a WWJD moment. Certainly not HIS Rambo Jesus.

Blame Doonesbury?

Of course, comic strips/books with a particularly leftist, socialist bent are not new, the legendary Doonesbury by Gary Trudeau coming to mind. But upon further investigation, characters such as Orphan Annie ushered in a social conscience during the Roosevelt years. Bringing Up Father (main characters Jiggs and Maggie) focused on the problems of the nouveau-riche starting 1911. In lampooning Republican/patrician mores of the times, comic strips and comic books took a decidedly left-wing worldview.

Yahoo News:
Andrew Wheeler, who writes about the comic book industry at ComicsAlliance.com, praised the way that Andrews will be killed off. He wrote on Monday that "Archie's sacrifice isn't just a moment of heroism; it offers an unambiguous condemnation of America's lax gun laws" and said that it's "not surprising to see Archie Comics tackling such a serious issue" because the publisher "doesn't shy away from risky ideas."

How risky, however, may be the key to the upcoming reaction to Archie's demise. It seems that the Right has not yet indicated just how furious it is at Riverdale's permanent teenager heroism. It may just point to a diseased society and the NRA may just dismiss it as a gun control ploy.

Farah, Beck, Starnes and Bachmann may even sniff "conspiracy".

Whatever the reaction, the next days may prove to be even funnier than the "funny papers" that generated Archie.

The Exigencies Of Mooching: Navigating For Survival In A Right Wing World

Even in California, the way of the moocher is fraught with anxiety: there are so many benefits, so little time. 

Right.

Ever since my partner died and only left me memories, I have been struggling to keep my stuff, my identity ... and my sanity: the last 20 months' journey has been a series of puddles and potholes, not deep enough to suck me in completely, but not too healthy either. Month after month eviction has loomed and month after month I've sought surcease through agencies and charities. I've navigated through a plethora of acronyms and  eligibility questionnaires. 

Now I'm navigating for two.

I met Chris nine months ago at a bar on the evening of my 65th birthday and noticed something immediately: we fit. He lives in Sacramento, and with only one exception, has commuted to my side every weekend. By Christmas we made the leap from "boyfriend" to "partner" and have not looked back since. Hell, we must look forward, we're too much in love to have any other choice! 

Chris works part-time at a job that belies the fact that he has Asperger's Syndrome: he works retail - at a Barnes & Noble bookstore. Yeah, the behemoth bookstore chain that just announced a future of massive closures. His hours have been cut considerably (8-12 hours per week). Like other products of The Great Recession, he works to keep his medical benefits. 

And he worries about me.

Acronym, Acronym, Who's Got The Acronym?

America is awash with helpful acronyms - organizations, charities and government agencies with three to five capital letters, all recognizable, but at the same time, confusing in what they actually do, and in California, it is common to run into AEF, SFAF, SSI, SSA, SDI, SSDI, ADAP, CCSF, ALRP, IHSS and AHP to name a few (especially if you are HIV+, which we both are). These supplement other organizations and agencies like Healthy San Francisco, Shanti, Open Hand, Medicare, Medi-Cal, San Francisco Tenant's Union, and ... well, you get the idea. 

The morass of benefits contingent on this and that, the eligibility requirements, the confusion all make for a frustrating existence while wondering if you'll be able to make it to the end of the month. Don't get me wrong, you needn't get out the waaaambulance: whining is not the style of people truly in need of services and benefits. Searching for advice and foraging for ideas are too tiring to whine about. We're here, we need to avail ourselves of benefits and services to survive. Get over it. 

Moochers All

Of course, we are the 47% Mitt Romney complained about during his Presidential bid. We are the losers and loafers Romney's Republicans and Tea Partiers warned the country against. It makes no difference that I was a publisher and broadcaster for years, the recipient of a Jefferson Award for community service, or that Chris has been working steadily for the past thirteen years at the same Barnes & Noble. We are moochers. We are taking what is not rightfully ours. We are a drag on the economy. We have no right to ask for anything, let alone expect it. 

What do you think?