That is a comic book I had as a kid and I thought it was from that book, but I recently repurchased it for my "Batgirl" discussion and was surprised to discover it was not (or rather, "not") in it. I don't remember anything about the story other than that, but I think I remembered it at the bottom of the page on which it appeared. I would have discovered it when I re-read (or "read")the issue, but when I saw your response I flipped through Superman #279 very carefully and there it was, in the middle of page eight. I'll be reading Superman #279 today (for the first time in 50 years) as well as #268 (for the first time ever) and posting my throughts to the "Batgirl" thread.
Thanks for the prompt response to my query. I thought I was going nuts!
There's a sequence from Joe Kubert's Tarzan I think of every time I read a headline like this: "Man killed over an order of French fries." In the scene, Lord Greystoke saves Black Michael's life after sailor assaulted the captain of the Fuwalda for abusing one of the ship's crew. Greystoke causes the captain's shot to miss and adds, "Now, now, captain... You wouldn't kill a man... merely because he jostled you a bit!" Now we've got someone being killed because he didn't want to share his fries.
Now we've got someone being killed because he didn't want to share his fries.
I've long believed that the reason for the outbreak of terrible violence in America, over petty issues, stems for the indulgent parenting over the couple of generations. Certainly, the last one.
Children are now told that they're special, regardless of any lack of personal achievement (e.g., "participation trophies"). When Junior doesn't get an "A" in the subject, it's because the teacher didn't attend his learning needs. When Junior turns sixteen, Mom and Dad buy him a car. They also finance his social life. If Junior manages to skate his way to high school graduation, Mom and Dad pay for his college and see to his personal financial needs there, too.
The upshot is, when Junior finally graduates college and is thrust out into the real world, he discovers a harsh lesson: the real world doesn't care how "special" Junior is, and tells him "No!" about a lot of things. Because Junior has grown up believing he's entitled to everything, he's never developed coping mechanisms to deal with "No!" Instead of knowing how to deal with being denied what he wants, Junior gets frustrated quickly. And that frustration builds to anger, and then, rage---over the least slight.
All parents don't handle their children that way, of course. But many more of them do than used to. It's easier to tell your kid that he's great, rather than teach him how to strive for greatness, and a great many parents take the easy way these days.
The Baron > Commander BensonJanuary 30, 2026 at 9:35pm
When Junior turns sixteen, Mom and Dad buy him a car.
When I got my license, my Dad sold me his old car. Granted, he only charged me a dollar for it, because it was a ten year-old sh*tbox that had a hundred thousand miles on it and a smashed-in door that the Old Man had never bothered fixing. God, I miss that car.
Me, with my first car and my first girlfriend. I thought I was so cool.
When our son, Rick, turned sixteen, his biological father wanted to buy him a car---one of the rare times he tried to insert himself into our lives---on the illogical reason that "He's sixteen---he should have a car." I said no. If Rick wanted a car, he had to buy one himself. His biological father backed down. (He wasn't the type to give me any static.)
The boy went out, got a job, purchased a pretty decent used car, and paid for the additional charges on my insurance. One day, not too long after that, he got a bill from the city for property tax. (In those days, property tax for your car wasn't attached to your licence plate renewal; instead, you got a bill for it every January.)
"Property tax?" said Rick. "What's property tax?"
I chuckled. "You f***ed up, Rick," I told him. "You let the government know you're alive."
Replies
God, I wish they had actually done that crossover!
What comic book is this from?: "My friends call me 'Babs.' You can call me... Congresswoman Gordon!"
That's from Superman #279 (S'74) when Barbara judo flips Steve Lombard when he gets too "handsy"!
Oh, for Pete's sake!
That is a comic book I had as a kid and I thought it was from that book, but I recently repurchased it for my "Batgirl" discussion and was surprised to discover it was not (or rather, "not") in it. I don't remember anything about the story other than that, but I think I remembered it at the bottom of the page on which it appeared. I would have discovered it when I re-read (or "read")the issue, but when I saw your response I flipped through Superman #279 very carefully and there it was, in the middle of page eight. I'll be reading Superman #279 today (for the first time in 50 years) as well as #268 (for the first time ever) and posting my throughts to the "Batgirl" thread.
Thanks for the prompt response to my query. I thought I was going nuts!
REASON TO KILL A MAN...?
There's a sequence from Joe Kubert's Tarzan I think of every time I read a headline like this: "Man killed over an order of French fries." In the scene, Lord Greystoke saves Black Michael's life after sailor assaulted the captain of the Fuwalda for abusing one of the ship's crew. Greystoke causes the captain's shot to miss and adds, "Now, now, captain... You wouldn't kill a man... merely because he jostled you a bit!" Now we've got someone being killed because he didn't want to share his fries.
Now we've got someone being killed because he didn't want to share his fries.
I've long believed that the reason for the outbreak of terrible violence in America, over petty issues, stems for the indulgent parenting over the couple of generations. Certainly, the last one.
Children are now told that they're special, regardless of any lack of personal achievement (e.g., "participation trophies"). When Junior doesn't get an "A" in the subject, it's because the teacher didn't attend his learning needs. When Junior turns sixteen, Mom and Dad buy him a car. They also finance his social life. If Junior manages to skate his way to high school graduation, Mom and Dad pay for his college and see to his personal financial needs there, too.
The upshot is, when Junior finally graduates college and is thrust out into the real world, he discovers a harsh lesson: the real world doesn't care how "special" Junior is, and tells him "No!" about a lot of things. Because Junior has grown up believing he's entitled to everything, he's never developed coping mechanisms to deal with "No!" Instead of knowing how to deal with being denied what he wants, Junior gets frustrated quickly. And that frustration builds to anger, and then, rage---over the least slight.
All parents don't handle their children that way, of course. But many more of them do than used to. It's easier to tell your kid that he's great, rather than teach him how to strive for greatness, and a great many parents take the easy way these days.
When Junior turns sixteen, Mom and Dad buy him a car.
When I got my license, my Dad sold me his old car. Granted, he only charged me a dollar for it, because it was a ten year-old sh*tbox that had a hundred thousand miles on it and a smashed-in door that the Old Man had never bothered fixing. God, I miss that car.
Me, with my first car and my first girlfriend. I thought I was so cool.
When our son, Rick, turned sixteen, his biological father wanted to buy him a car---one of the rare times he tried to insert himself into our lives---on the illogical reason that "He's sixteen---he should have a car." I said no. If Rick wanted a car, he had to buy one himself. His biological father backed down. (He wasn't the type to give me any static.)
The boy went out, got a job, purchased a pretty decent used car, and paid for the additional charges on my insurance. One day, not too long after that, he got a bill from the city for property tax. (In those days, property tax for your car wasn't attached to your licence plate renewal; instead, you got a bill for it every January.)
"Property tax?" said Rick. "What's property tax?"
I chuckled. "You f***ed up, Rick," I told him. "You let the government know you're alive."
-
578
-
579
-
580
-
581
-
582
of 582 Next