those are also thought-terminating cliches that add nothing to the discourse though. like the other user said, it's an open platform so anyone can just run their mouth.

Having said that, my specific objection is not to all of the discussion taking place here, but to the fact that a lot of the comments seem to be projecting their own personal viewpoints onto the comic.

this is a valid way to connect with and analyze any medium though, there is an interaction between the art and the viewer that can bring additional nuance and meaning to a piece and heighten its impact, regardless of the artist's intent. for me, i not only identify strongly with the mother in the last panel (deconversion was a spiritually and emotionally devastating experience for me), but also the "neckbeard atheist" guys in the first two panels (i was a loud inconsiderate anti-religious jackass for some years). this comic causes me to pause and reflect on the way that i was in fact eager to pass along my deconversion trauma to the next person, because of how miserable and empty i felt inside. that's powerful, and lends this work a hell of a gut punch for me.

is it not worth examining that where you perceived a dumb joke, i perceived a somber and rueful rumination on faith, loss, generational trauma, and the odd human desire to share suffering? and importantly, neither of us is wrong.

i think it's fun and good to examine media deeply, even if it seems shallow. it's an enriching and very human thing to explore our relationships to media and seek meaning, even if only on a personal level. ~~and i find it very sad that someone taught you that it's not cool to think deeply about stuff and share your thoughts, and to be flippantly dismissive of anyone who does so about the "wrong" things. that wasn't cool of them.~~ never mind, re-reading the thread i think i have you wrong. enjoy the rest of the writeup.