2012-07-28
Explanation
This comic is a graph charting "Esteem for Humanity While Reading an Article on Positive Race Relations" on the y-axis against "Depth in Article" on the x-axis. The line starts near zero at the headline, rises steadily through the first half of the article, climbs higher through the second half, and peaks at the last paragraph -- at which point you feel great about humanity and the progress being made. Then the line plummets catastrophically once you reach the comments section.
The joke captures a near-universal internet experience: reading an uplifting article about people coming together across racial lines, feeling genuinely hopeful and warm, and then scrolling down to the comments section only to find a cesspool of bigotry, ignorance, and hostility that instantly destroys your faith in humanity. The sharp, cliff-like drop after "Comments" is the visual punchline, showing how completely and suddenly the comments section can undo all the goodwill built up by the article itself.
The votey panel reinforces the joke with a Venn diagram showing two mostly non-overlapping circles: "People Who Read an Article" and "People Who Comment on It." This adds an extra layer to the observation -- the people leaving horrible comments often have not even read the article they are commenting on, making the whole experience even more dispiriting. The comic was published in 2012 but remains painfully relevant to online discourse.