Explain SMBC — the wiki for Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal

that-thing

2023-12-17 View on smbc-comics.com → 1 revision
that-thing
Votey panel for that-thing
This explanation is incomplete or may contain errors. It was generated by AI and has not yet been reviewed by a human editor.

Explanation

This comic satirizes the phenomenon of political supporters who continue to back a public figure despite that figure doing objectionable things. A supporter (blue-haired character) goes through an elaborate series of rationalizations: first saying "I wish he wouldn't do bad things," then worrying that people will get the wrong impression, then fearing people will think the bad behavior is representative, and finally worrying that people will think supporters endorse the bad actions.

When someone suggests "Maybe you should stop supporting him," the supporter replies "It's already happening!" -- meaning people are already forming negative impressions, completely missing the point that the suggestion was to withdraw support rather than just manage perceptions.

The humor targets the mental gymnastics of partisan loyalty. The supporter treats every problem caused by their chosen figure as a PR crisis rather than a substantive moral issue. Each panel escalates the absurdity: the supporter is more upset about how the bad behavior looks than about the bad behavior itself. The final panel's misunderstanding drives the joke home -- the supporter is so deep in spin-management mode that a straightforward suggestion to stop enabling the behavior doesn't even register as an option.

View History (1) Original Comic
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