you-are-loved
Explanation
The Joke
A person tells someone: "Hey sweetie, I just want you to know you are loved." The recipient immediately starts poking holes in this feel-good statement. "I mean, not by everyone. Most people do not even know you." She continues: "And those who do know you mostly would not say they love you." Then: "But a small circle of people have stronger feelings about you that change all the time."
The well-meaning person tries to salvage the sentiment: "That is why I use the passive voice. Saying 'you are loved' sounds bigger than 'I love you sometimes.'" The final panel has another person thanking her for "ruining Mom" and she replies "You do not get candor." -- suggesting this is someone who has deconstructed her own mother's attempt at affection through over-analysis.
The Humor
The comic takes a simple, warm expression of love and dismantles it through linguistic and logical analysis until it becomes a much less comforting statement. The observation about passive voice is particularly sharp: "you are loved" does sound grander and more universal than "a few specific people have intermittently positive feelings about you," even though the latter is more accurate. The joke is about how analyzing the literal truth behind platitudes makes them less comforting rather than more so. The final exchange suggests this person routinely does this to her family members, treating expressions of love as claims requiring factual scrutiny.
The votey shows someone saying "No, you can not have my number" -- implying this hyper-analytical approach to affection extends to all social interactions, making the character someone who meets warmth with clinical detachment.