Point of particular Doonesbury strip?

[sbrothy]

I've been a fan of Doonesbury since I was 12 (even though I'm from Denmark), and the older I get, and the more American politics I understand, the more strips I understand. There are still many points that elude me, but specifically one annoys me. Unfortunately the albums don't seem to fit any pattern from country to country and sometimes the translation is downright horrendous.

As a non-US citizen I, needless to say, don't fully understand the diffferences between the US army and the U.S. Marine Corp. The only thing I (think I know) is that joining the marines is a voluntary choice.

One strip puzzles me though:

Switch has just had a session with his educational advisor after having a crisis (making his aphasia worse) and his advisor promises to fix the army payment he is due. Switch then asks him if his advisor served as well, and the answer is yes, he stormed the beaches of Mogadishu as a marine. Switch then jokingly asks "Why a marine? Did the army reject you?", whereupon his advisor, again jokingly, warns him: "Don't play too smart. We're in a parking lot."

Can someone explain this joke to me? I mean it's not like Mogadishu had a lot of parking lots? I'm sure the point is banal and clear once pointed out but it annoys me that I don't get it.

EDIT: Thinking again this question belonged on Civicswatch.

 

[.Scott]

Marines have quite a different reputation than Army soldiers. A common slang term for a Marine is "jarhead".
If you join the Marines, you can expect rigorous discipline and perhaps very challenging assignments - "First to Fight". They are also the branch that provides the most "ceremony" - with assignments to the Embassies and the Presidents Band.

Decades ago, I was part of a team charged putting together some of the software test tools for the Osprey helicopter. There was not a engineer there that thought this machine would be safe to use. But the ultimate customer was the US Marines - and from their point of view, it was the only thing that would get them to where they needed to be to fight. It would be used on missions where casualties were expected. As the years went by and the Ospreys continued to crash, the Marines made it clear (to Congress and everyone else), that this was the machine they wanted.

And yes, if you are turned down by the Army for being too crazy or criminal, you still have a good shot at getting into the Marines.

 

[berkeman]

EDIT: Thinking again this question belonged on Civicswatch.

I don't think it's particularly political. There are well-known rivalries between the services here in America. I'm not sure about the parking lot reference, though. Can you link to the actual cartoon, or is it behind a paywall?

 

[sbrothy]

Well I was reading it at the library but let me make an effort. Thanks for your input so far.

 

[sbrothy]

Well, as I said, the translation is completely random. They translated SPC Leo Deluca (AKA: "Toggle") to "Switch" in the Danish version; which makes no sense to me. Why translate an English word to another English word? It's almost insulting.

But that's the member of the cast I meant by Switch. I'll dig a little deeper, but there's lots of strips!

 

[sbrothy]

I especially like Doonesbury because of the character development and because the cast gets older and die off. Sending the torch to their children. It has matured a lot since it start.

 

[sbrothy]

B.D. is a shining example of character development. A war veteran with PTSD (signed up for a tour in Vietnam to get out of writing a term paper), Golf War I and II and a ton of other trauma.

 

[berkeman]

Golf Gulf War I and II and a ton of other trauma.

Fixed that for you.

 

[berkeman]

I'm not sure about the parking lot reference, though.

With a little searching (not using AI, cough, cough), it looks like the reference may be to many bar fights involving Marines taking place in the parking lots outside of bars.

(Don't get me started on Marines eating crayons, though...)

(Full disclosure: I'm an Army brat, but never heard my dad talk trash about the other services)

 

[sbrothy]

That may be as close as I'll get. Many of the strips are pretty esoteric and difficult to understand for a non-native. Thank you though. "Golf"-wars?! Talk about scatterbrain!

EDIT: And then you raise more questions. Eesh.

 

[256bits]

he stormed the beaches of Mogadishu as a marine

This would be a reference as to how the marines would be the first to land on shore in enemy territory, living up to their reputation of being tough as nails. See post 2 by @.Scott
In fact, I think the UN peace keeping mission landed troops and equipment at the airport, and moved to specific locations from there. You will have to look up who was there, but at least the Americans and Pakastanians. serving as UN forces.

"Don't play too smart. We're in a parking lot."

Go see the movie Black Hawk Down.
https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/ee173e699159417cbff0d41f47f5d6dd
A subtle reference to the battle that ensued and attempt at rescue. Parking lot, road way, same thing as there is not a lot of cover to hide from enemy forces. A disaster for the US and the UN.

That is my take on the strip,
Try to match up what was happening in Somalia at the time to when that particular strip came out and look for some sort of correlation. Kind of difficult this many years past the actual events. Donnesbury never, or hardly ever, referenced anything directly, but there were hints, And readers could put their own experiences into the Doonesbury 'family' and come away with different interpretations.

 

[Hornbein]

My friend Bill Stapp was in the army in about 1950. They asked for fifteen volunteers for the Marines. Bill volunteered. That was it. The army then chose fourteen more volunteers.

 

[sbrothy]

This would be a reference as to how the marines would be the first to land on shore in enemy territory, living up to their reputation of being tough as nails. See post 2 by @.Scott
In fact, I think the UN peace keeping mission landed troops and equipment at the airport, and moved to specific locations from there. You will have to look up who was there, but at least the Americans and Pakastanians. serving as UN forces.


Go see the movie Black Hawk Down.
https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/ee173e699159417cbff0d41f47f5d6dd
A subtle reference to the battle that ensued and attempt at rescue. Parking lot, road way, same thing as there is not a lot of cover to hide from enemy forces. A disaster for the US and the UN.

That is my take on the strip,
Try to match up what was happening in Somalia at the time to when that particular strip came out and look for some sort of correlation. Kind of difficult this many years past the actual events. Donnesbury never, or hardly ever, referenced anything directly, but there were hints, And readers could put their own experiences into the Doonesbury 'family' and come away with different interpretations.

I've actually seen that movie but I guess I'll have to run it again although I remember it as depressing. It doesn't have a happy ending. Then again I guess it's because it's about a real event, like the flight downed by the passengers on 9/11. But yeah, that interpretation is probably it. Doonesbury is sometimes notoriously subtle.

 

[Baluncore]

"Why a marine? Did the army reject you?", whereupon his advisor, again jokingly, warns him: "Don't play too smart. We're in a parking lot."

Can someone explain this joke to me? I mean it's not like Mogadishu had a lot of parking lots? I'm sure the point is banal and clear once pointed out but it annoys me that I don't get it.

You must not fight in the bar, but you may fight in the parking lot. You must leave the bar if you are prepared to fight, and you accept the challenge.

In the parking lot, you can be hit without warning. A joke in a parking lot can become physical without any warning.

The common invitation to settle a bar dispute physically in Australia is; "You, me, car park, now".

 

[Mark44]

The only thing I (think I know) is that joining the marines is a voluntary choice.

All of the US armed forces are voluntary -- Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, and now, I guess, the Space Force.
Back in the time of the Viet Nam War, there was a draft in the US. Draftees ordinarily would go into the Army, but occasionally some would be drafted in the "Corps." Sometime after the mid-70s, after the US exited Viet Nam, the draft was discontinued, so no one has been drafted since that time.

 

[russ_watters]

With a little searching (not using AI, cough, cough), it looks like the reference may be to many bar fights involving Marines taking place in the parking lots outside of bars.

That's my interpretation as well, but I don't see how it qualifies as a joke.

 

[russ_watters]

As a non-US citizen I, needless to say, don't fully understand the diffferences between the US army and the U.S. Marine Corp.

It was founded as and remains a ship-board infantry force attached to the Navy. At the time, Naval combat often involved boarding and seizing enemy ships, plus landing at and securing ports, security, etc. That first mission is now gone, but the others remain. I suppose some of it is a matter of tradition or just organizational convenience at this point. It makes sense for the Navy to have its own army and for the Navy's army (Marine Corps) each to have its own air force because of how the chain of command works. Aside from the Space Force, the Air Force is actually the one that makes the least sense to me organizationally since probably half of its purpose is to be the Army's air force, hence how it started.