Michael Defends Those He Abuses

There is a recurring joke among groups that the only people allowed to use insults to that group have to come from that group. For example, a man cannot call a woman the “B” word, but it’s perfectly fine for women to call each other that name. Jane Fonda dropped the “C” word recently on national TV, and I figure it’s only a matter of time before the ladies are bandying about the “C” word to each other, in jovial conversation.

In a similar fashion, there is the family tradition of protection practised by mobsters and also by Pattersons, as it turns out. The stereotype in the old mobster movies was that inside the family you can sanction violence, but outside the family such things led to bloody retribution. In today’s For Better or For Worse, we see the same practise with young Michael Patterson, who declares to Lawrence Poirier that hitting his baby sister is off-limits to everyone except him. The Theme to the Godfather started running through my head as I read it.

This is one of the few times where I can see that the younger Michael character did not transfer to the older Michael character. Later on, when Michael’s family is threatened by the Kelpfroths, he takes action by putting tape on the floor and writing a libelous article about them, while leaving the direct confrontation with the Kelpfroths to Lovey Salzman and Mira Sobinski. I attribute this passivity with years of dealing with a screaming mother. However, the other possibility is that Michael’s threats against Lawrence Poirier only occurred; because he knew that Lawrence was weaker than he was. In other words, he can be aggressive with a lesser opponent, but not so with a greater one.

I note that in the last panel, it looks like Michael’s face is a Laura Piché redraw. I am sure aprilp_katje can check her collections to confirm or deny my suspicion.