Jamies Story Page11
on December 15, 2011 at 12:01 amAnother lovely page. I enjoyed figuring out how to fit all the angry text in, mainly by working backwards.
Something to look forward to though- next page will be featuring Mark and Steve! The glorious gay lights at the end of Jamie’s dark childhood tunnel.
Till Monday!
I am unfamiliar with the word ‘bint’ am I just too american or something?
Per Urban Dictionary it means bitch. I had no idea what it meant either. But anyways, isn’t Jamie’s mom just super?
She’s an utter delight thats for sure. Makes me want to invite her over for tea.
Ah, yes “tea”. That’s what we’ll call it… “tea”. >:)
It’s an unpleasant and uncomplimentary word for woman or girl.
I think it’s from the Arabic word meaning girl/daughter. Used to mean bitch in this context.
Tab, you should do a spin-off series called “STEVE’S DAD!” where he rights the wrongs of the community!
Candidates for the righteous wrath of STEVE’S DAD include:
Jamie’s Parents
Natalie and her pyscho posse
There are likely a few more STEVE’S DAD could punish, but for now I can’t think of any.
After all, STEVE’S DAD doesn’t need no violence to make you regret what you did…. You just rue the day you crossed him!
…or just any kind of spinoff involving STEVE’S DAD…
wow great addition to the conversation buzz kill
Yay for glorious gay lights! ^_^
I like how, unlike with the other parents in this story, we never see Jaime’s parents faces.
Though you do in Alex’s story. Again Tab being brilliant with perspective.
We do see Jamie’s mother’s face in his own story, but her face hasn’t been shown since page 2…
It’s almost a shame on the creepiness front, because Jamie looks just like her and that’s always made me flinch.
they kind of all look like eachother, charlie, jamie, amber.
no offense to tab but his drawing style sort of limits variety.
Poor jamie
Beautiful work on the pages though, tab!^^ (not just this one, but all the previous ones as well;))
Wow, she’s a nice lady :/
And the mom of the year goes to…!
Alex’s Mom!
XD sor.ry…but she deserves it…Jamie’s mom should have to give it to her…in red hot iron shoes
Alex’s mom stepped up and did something that took a lot of courage. She’s awesome. <3 The world needs more fine people like her.
Hi Tab. I’ve been following Khaos for quite a long time now, but I’ve never felt more compelled to comment until now. I totally get Jamie in this page. My mother was the same way. My mother was ridiculously religious and overprotective and self-proclaimed infallible. I get Jamie. My father left my family, though without divorcing my mother, to go work in another state because we were really poor and he couldn’t find a job here. I grew up without him, though I never really thought about it. I, too, just endured my mother’s…wrong-ness without anyone to really explain to me that she might be wrong.
I want to thank you, Tab. Your comics do amazing things for so many people. It’s interesting that I’ve followed your comics while I’ve been closeted, coming out, and now finally (more or less) out. I would be a different person without your courage.
Your comics transmit so much. I feel so sorry for Jamie. I’m looking forward to him meeting with Steve and co
sigh… i shall be gone all holiday season to Africa, so i might not see anymore updates for a while- all is lost! T_T
Well this explains a bit about Jamie’s mom’s reaction. She was listening at the door working herself into a sanctimonious tizzy. And when the room went quiet she probably thought Alex was “seducing” her little boy… Lady is truly messed up.
… wait. If Jamie’s mom was listening at the door to that exchange, she HAD TO have heard Jamie say “I think I’ve done that,” to Alex. Does this woman have no concern for her child that she wouldn’t even think to ask about that?? What the hell.
I don’t think so. The “I think I’ve done that” conversation and Jamie and Alex’s game took place on separate occasions I believe.
Yeah, I thought the same thing! I’ll go re-read the alex portion of the story, but I feel like it was in the same conversation.
WTF!
Yep. Alex page 9. Totally at the same time.
Yet another layer of effed-up was just added to the story!
…though, as much as I hate to defend Jamie’s mother, I suppose they might have talked about it more than once.
Jamie pg 7 is where Alex told him that it was sex, then Jamie is seen crying himself to sleep in bed over his guilt. Next page is when Jean goes ape shit, so it looks like, from Jamie’s story, these were two seperate occasions. Buuuuuut, Jean tells Mama Murfs that she heard about Alex seeing gay porn with Kelly, and that was in the same convo where Alex learns Jamie was raped, right before it too. Jean either got wiggy about Alex seeing gay porn and describing it to Jamie and ran off to have a breakdown, or she had to have heard about Jamie’s experience. Definately another layer. . .
Look earlier at this view point. Jamie went neurotic when he thought he had committed sodomy (page 7) I think this incident happened on a different day. And while his mom did hear about the porn thing Jamie was probably whispering about what happened to him. And then Alex made a point to change the mood and normal playing sounds resumed. Enough to make the crazy lady listen at doors again but perhaps not enough to warrant a complete attack of crazy at the time.
I was wondering about this, too, but I finally thought of something. I don’t think that she was listening in that day. Instead, I think that Jamie told her everything during/after the “baptism”…
Stupid bitch, let Jamie be helped my Mama Murfs!>:(((
Jamie’s mom being described as “wrong” is a vast understatement.
I’m reminded of an episode of Law and Order SVU for some reason. The episode I’m thinking of, an insanely overprotective mother terrorizes her children into believing that the rest of the world will do its best to destroy and/or kill them. Her oldest runs away (she convinces the other two he’s dead) and the middle child kills his little brother to save him from their mother.
I remember that one! GOD that was an intense episode. And a depressing one.
Help me out here: Why is Steve’s dad supposed to be a bastion of tolerance? Yeah, he’s presented as a tolerant father, but I can’t see him as a hero. As far as I can see, he’s okay with his son being gay, but he’s two-dimensional.
Furthermore, letting Steve get loose with his boyfriend because Steve’s Dad (and Steve’s Mom) is too embarrassed to do some actual parenting is irresponsible–where I come from, you don’t let your kids get physical with their significant other, straight or gay. You butt in and tell them that fooling around in the house is unacceptable and that Steve’s bedroom door is going to stay open until Mark goes home. Of course they’ll be shagging like crazy in the bedroom as soon as Mom and Dad go to work (or in the back seat of a car, or in a mattress out in the woods, or wherever), but the fact that Mom or Dad gives enough of a shit to assert their right as a parent to set some limits is one way they show you they love you. I don’t see Steve’s dad doing that. He should.
The whole STEVE’S DAD is omipotent thing is just a silly joke amongst Khaos Fans, it’s not meant to be taken seriously.
Though I do agree – my mum would have skinned me alive if she’d caught me fooling around with my man when we where still under her roof!
Who says teen sex is bad? The other night, on the radio*, there was an interview with the author of Not Under My Roof, a comparison of attitudes to teenage sex in the USA and the Netherlands. American parents are likely to see it as always wrong; Dutch parents are likely to see it as fine in the context of a committed relationship where they know and like their child’s partner. Mark & Steve’s relationship was new, but they had been friends for years, and Steve’s parents knew and liked Mark.
TRiG.
* BBC Radio 4. Sorry, I can’t recall the name of the programme.
Wow, I’m really glad I don’t live in your house. :/ You know if you just tell your teens that sex is bad and they can’t have it under YOUR roof, they will sneak around and do it less safe places? The backs of cars, random bathrooms, under bridges… places where something really bad could happen… And you even admit that, so why would you ever “assert your dominance” by telling them they can’t have sex under your roof? That’s HORRIBLE parenting, made even worse if you actually know that they’re going to be doing something dangerous because of you.
Steve’s mom and dad are ten times the parents. Where you come from, the parents are doing it wrong, and the idea that they might actually /know/ that their kids will be doing something riskier because of them makes me sick. If you want to set down rules for your kids that keep them safe, set down rules that /include/ them having safe sex in their own bed where they’re not going to get randomly mugged or arrested.
Pretty much this.
So much this. One of my ex boyfriend’s parents were doing it right I think. They even gave him allowance to buy condoms every month and told us that as long we loved each other, and that we were being safe about it, it was fine for us to get busy in their house.
I don’t know. I do think abstinence is stupid, but so is jumping in bed when you’ve just started dating. Especially teenagers since, no, they aren’t emotionally mature and sometimes have the tendency to do dumb things.
Basically, no, don’t tell them sex is bad and to never do it, but don’t tell them to just feel free to get to it, either. Try to get across that sex is okay, but waiting until you’re ready is important.
Also, I do think there’s a level of respect to be expected. Yes, my boyfriend and I had sex at my mom’s house before. But damn, at least we waited until she was gone or at least asleep. I know people who have had sex with their mom right in the next room, able to hear it. Aside from there being a kind of ick factor there, I just really find it kind of disrespectful to your parents.
But maybe that’s just me.
Home is the safest place for your teenager to explore sex – at their own pace. Your job as a parent is not to terrorize them into sneaking out to have potentially dangerous or traumatizing experiences that you won’t be able to help them with, but to make sure they are safe, informed and feel like they can come to you for help and actual non-judgemental advice when they inevitably need it.
I’m confused… How come Alex’s mom says “Why is the Murphy kid locked in Jamie’s room?” back on page 9? How come she didn’t say “why is MY SON locked in Jamie’s room?”???
That’s Jamie’s Dad.
Jamie’s dad found Alex and drove him home, where Alex told his mom what happened.
Setting limits, man. You KNOW your kid is going to be fucking like a homosexual rabbit. Take Amber’s mom. Demonize her as a buzzkill and a big meanie (I can’t be bothered to go through the comments in Nay’s story, and if I’m wrong, I’m wrong), but while I don’t like her reasoning (I think that all girls and young women should be given a short knife, a flashlight, and an hour and a half of instruction. Forcible rape would be a memory inside of six months.), I think she’s doing actual parenting.
I’m no homophobe, and I dig the story (for Christ’s sake, I read the damn comic AND I take it seriously enough to comment). But while I’m for love, support, and political action in defense of LBGT issues…well…acceptance of gender expression and fierce, genuine love for one’s offspring is one thing. Speaking only for myself, however,I draw the line at fucking in my house, straight, gay, trans, bi, Sailor Senshi, whatever. It’s a respect issue.
…actually, hang on. I think I’ve failed to unpack this correctly. I KNOW my kids are going to be fucking. I KNOW I’ve made my point when my kid looks embarrassed and has a “please don’t embarrass me in front of my boyfriend” face on. I also KNOW never to raise the subject again. Any kid of mine is smart enough to look up the word “discretion” and make damn sure I don’t catch him at it again.
Fuck.
“don’t CATCH him at it again.”
Oh, and SolitaireLee?
Fucking outside/in the back seat of a car/library/on the roof deck of the Washington National Cathedral, knowing you could get caught at any moment gets me hot. I don’t know about anyone else, but that doesn’t bother me and never has. I dig that noise.
Well no, you don’t know about anyone else. What gets you hot may be unthinkable for your poor kid. Maybe it would benefit everyone around you if you could unclench a little?
I get the strong impression that in the UK parents are likely to be okay with kids over the age of consent (which these kids are) having sex in the house. Not like American parents at all, which having had sex-phobic American parents, I consider an unqualified good.
in a perfect world, people shouldn’t have to be forced into having sex outside by the circumstances of where they live. having sex outside, while it can be hot for some, is also invariably risky. especially if you’re young and queer. denial of sexuality and embargoes on sex under one’s roof if one is a parent only exacerbates the situation.
i agree with MK in their comment above.
Yeah I just LOVE the thought that at any moment some homophobic cop could come along and beat the shit out of me or even rape me! MMMMM nothing turns me on quite so much. (Yeah, no…)
Yeah, I was going to say pretty much all that good stuff. Thanks, other commenters! Nothing like risking your child being arrested, raped, beaten, etc, because you want their respect more than their safety!
Yeah, no.
this page is a bit scary.
beautifully executed though. jamie was a beautiful child and mama murfs is amazing. sad that jamie is so, well, brainwashed by his mum though.
After seeing this page, I can’t wait for the climactic moment when Jamie confronts his mother near the end of this arc. You know its going to be coming. Wonder if their relationship will be resolved. Only time will tell.
how do u pronounce the word bint? does it rhyme as pint or does it rhyme as tint?
Bint as in tint
I thought Jamie’s dad was in the army, like Murph’s mum – hence the reason why he is mostly absent from Jamie’s childhood? Maybe I have my wires crossed somewhere… :s
Or I don’t: http://www.khaoskomix.com/komix/alexs-story-page-06
Not that I’m suggesting that he [Jamie's dad] has any excuse for ignoring the way his wife is raising their child. Maybe he isn’t aware of how severe the situation is? The contrast between the two army-parents is quite interesting, with Mama Murph taking a keen interest in her son whilst Jamie’s father seems to take very little in his.
Also, whilst I agree with the above comments that Jamie’s mum is sick, I think it is really very upsetting to see so many people want to tear her to shreds instead of helping her. She seems to have quite a severe mental condition that requires medical attention and therapy – not threats of violence.
Lets not forget that for most of every story Jamie has echoed his Mother’s opinions and been quite horrific to the majority of the cast yet we are all far more forgiving of him, and willing to help him than we are the person who is probably only repeating what she was taught as a child.
I am very eager to see the point where Jamie realises that his mother’s opinions are very extreme, if he is able to break the cycle, and if he seeks any help for her.
I just wanted to reply to this, mainly because it expresses quite eloquently what I’ve been feeling while reading some of these comments, particularly the ones in the beginning of the story. I feel like people don’t realize that violence and abuse is the worst way to deal with a violent and abusive person, whether it’s Jaime’s mom, or the pedophile depicted in this comic.
These people are usually the victims of abuse themselves. It’s not right for them to behave this way, but at the same time it’s the only way these types of people know how to function and how to punish. A person like this doesn’t just “realize” that what they’re doing is wrong. They legitimately think this is how it has to be, and punching them or murdering them won’t help them realize the error of their ways.
In particular, I’m worried about the people here who are victims of abuse themselves and have described in detail how they would like to see their abuser suffer. I hope you realize you’re becoming the same monster they were, and that you are not justified in such actions. Get some help and find a better way to vent your anger before you have children or a significant other and become the woman or man you hate so much… I’m not saying this to make anyone feel bad, I just find all this violent talk worrisome and completely the opposite of what we should take away from Jaime’s story!
as a comment to the above, statement I vehemently disagree. As someone who has worked with many suicide situations I have no pity for the people who abuse others. Whether it be verbal, mental, or physical, this is no way to treat a child regardless of their past. In my experience, second chances just lead to repeats of the same problems and abusive behavior. Given the chance I would remove molesters and and rapists from the scene entirely, whether by castration or animal collaring or euthanasia. Honestly I don’t understand why we don’t treat people more like the animals they are. Jamie’s mom does not realize that she is being abusive in this situation and although her methods are extreme, she is simply just a bad parent rather than an actual tormentor. You can’t fix bad parenting, you can only get them in line through education. I believe Brittain is trying a program right now where problem kids and parents are being forced to interact under supervised conditions. I think programs like this are extreme, but who knows what the results may bring. However, jamie’s rapist should be castrated and tossed into the wilderness, that kind of behavior just never gets fixed in my experience.
Add more fuel to the fire, guess wha’s gonna happen.
Christ, reminds me of my boyfriend’s mom.
That’s just horrifying.
The saddest thing is that Jamie’s mother thinks she is doing the best for her son…