Pattersons versus dignity: the early years.

One thing you cannot help but notice is that Lynn seems to have an active hatred of acting in a classy, dignified manner. This is why she calls food 'grub', potatoes 'spuds', dogs 'mutts' and children 'small ones'; she doesn't want to look what she calls all high and mighty and what regular people who like the person they see in the mirror call having self-respect. This self-loathing is one of the oldest features of the strip; the same impulse that led Anthony to chicken out and chase the unicorn instead of be a man, stay with Therese and move upward in the world is the one that has Elly scream because the last doughnut had been eaten. In both cases, we have to bear witness to goofolas who loathe who they are surrender their dignity so people would pity them and not hold them to the minimum acceptable standards for adult behavior. In the strip, they're rewarded for being whiny, destructive, immature mooches; in reality, the people they torment would tell them to shut up and quit waiting for the Easter Bunny to show up.