The lawnmower moron

Now that we're about to be subjected to the "Mike has to get a summer job because he idiotically volunteered the damaging information that he can't be trusted around the house" arc, let's remind ourselves of a fact that he'd rather not face about himself. He spends pretty much all of his wasted life yowling about the cruelty of people standing over him barking orders and treating him like he's this moron who needs to be told what to do and where to do it all the time when he knows that if he were let be, he'd find all kinds of amazing things to do with himself that would show the cruel people who don't love him that he's not a slave or a housewife or something awful only to not notice that he really kind of does have to be told what to do all the time.

We get a good look into his thought processes in an upcoming strip when John tries using the phrase "It sure would be nice if someone were to mow the lawn" in the foolish belief that Mike would get the hint only to be gobsmacked when the boy says that he was not told to do anything. John ascribes this to defiance and mischief and so on and so forth because it's less scary than having to realize that someone will have to yell "YOU FORGOT TO BREATHE OUT AGAIN, STUPID!!!" at Mike for the rest of his life because, boy howdy, left to his own devices, Mike would stand around like a shivering pillar of shit without an idea in his head.