When I found out that the comic strip Funky Winkerbean has a introduced a storyline about interracial romance, my first thought was: Funky Winkerbean is still around? A comic strip from my childhood, it centered on the adventures of a group of high school students. Doonesbury, it was not, but over the years Tom Batiuk's less hip strip still tackled hot-button issues such as teen pregnancy, capital punishment, child abuse, and land mines.


Two years ago, to the horror of some fans, it even killed off a character: Lisa Moore, who died after a long bout with breast cancer. Meanwhile, its cast of characters has jumped twice in time, to early adulthood and then to their mid-40's (their current age).

Batiuk decided that when Lisa Moore's widower, Les, moved on, it would be with a black woman named Cayla. The ghost of Lisa even pops up to give Les the thumbs-up on the union, when Cayla admits to being a Woody Allen fan. Later on, the two middle-aged single parents steal a moonlit lip lock in the car. It's been subject to some mild Internet chatter, but it's not exactly the smooch seen 'round the world when Captain Kirk and Lt. Uhura kissed on Star Trek in 1968. I guess that fact that this storyline is so yawn-producing is actually a sign of progress.

Don't get me wrong, I know some folks still get exercised when they see black and white together. I know it personally as a black woman married to a white man, although the occasional cross-eyed looks that we receive now are a far cry from the ostracism and unveiled hostility I received back in the '80s if I was seen dating outside of my race.

And intense animosity no longer sends people to the polls to keep persons of different races from getting hitched. If you really want to push buttons, I'm thinking gay marriage is the topic to take on (something Doonesbury took on a decade ago). In fact, gay marriage advocates are actually using the landmark case that legalized interracial marriage in every state, Loving vs. Virginia, to bolster their case -- under the notion that the same kinds of religion-based arguments that were made against interracial marriage are now being made against gay marriage.

For me, the case for gay matrimony is a lot simpler: the people who want it are motivated by love; marriage is a stabilizing force in society that forces participants to act more responsibly; and the sanctity of the marriage vows I took before God are in no way affected by vows taken by someone else. To me it just makes sense.

Meanwhile, I look forward to the day when Les and Cayla attend a gay wedding, and everyone yawns.