Dear Abby and Miss Manners might have both been white women, but the advice they trotted out was universal, based on the simple precept that being kind and understanding to others was the best advice ever. Period. Miss manners, in particular, ran roughshod in the most delightful ways over people whose barely masked misogyny and homophobia deserved to be taken down a notch or two (Her famous reply to someone who didnt know what to say to a gay couple: “How do you do. How do you do.”).

Advice columnists may come from specific backgrounds, but the advice they offer must be universal if they hope to succeed.

    Sean Stephane Martin

    Written by

    Cartoonist, "Doc and Raider" (docandraider.com); illustrator; Canadian, @doc_and_raider