The Simpsons’ Fans Missing The Point Of Homer’s “Changing Times” Explanation For No Longer Strangling Bart

The characters in The Simpsons never age, but their values do. After nearly 34 years, family patriarch Homer Simpson has proclaimed that he will stop strangling his son, Bart. 

Now, if you’re unfamiliar with the show, your eyes may have bulged at the word “strangling,” but rest assured that the show seldom depicted the action in a positive light.

In fact, it was the centerpiece of the Season 22 episode “Love Is a Many Strangled Thing” which showed Homer getting a taste of his own medicine and taking anger management classes after being criticized for his violence towards the young boy by his therapist.

But that didn’t stop Homer from strangling Bart in future episodes as he was last shown with his hands around his son’s neck in the Season 31 episode “The Winter of Our Monetized Content,” released in 2019.

Four years later, Homer has announced in a recent episode that he is retiring the punishment for good. In “McMansion and Wife,” which aired October 22, 2023, Homer and his wife Marge visit their new neighbors, Anne and Thayer Blackburn, and Marge insists that she wants to make a good impression on them since the town rarely gets new residents. 

Her plan is quickly foiled when Bart pulls his pants down in front of the neighbors after Marge rings the doorbell to deliver a welcome basket. 

The laidback neighbors are unfazed by the boyish behavior and invite Marge and Homer into their home. Homer chats with Thayer about his job as a Lambuggini salesperson, and they shake hands, after which Thayer comments on his good grip. 

“See, Marge! Strangling the boy has paid off,” Homer says. “Just kidding! I don’t do that anymore. Times have changed.”

Even though the episode came out a few weeks ago, the particular revelation is finding new wind on social media after one fan shared a clip of the scene with the caption, “I just found out that, after over 30 years, The Simpsons has finally retired their long-running gag of Homer strangling Bart. Took them long enough.”

Fans are polarized by the decision with some praising the show for the progressive change and others insisting that it is unnecessary because the gag has always been a joke. “One of the most iconic things in television history all because people can’t take jokes anymore,” wrote a frustrated viewer. 

This isn’t the first time Matt Groening’s popular show has adjusted long-running bits to keep with the “changing times,” as Homer would put it. In 2020, white actor Hank Azaria stepped down from voicing the South Asian character Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, who owns the famous Kwik-E-Mart in the series, after backlash for its perpetuation of harmful stereotypes. The decision was made among him, Groening, and showrunner Al Jean. “We all made the decision together,” Azaria said at the time. “We all agreed on it. We all feel like it’s the right thing and good about it.”

Nonetheless, we’re glad Homer has finally come to his senses – and we hope the episode’s gag isn’t lost on those waiting idly to blame the “woke mob” for the character’s sudden proclamation. Must we point out the hilarity of Homer, and the internet, citing “changing times” as a reason to not strangle a minor? When, well, it has never been appropriate to strangle a minor (or any person), not even in the days when corporal punishment was more widely accepted in the world.