Here's The Thing

[grav_ity]

(This is totally random, but I've been thinking about it all week. Forestry Archaeology, ladies and gents: great for thinking, bad for timely lj posting.)

I've now seen quite a few of those "It gets better" shorts. And most of them made me cry. In the case of Tim Gunn's, I had to STOP WATCHING IT halfway through, because I was so upset that people have to go through crap like that. (Obviously, I knew people go through crap like that all the time, but it was TIM FREAKING GUNN and I was UNPREPARED.)

But there's this little voice in the back of my head that just doesn't buy it. And the other day I figured out why.

I hate Sue Sylvester. This is not a secret. For some reason I cannot comprehend, Sue Sylvester is the most popular character on Glee. She might even be the most popular character on TV right now (possible exception for Eric Northman, but probably not, since not enough people watch the show). Sue Sylvester is mean. She's mean to her colleagues, she's mean to her boss, and she's mean to children.

Sue Sylvester is a bully. And she is one of the most popular women on television. Where is Jane Lynch's "It gets better"? Why has she not chimed in to say "Sue Sylvester is a terrible woman. You should all spend every day of your lives trying not to be her, and praying you never meet anyone like her."? How, in this time when we are supposed to be so tolerant and encouraging and kind, can this character be held in such regard?

It drives me crazy. I can only hope it gets better.


(I am leaving this post public for now, in case it's worth linking, but at the first sign of idiocy, I'm shutting it down.)

Comments

[grav-ity.livejournal.com]

Most people I know like her "tell it like it is" attitude, which makes me see red, because "telling it like it is" /=/ "being really mean to everyone". And for some reason, the things that humanize her just make me MORE angry, because all of a sudden she's a role model, even though she sets a terrible example 90% of the time.

Yeah, it's conflicty. ;)

And she is in those do-gooding 'Don't be a Sue' commercials ;)

That's cool! We don't get those commercials up here, but seeing it makes me feel a bit better.

[allisnow.livejournal.com]

Personally I wouldn't go so far as to call her a role model -- I think she's about 40% 'tell it like it is' and 60% nasty bitch, and one doesn't excuse the others. But I agree that she is an interesting, memorable character. (I don't know that any of the characters are particularly role-model worthy, to be honest. Even the most sympathetic have had pretty revealing moments of selfishness and small-mindedness and stupidness... but again, from a storytelling standpoint, that kind of mixed bag is what makes for interesting characters.)