This blog post is basically so I can get something off my chest about the TV show "Bones." A few years ago, I started watching it and had to stop at the end of season one. Why? Simply put, because Booth is an insecure, arrogant a$$ who expects the world to conform to what he calls "normal" while he is, of course, PERFECT. He treats people, especially Bones and her fellow scientists, terribly. Several years passed, and I decided to give "Bones" another try. Booth was his ol' self, but I tried the best I could (which entailed a lot of yelling at the TV) to ignore him and to focus on the good aspects of the show (the bodies! the special effects! Bones as a character!).
Last night, my wife and I started Season 7 on Netflix streaming, and Booth hasn't changed a lot. A little, yeah, but he still disdainfully labels Bones (the mother of his child to be!) as not normal. (Key word: disdainfully. To him, not being normal is bad.) He does appreciate her gifts but views her "negatives" more as the "cost" of having her gifts rather than just seeing her as a person. He is still constantly trying to change her. I really don't understand why he's so popular, but whatever.
The message here: Don't try to change people. Accept them for who they are. True change comes from within. So either you change yourself to become more accepting or (if the other person truly needs to change) he or she has to recognize it. You can't browbeat change. In fact, browbeating probably makes people more resistant.
Don't hate. Don't be insecure. Get rid of that narrow worldview. Love yourself so you can love others. That's what leads to true change, both in yourself and in others.
*** Edited to add *** Booth's behavior would not bother me nearly as much if the show (perhaps through a character or two) recognized it as such: boorish. But, no, his behavior is acceptable, and so is the behavior of one or two other characters.
Last night, my wife and I started Season 7 on Netflix streaming, and Booth hasn't changed a lot. A little, yeah, but he still disdainfully labels Bones (the mother of his child to be!) as not normal. (Key word: disdainfully. To him, not being normal is bad.) He does appreciate her gifts but views her "negatives" more as the "cost" of having her gifts rather than just seeing her as a person. He is still constantly trying to change her. I really don't understand why he's so popular, but whatever.
The message here: Don't try to change people. Accept them for who they are. True change comes from within. So either you change yourself to become more accepting or (if the other person truly needs to change) he or she has to recognize it. You can't browbeat change. In fact, browbeating probably makes people more resistant.
Don't hate. Don't be insecure. Get rid of that narrow worldview. Love yourself so you can love others. That's what leads to true change, both in yourself and in others.
*** Edited to add *** Booth's behavior would not bother me nearly as much if the show (perhaps through a character or two) recognized it as such: boorish. But, no, his behavior is acceptable, and so is the behavior of one or two other characters.