Glee: Looking at Karofsky
Taken with permission from lawpup
I love Glee. And for a show that has so many faults, thats saying something. I like Quinn even though it seems she'll never learn not to cheat. I like Will for his sincerity, even if there are times when he just needs to be hit over the head with something heavy. I like Mercedes because for as much as she seems to have a take-no-nonsense attitude, she's still susceptible to issues like her weight.
But most of all I love the Karofsky/Kurt storyline. In a show where students show up to school dressed like Lady Gaga and where a student would seriously consider giving her baby to her teacher's wife, a storyline about a closeted self-hating gay teen bullying the effeminate out gay teen is almost the show's only realistic plot. And it works. It makes my heart ache for Kurt that he had to suffer that level of bullying. But, and I think this is where a big chunk of fandom gets divided, Dave Karofsky is also a victim here.
He's a victim of his own self-hate, and there will come a day (soon please, Ryan Murphy) where he realises that. He's not the one being slushied or being slammed against lockers, but he's in a cycle of abuse with himself. He sees someone he wants, but because of his own built-in prejudices, and those of the people he calls friends, the only way he knows how to react when he sees someone gay, or something he perceives to be gay, is to lash out violently. This doesn't make him a monster. It makes him a lonely, confused teenager.
I guess what I'm trying to say is: Stop hating on Dave. He's done bad things, no argument there. But he is far, far, from being beyond redemption. We all know around these parts that gay teen suicides are at an all time high. Those numbers aren't just made up of the Kurts of the world, they include the Daves.
I love Glee. And for a show that has so many faults, thats saying something. I like Quinn even though it seems she'll never learn not to cheat. I like Will for his sincerity, even if there are times when he just needs to be hit over the head with something heavy. I like Mercedes because for as much as she seems to have a take-no-nonsense attitude, she's still susceptible to issues like her weight.
But most of all I love the Karofsky/Kurt storyline. In a show where students show up to school dressed like Lady Gaga and where a student would seriously consider giving her baby to her teacher's wife, a storyline about a closeted self-hating gay teen bullying the effeminate out gay teen is almost the show's only realistic plot. And it works. It makes my heart ache for Kurt that he had to suffer that level of bullying. But, and I think this is where a big chunk of fandom gets divided, Dave Karofsky is also a victim here.
He's a victim of his own self-hate, and there will come a day (soon please, Ryan Murphy) where he realises that. He's not the one being slushied or being slammed against lockers, but he's in a cycle of abuse with himself. He sees someone he wants, but because of his own built-in prejudices, and those of the people he calls friends, the only way he knows how to react when he sees someone gay, or something he perceives to be gay, is to lash out violently. This doesn't make him a monster. It makes him a lonely, confused teenager.
I guess what I'm trying to say is: Stop hating on Dave. He's done bad things, no argument there. But he is far, far, from being beyond redemption. We all know around these parts that gay teen suicides are at an all time high. Those numbers aren't just made up of the Kurts of the world, they include the Daves.