Lately, there was a thread about the psychopathic lead of the series DEXTER. Dexter is a crime fighter, but a serial killer himself... of those who've escaped justice. Perfectly understandable why he's discussed here.

So, why am I discussing the FOX show "Glee",all about a cool high school where kids sing the latest pop songs? "Glee" seems to be everywhere... but reading the episode synopsis of "Ballads" was VERY triggering for me. For some reason, the show makes me instinctively nauseous.

In "Ballads",the cheerleader Rachel has a crush on Will Schuester, the handsome Spanish teacher who leads the glee club. Mr. "Schue" decides to teach Rachel a lesson after they've been paired to sing The Police's "Don't stand so close to me" (about an affair between a teacher and a student). When Mr. Schuester realizes Rachel has a crush on him, he humiliates her by making her do household chores with his psychopathic, plotting wife (who has affairs and fakes a pregnancy). He also tells her the story of a student who was infatuated with him. Since he didn't reciprocate, the student attempted suicide.. and now she lies in a coma. Mr. Schuester takes Rachel to the hospital to see the comatose student. In the end, Mr. Schuester tells Rachel one day she will find a man who will "REALLY respect her",attributes her crush on him to low self-esteem, and Rachel APOLOGIZES for having a crush on her teacher. Yes... she apologizes to Mr. Schuester for having a crush.

Why I find this episode triggering-
1)The public humiliation- Of all the students, Rachel is the one sent to do Will's household chores, because she's the one with the crush. My ex-P professor would reduce me to tears in front of my friends. Public humiliation was his MO. Flaunting the girlfriend. Mocking me during class. Sending me to the therapist.
2)The rejection- Will's rejection of the student drives her to a suicide attempt. When my ex-P D&D'd me, my friends feared that I'd attempt suicide. Romantic rejection is disappointing. It should NOT drive one to suicide.
3)The man who will "REALLY respect her"-Will tells Rachel one day a man will REALLY respect her. The premise is that teachers really don't respect their students. Isn't that a terrible lesson? My ex-P said after the D&D that he didn't respect students as human beings.
4)Attributing the crush to low self-esteem- Okay, so Will thinks he knows the motives of Rachel AND the comatose student. Not only is he handsome, but apparently he is the King of Everything. My ex-P claimed that my feelings of love for him came from low self-esteem. I assume that the fictional Will (and my real ex-P) actually liked the admiration.
5)Apologizing for the crush- Rachel APOLOGIZES to her teacher for being infatuated with him. How DARE she be human! How DARE she! This was wrenching to read. When I declared my love to my ex-P, he immediately went into D&D mode, claiming I was "offending" and "embarrassing" him, so there I was, in tears, apologizing to him. He acted as if my feelings of love for him was some terrible violation. I've been romantically rejected before, but only ONCE in my life have I apologized for being in love.

That's why I don't watch Glee. I'm not gleeful.