ALIEB42 - YOU ROCK

[deelaundry]

"aileb42
2010-05-04 09:22 am (local) (link)
Wilson is not being cruel. House is being a jerk as usual, and a crybaby."

I love House. I empathize with him and make excuses for him, and try to contort my thinking into the thinking of those who make even more excuses for him.

And then alieb42 comes along and tells the truth, and knocks sense into me.

YOU ARE AWESOME!

(possibility of minor spoilers in comments, depending on what people want to talk about -- NO MAJOR SPOILERS, please)

Comments

[deelaundry.livejournal.com]

Oh, yes, when itcomes to in-depth discussion over-simplification does not help. But sometimes one is compelled to reduce things to their simplest form.

There is a distinction I make between who someone is and what someone does. House is not defined by his jerkiness and yet he does in fact act like a jerk. Often. Self-admittedly. Sometimes for the greater good, and sometimes for his own benefit, and sometimes just because he feels like it.

Or as I had Wilson say to House in a fic: "Acting like a jerk is a lifestyle choice for you, not a congenital disorder."

If you prefer canon:

"Wilson: You can be a real jerk sometimes, you know that?

House: Yeah. And you’re the good guy.

Wilson: At least I try.

House: As long as you’re trying to be good, you can do whatever you want.

Wilson: And as long as you’re not trying, you can say whatever you want.

House: So between us, we can do anything. We can rule the world!"

[felis-nocturna.livejournal.com]

But sometimes one is compelled to reduce things to their simplest form.

Why? Because they wouldn't be heard otherwise? And are you saying "jerk" and "crybaby" is the simplest form to describe House? I just don't think there is a "simplest form" when talking about a character. (Especially on House where almost nothing is ever as simple as it looks and where they have made an artform out of questioning the characters' motivations.)

And I agree with you again on the distinction between who someone is and what he does and also why he does it. This was in fact the background for my comment. Of course House often acts like a jerk, but it was exactly my point that this doesn't make him one in general. Just like - as you quoted - Wilson's good intentions don't always make him the good guy.

Just as an afterthought - the line you quoted from your fic is interesting, because I think this is one of the things this episode was about. Is House able to change, control himself, even if he might fail here and there (= lifestyle choice) or would this mean he is denying his identity (= congenital disorder). This was examined from very different angles with Taub, the patient and in House's conversations with Thirteen and Wilson.

[deelaundry.livejournal.com]

Why is one so compelled? Because sometimes one is sick of having to caveat everything to placate people who feel no such compunction to temper their own outspoken opinions.

"House is being a jerk and a crybaby" is a simple statement of truth. Note that "is being" implies a temporary state, not a permanent one. Nobody's reducing House to anything; they're describing his behavior.

You're right to some extent about the quote from my fic. But you've missed one point that I was trying to make (through Wilson's words): House often makes a specific choice to act like a jerk. In these times, it's not that he fails to control himself; it's that he deliberately says or does something provocative or with a deliberate lack of concern for other people's feelings. Sometimes this is for a noble reason, and sometimes it is because House is putting his own desires above other people's. One large example from this season is when House told PPTH about Wilson appearing in a porno. He thoroughly embarrassed Wilson solely for the laughs. And it was funny. I laughed too. But that was a jerk move that House consciously decided to make and had no remorse for afterwards.

Yes, there are other times where House is trying to be decent and makes an honest slip. Absolutely. But please do not deny that House often chooses to be rude.

[felis-nocturna.livejournal.com]

Okay. As I can see by your response and your second post on this issue, you are very annoyed by all of this and I'm sorry, it really wasn't my intention to contribute to it or rain on your parade. Maybe this was the wrong situation to state my opinion. Just let me clear two things up:

The point I was trying to make in my initial comment is that I don't think that there are simple truths about any of the characters. I wasn't sure about your stance on this, so I wrote the comment, but I think it is quite clear now that you disagree with this premise, which is fine.

About your quote: I did get the point you were trying to make, I just tried to take it from a broader perspective. I find the whole issue of choice and identity absolutely fascinating and here as well I think there isn't a simple truth. Both of these are interwoven to an endless degree and this is one of the things the show comes back to again and again.