Daytime TV taught me this:

Far too many of us care more about being liked than about being respected.

That’s why there’s been such a proliferation recently of Dog Whisperers and Supernannies and all those other TV straight talkers — they’re there to sort out the dumb shits who’ve never disciplined their dogs and their kids because they’d rather be “friends” than responsible owners or parents. They’re scared their dog won’t love them any more if they set boundaries. They can’t bear the idea of their sulky four-year-old yelling that she hates them for forbidding her to scribble on the living room walls.

If you’re not sure which camp you fall into, here’s a simple little guide I came up with recently, while drunk:
People who’d rather be liked say “yes” to things they shouldn’t;
People who’d rather be respected say “no” to things they should.

I didn’t enjoy the realisation that I’d been a dumb shit myself, and that working to be liked rather than respected had done me a lot of damage. But I count it as Milestone #7 nonetheless.

So my advice unto ye, oh superheroes is this: go ye now forth and be ye respected, even though thy vengeful hound doth piss on thy footwear and the child of thine loins, upon reaching adulthood, doth sue thee for “mental cruelty”.

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