Apart from the obvious comedy-detective-thriller genre, there was another reason I love the show ‘Monk’.
I think I got hooked on the show after that scene of Monk on the ladder in season 1 first episode. It was so hilarious and I was laughing so much even thinking about it later. As I watched the rest of the seasons, several things struck a chord with me.
It was the obvious but not so obvious thing – how people are so different and yet we only celebrate and tolerate the ones who fit certain definition of the conceived notion of bright/fast/extrovert/athletic/academic.
I recently watched a youtube video where Keira Knightly was talking about how her teacher identified that she was different at an young age. Eventually she was diagnosed with Dyslexia. What was lovely was that her teacher graded her assignments differently – instead of awarding points for spelling, she was given points for the creativity of the content. If her teacher had not understood her student and instead focused on normal teaching and grading methods, Keira would have been cast aside as a failure, instead of the normal creative student she was.
Unfortunately not many people are tolerant towards the different people. We have this mental picture of perfect person, perfect world and when someone does not fit that description, they are ridiculed and unfortunately even bullied to an extent that they hate themselves and completely lack self-confidence
‘Monk’ was about one such person who had unique qualities – which sometimes annoy a lot of people – but there were select few who loved him in spite of his perceived weirdness.
I truly wish that people are respected irrespective of what they are – it is hurtful to see kids being taunted for physical differences/deformities. I have met some people who lacked confidence about their physical appearance – one guy who was bald, but did not embrace it. But hello, have you seen Jason Statham? The guy who rocks being bald? There are several entrepreneurs, celebrities who care less about the perfect picture, but just exude such confidence, that you barely notice anything else.
Physical difference is just one part. There is also emotional, personal capabilities that come under scrutiny – like Monk. For e.g., one habit of Monk is to keep all ingredients of his food in separate plate. I actually had no idea that such behaviors could exist and I recently encountered a mom in a social-networking-group whose child hated food and their meal time was such a battle until someone pointed out that the child may be expecting food items to be separate and hence start giving single item food.
I realize I am rambling here, but I will stop with one final thought. Next time you see someone doing things different, please be kind to them. Teach your children to be kind to others. Don’t encourage bullying for any reason. If you don’t enjoy being mocked at, there is no reason why mocking others should be fun.
The same way you are so different from everyone else, your child is different and start embracing the difference!!