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I should think it's pretty safe to assume that to most of you, the phrase "creepy stalker" is something of a tautology. Even if the stalker means no harm, the fact that he or she doesn't seem to quite understand that he or she is violating his or her target's personal space isn't romantic as much as it an unsettling reminder that this person simply doesn't understand any sort of social norm. It's hard to trust or like someone who might not be aware that s/he comes across less as a love interest and more as a threat to one's person. When one remembers that the reason that Liz rejected Anthony and Howard Erk in turn because they were not model handsome, it would seem that perhaps Lynn does not quite understand this social norm herself.
We get something of proof of this when Michael shadows Martha and Rhetta in turn for days on end because he cannot work up the nerve to do what he thinks of as his rightful role and 'dominating' the relationship. Lynn would have us see him as a shy boy who's afraid of getting hurt. The reality is that his romantic life is hampered by the same mental infirmity that has him at odds with Elly: he's too blasted stupid and passive to think of what to do on his own but thinks that any woman who tells him what to do is out of line because he's supposed to be calling the shots 'cause he's got a penis.
This would be bad enough in and of itself had it not become the template for all relationships that we see. Eric, Warren, Paul and Anthony all stalked Liz and I'm pretty sure that if we were to take a look at the past, Elly would look back at her past and see a familiar gangly shape in the background of all manner of photos from before she was aware of John's existence.
We get something of proof of this when Michael shadows Martha and Rhetta in turn for days on end because he cannot work up the nerve to do what he thinks of as his rightful role and 'dominating' the relationship. Lynn would have us see him as a shy boy who's afraid of getting hurt. The reality is that his romantic life is hampered by the same mental infirmity that has him at odds with Elly: he's too blasted stupid and passive to think of what to do on his own but thinks that any woman who tells him what to do is out of line because he's supposed to be calling the shots 'cause he's got a penis.
This would be bad enough in and of itself had it not become the template for all relationships that we see. Eric, Warren, Paul and Anthony all stalked Liz and I'm pretty sure that if we were to take a look at the past, Elly would look back at her past and see a familiar gangly shape in the background of all manner of photos from before she was aware of John's existence.
