How to grow a Delicate Genius.......

[dreadedcandiru2]

Let it not be said that Elizabeth was the only victim of Elly's stupid idea that "fairness" meant that Michael deliberately had to lose in order to keep Lizzie from crying. Let's examine the various ways in which it deformed his personality.

• The first and most important thing it did was to reinforce his in-built resentment of Elizabeth; it was bad enough knowing that he could do so many praiseworthy things only to not only be silenced because a wailing lump who couldn't do anything was around but to have his accomplishments treated as if they were nothing without also having to give things up because Mommy and Daddy said he was a bad kid if he didn't.
• This leads us into another thing that baffles and angers dim Elly and learning-impaired John: his default attitude of mistrust and resentment. Since he can seemingly do no right in their eyes when he sees himself as having done nothing wrong, it won't take long for him to develop that attitude John wants to adjust. Since neither alleged parent is capable of seeing how their behavior might be part of the problem, they'll die never knowing how pathetically they failed.
• Not, of course, that they are alone; every adult Mike has ever encountered seems to be only too eager to remind him that there is one set of arbitrarily hard rules for him and an easy set of rules for Lizzie and that he's a bad kid for even complaining about it.

The end result of this ridiculously failed attempt at creating family harmony is that John and Elly have created a bitter, defensive, self-centered adult child who can't show empathy and who'll do any damned stupid thing to get the attention that was denied him as a child.