Cinderella is a Liar!

I saw Cinderella this weekend, and I have some problems with it. While it was beautiful and magical, I couldn't get into it, even though Gus-Gus was fat and adorable and that Goose was hilarious. I wanted to pull the fire alarm and stop the movie. I wanted the warn all those little girls dressed in pretty blue taffeta dresses that life isn't a fairy tale. Your waist will never be as small as Cinderella's. You will never have a Fairy Godmother. Your prince will not come. There is no ball. If you meet a mysterious stranger in the forest, he's going to kill you.

Most importantly, there is no happily ever after.

Just after.

Cinderella did get a few things right. You will most likely have to slave away, your only reward the blackening ash from the dying embers of a fire. You will lose your favorite shoes.

I know I'm bitter, but I deserve to be that way. I have worked and worked and worked, but never get the thing I want. Even if you keep on believing, the dream that you wish won't come true. No one is coming along to recuse you, honey. The only person you can count on is yourself.

Have courage and be kind. Well, I've had courage and I've been kind, and nothing has come of it.  I'm sorry, but Cinderella is a liar, and she's not the kind of heroine the world needs. This is why I have never been a fan of the Disney Princess (except for Mulan and a few other modern day princesses). They wait in towers, daydreaming of a prince instead of training themselves to fight. They fling themselves down and cry instead of taking action. They marry the first idiot who comes along and shows some interest. (Oh, wait, that's what I did.) They take abuse. They turn the other cheek. And maybe this is WWJD, but sometimes kindness is the wrong answer. I always ask myself. WWBuffyDo.

Buffy wouldn't take the abuse. Buffy would fight against it until you get free. Kindness is all well and good, and there isn't enough of it in this world, but kindness doesn't get you what you want. Kindness gives you false hope. Kindness breaks your heart.

I wish I could be Cinderella and find magic in the cinders of the fireplace. Magic and Miracles take time, and I have put in my time. I will continue to be kind because kindness is my weakness. I don't understand meanness. It's not in my heart. Maybe that's the point. To continue to be kind even when kindness doesn't come to you.