Let's talk about Dwight Shrute.

This will *not* be a negative thread. This *will* have plenty of gifs. But my desire is to point out some critical things about the character of Dwight as expressed by @rainnwilson.

The keystone moment for understanding the character of Dwight came when I was watching a blooper of The Office. I don't recall what the scene was for, but Rainn broke character for a second, laughing at the joke he was supposed to be making, and he nervously cracked his knuckles.

It was my first moment of clarity, seeing him as Rainn, not Dwight, but also the man he *knew Dwight to be.*

The second moment of clarity came in a now famous clip:

Dwight is many things but seeing him as just a kiss-ass, or just as a geek risen to power, or just as a craven manipulator misses the depth of him.

Dwight Shrute is driven by a desperate need to be accepted. He never feels accepted wherever he goes. He's always on the margins. So he tries to push back towards the center by learning things. He tries to be respected by adopting power structures.

And the reality is he's just fragile. He's always hoping someone will really *see him.* He would never admit it. He can't admit it to himself, but he's lost in a world that refuses to submit to his power.

He always takes things one step too far. One joke past funny. One comment deep into the cringe. One colloquialism no one else shares all in that need to have that last word. And, again, all because he NEEDS to be seen.

And why do I expose him like this? I do so because I *AM* him in many ways and this is me being vulnerable. This is me showing you how I struggle. This is me showing you how I have, in many ways, screwed up my own life.

So if you know a Dwight? It's easy to discard him/us. It's easy because we have lived so long at the margins we tend to adopt a victimhood.

Maybe try to see us, really see us, and reach out. We might not accept it, but then, we might.

That's all I got.