Would you want this man to be your business partner?

(Note: This argument is from the point of view of Jesse Pinkman, hence the informal tone and use of the first person. We can also discuss Pinkman’s Ethos, for his authority and credibility is questionable to anyone who has never seen Breaking Bad.)

            Meet Walter White. Before he was diagnosed with lung cancer, he was a high school chemistry teacher – my high school chemistry teacher, actually – who had enough trouble supporting his family without a terminal illness. His in-laws offered to cover his medical bills, but Mr. White had too much pride to allow them to. Instead he went behind everyone’s backs and asked me to assist him in a drug-dealing partnership. This dying man wanted to use his chemistry skill to formulate crystal meth. I only agreed to help because, hey, it was a good opportunity to make some extra cash. Except, after a while, even when we had made enough money so that his wife and kids were set for life, he became more and more invested in maintaining his reputation as the best in the meth industry and striking multi-million deals. Walter White went from being this genuine and caring family man, willing to risk getting locked up so that his wife and kids would have enough money after he died, to a ruthless, narcissistic liar that I came to be afraid of on multiple occasions.

Let me tell you, Mr. White had a sick mind. This man did not worry too much about having other people die for the sake of his own self-preservation. People were shot, mutilated, and demolished to bits as a result of his actions. Most of these people were out to get us, yes, but it was still brutal. I know I appear to be this drug-thug-gang boy type, but I was genuinely scared of what this man was capable of doing. No matter how many times I said I wanted out, he would either threaten or guilt me into staying.  Now let me ask you, now knowing my experiences with Walter White, would you ever have trusted such a controlling, manipulative, unpredictable man to have the slightest bit of respect for you as his partner?