Of Griffons, Wizards, and Complete Jerks

All too often we come across people we don't agree with. Braggarts, bullies, total jerks, and the like. But, the way we see them in real life is somehow different from the way we see similar characters on tv. I wonder why?

Yes, this is a post about ponies. Please restrain your tl;dr...

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 Meet the Great and Powerful Trixie (Episode: Boast Busters). One day, she pulled into Ponyville in her stagecoach and put on a magic show. This was the day she met her ruin.
You see, her magic show consisted mostly of boasting of her abilities and copious amounts of fireworks. She even claimed to be the most powerful unicorn alive, not a smart thing to say in the hometown of the ponies who saved the world  and the actual most powerful unicorn alive. One by one, they challenged her, and she humiliated each of them, simultaneously making her look like a formidable wizard and a huge jerkface.
Eventually, she gets run out of town, and everypony learns a valuable lesson about the dangers of boasting too much. But what about Trixie? We never see her again, and good riddance...right?

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Now direct your attention to  specimen B, Gilda the Griffon (Episode: Griffon the Brush Off). An old friend of Rainbow Dash, she shows up in town to chill and hang out. Except Pinkie Pie also wants to hang out with Rainbow Dash. Gilda, being a total punk, continually tells her to scram, even threatening bodily harm. This is one of the few times you'll see Pinkie Pie cringe.
Pinkie decides to investigate the extent of Gilda's character. She's even a punk in town, stealing and yelling at poor Fluttershy!
Eventually, Gilda leaves town due to a completely coincidental series of pranks. Everypony learns a valuable lesson about dealing with friends of friends who are punks. We never see Gilda again, and good riddance...right?

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In the case of both Gilda and Trixie, fans of the show soon started to wonder why they were colossal jerks. Why did they act like that? What happened after they left? Who can we ship them with? Will they come back?
Both characters, especially Trixie, now have plenty of fans. There are even plenty of fanfics and art speculating on their past, present, and future. We don't just look at them and say "Oh, they're just like that." Instead, they're like that for a reason, and we want to know what that reason is.

Now consider how we actually deal with people like this in real life. Usually we try to avoid them, right? They're "just like that," right? Nothing like the way we see Trixie and Gilda. Perhaps there is something wrong with that.

Consider this a lesson beyond the moral. I'm not denying that there are people who are naturally mean and cruel. I'm just saying that there's often a reason for it. If we could stop and think critically for a moment, rather than simply jumping to conclusions on sight, perhaps we could better relate to the people around us. Wisdom comes through seeking to understand.

I suppose this would mark the end of my first meaningful blog post. Just a pondering. Feel free to discuss in the comments.