"The Hollywood formula could be called Boy Wants Girl, Girl Doesn’t Want Boy, Boy Harasses Girl, Boy Gets Girl.
Many movies teach that if you just stay with it, even if you offend her, even if she says she wants nothing to do with you, even if you’ve treated her like trash (and sometimes because you’ve treated her like trash), you’ll get the girl. […]
There’s a lesson in real-life stalking cases that young women can benefit from learning: Persistence only proves persistence—it does not prove love.
The fact that a romantic pursuer is relentless doesn’t mean you are special—it means he is troubled."
— Gavin de Becker, The Gift of Fear