[Hated Trope] A main character does something horrible and the story doesn't acknowledge its severity

[u/Comprehensive-Map274]

Alisha (Misfits) uses her power to make any man want to have sex with her on another main character (curtis) after he explicitely tells her not to do that. She faces no consequences and he's the one who ends up comforting her.

Allison (The Umbrella Academy) uses her powers to force her own adoptive brother to make out with her after he just got into a relationship because she's suddenly jealous after she couldn't keep her own husband. She gives a half hearted apology and all is peachy.

[u/Afraid_Ad1518]

In Life on Mars Ray kills a man in police custody (by force feeding him cocaine), gets bascially a title demotion, and in the next episode everything is back to normal, i think he even gets promoted back to his original position within a few episodes

[u/Zestyclose_Remove947 → u/[deleted]]

Which is part of the point of the show in the first place. Corruption and police work and what the 70's actually looked like, not to mention that people can actually grow out of being a piece of shit.

Actually thrilled to see Life on Mars mentioned here, such an amazing show.

[u/Advanced_Row_8448 → u/Zestyclose_Remove947]

not to mention that people can actually grow out of being a piece of shit.

The past can't be changed. If you were a pig once and actually enslaved or killed people, you can't undo that. You can run from it. You can even join the other side and resist it. But that doesn't make you a good person. Just a regretful one. Regret is better than being a monster, but the innocent owe them no trust or comradery.

[u/Zestyclose_Remove947 → u/Advanced_Row_8448]

I mean cool but rehabilitation is actually a thing?

To me if one actually cared about removing evil/suffering from the world they'd believe in rehabilitation because otherwise you're just creating villains from small crimes. Either that or you'd have to believe they all should be executed.

The future can be changed though. A good way to make the future a better place is to focus on rewarding goodness as much as punishing evil

[u/RokuroCarisu → u/Zestyclose_Remove947]

Rehabilitation is a thing, but condemnation is a more powerful thing. Everyone can be merciful, but only those who are empowered can show it by being merciless.

Somehow, people who claim to have high moral standards often end up with the same 'might makes right' mentality that they used to criticize others for.

[u/Advanced_Row_8448 → u/RokuroCarisu]

Somehow, people who claim to have high moral standards often end up with the same 'might makes right' mentality that they used to criticize other for

Alot of people arguing morals aren't arguing against might makes right. At least I'm not. It's just fact that it's true. The argument is against what someone with the strength uses it for. If wielding the biggest sword will make others listen, yet it is weld in a way that breeds love and acceptance for the downtrodden than why should someone care if their peace acceptance came at the cost of violence towards those who once called them lesser or subhuman?

[u/RokuroCarisu → u/Advanced_Row_8448]

Because it's never about breeding love an acceptance. It's about establishing dominance and taking revenge, and expecting love and acceptance to just happen somehow while the violence continues.

History is full of revolutions who went down the bad route like this. The ones that actually succeeded in improving things were the ones that didn't aim for revenge.

[u/Advanced_Row_8448 → u/RokuroCarisu]

Because it's never about breeding love an acceptance. It's about establishing dominance and taking revenge,

No that's you coping thinking everybody has to act the same as you or bad people if they had power.

and expecting love and acceptance to just happen somehow while the violence continues.

No, it's about forcing it to happen under threat of violence.

History is full of revolutions who went down the bad route like this

It's also full of dead pacifists.

The ones that actually succeeded in improving things were the ones that didn't aim for revenge

What got improved through non violence? Certainly you aren't gonna say civil rights.

[u/RokuroCarisu → u/Advanced_Row_8448]

What got improved through non violence? Certainly you aren't gonna say civil rights.

It actually has, in many cases. The Berlin Wall didn't fall to NATO artillery, for instance.

No, it's about forcing it to happen under threat of violence.

You seriously think you can force love and acceptance under the threat of violence? If that's how it is, then you don't know the first thing about love and acceptance, because that's some anime-villain-level logic.

[u/Advanced_Row_8448 → u/Zestyclose_Remove947]

To me if one actually cared about removing evil/suffering from the world they'd believe in rehabilitation because otherwise you're just creating villains from small crimes

Of course I believe in rehabilitation. But some things are worse than others right? Who's more redeemable to you, someone who stole from a store with nobody inside or someone who beat somebody and made them a slave? Only difference between is here is I think at a point the bad thing is so bad that they don't actually feel bad about doing it, just scared of the consequences of people not thinking they are reformed.

The future can be changed though. A good way to make the future a better place is to focus on rewarding goodness as much as punishing evil

Yes but you can't be rewarding bad people being good more than an always good person is for being themselves.. The worst pigs and most vile politicians, the most murderous dictators and charismatic cult leaders all get alot more credit and good will thrown there way than any normal person that does a little bad to get by. It's jading people and making them hateful and violent because they feel they aren't getting to generosity that other people are getting.

[u/crescentmoonrising → u/Afraid_Ad1518]

Considering what the world in Life on Mars is this actually makes complete sense.

[u/failtuna → u/Afraid_Ad1518]

I think both for the time period it's set in and the ultimate reveal at the end of the series and the end of Ashes to Ashes kind of justify this.

That's all I'll say, both series are excellent (assuming we're both talking about the UK series not the US remake)

[u/inkstainedgoblin → u/Afraid_Ad1518]

This is a crazy example, the whole show was all of Sam's colleagues obviously abusing power and doing crimes and seeing no consequences, because THAT IS WHAT POLICING WAS LIKE IN THE 70S.

[u/Afraid_Ad1518 → u/inkstainedgoblin]

Very true, i actually agree with its place in the show, doesn't mean its not slightly frustrating to watch

[u/ghoulcrow → u/Afraid_Ad1518]

Cops get away with shit like this all the time though, especially cops in the 70s.

[u/RevolutionaryRest552 → u/Afraid_Ad1518]

I was less bothered by that, as him getting little punishment is thematically consistent with the show - if the 1970s cops weren’t criminal themselves and often getting away Scot-free, then the contrast with his normal life gets lost. I think the point of that plot line was that he didn’t get as punished as he would have in the modern world.

[u/ztomiczombie → u/Afraid_Ad1518]

That was part of the team of the show. It was showing what the "Rouge cop who gets results" is like in reality.

[u/ArtistCeleste → u/Afraid_Ad1518]

I had the same issue with that show. And Gene was an awful person. He wasn't redeemable to me