Con Men Hate Guns/Playing With
Basic Trope: A con man character who particularly dislikes guns and/or other forms of weaponry.
- Straight: Bob is a con man who never carries a gun and strongly dislikes the notion.
- Exaggerated: Bob is extrememly terrified of guns, to the point that he almost has a nervous breakdown just from seeing a gun on television.
- Justified:
- Bob's wife was killed by a faulty gun, so now he never goes near them.
- Being a con man is all about tricking people into trusting you, and people tend to trust you less when you're packing heat.
- Not carrying a gun is a point of pride for Bob: he's just that good a con man.
- Inverted: Bob carries multiple guns with him at all times, and even has a small private collection at home produly displayed in his parlor.
- Subverted:
- Bob originally dislikes guns, but over the course of his work becomes more familiar with them and ends up finding them indispensable.
- Bob impersonates a police officer, soldier, or other character that would routinely carry a gun.
- Double Subverted: ...until he accidentally shoots an innocent bystander and swears off guns for good.
- Parodied: Bob is the only con man is town who doesn't have his own gun, and he is actively ridiculed and teased by all of his friends for this.
- Deconstructed: Bob never carries a gun, and as a result has no protection for when one of his cons goes sour and his mark decides to get even...
- Reconstructed: Bob has trained intensely in the martial arts of disarming and pacifying his attackers, so he doesn't need the extra protection.
- Zig Zagged: Bob decides whether he likes guns or not each day based on what con he wants to pull off.
- Averted: Bob does, in fact, own a gun.
- Enforced: This is a Disney film, no guns allowed.
- Lampshaded: "You know Bob, one of these days you're going to find yourself in a situation where you'll wish you had a gun..."
- Invoked:
- After witnessing the violence on the streets of his inner-city neighborhood, Bob makes a personal vow to never carry or use any type of fire arm.
- Bob figures that by going unarmed, he'll seem less dangerous, and get a lighter sentence, if he gets caught.
- Defied: The violence in his neighborhood terrifies Bob into carrying a gun at all times.
- Discussed: "Wait, you're a con-man. Don't you hate using guns?" "That's what I like people to think."
- Conversed: "Being a con-man is a dangerous line of work, and yet he never learns how to shoot?"
A gun? What, do I look like some half-wit thug to you? Go back to Con Men Hate Guns.