Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

So the [[Big Damn Heroes]] are about to set off to [[Save the World]]. Not so fast, [[Lawful Stupid|red tape and bureaucracy]] are standing in the way of the world's last hope. Well, there's only one thing to do. Ignore the orders of the [[Obstructive Bureaucrat]] and/or [[Corrupt Bureaucrat]] then go [[Save the World]] anyway. This is, after all, a [[Matter of Life and Death]].

 

Compare [[Sudden Principled Stand]] and [[Frequently-Broken Unbreakable Vow]].

 

* ''[[Bleach]]'' in the Soul Society Arc: Ichigo fights to save Rukia from execution, despite said execution being under law.

** Although the ''law'' in this case {{spoiler|has been subverted by the Big Bad, they have no way of knowing that until the end.}}

*** The [[Big Bad]] ''himself'' pointed out that the court had violated due process in ordering Rukia's execution, which arguably made the execution illegal.

** Rukia gives Ichigo her powers despite knowing that it's against the law to do so, setting off the entire story.

** Ukitake and Kyoraku destroy the device meant for Rukia's execution, and do so knowing that their commander - and mentor - Yamamoto would kill them for the treasonous act. {{spoiler|Aizen}}'s far greater treachery stops the ensuing fight between teacher and students.

* Negi in ''[[Mahou Sensei Negima]]'', when the teachers get in the way. He tries following the rules, hell, he's even working to make sure there are still rules to follow. Eventually he just decides to hell with it, they're not going to listen. Oddly enough, however, he's not actually sure that he ''is'' doing the right thing, just that the teachers are wrong.

* This is the motto of the ''[[Fairy Tail]]'' mages.

* Naruto Uzumaki in ''[[Naruto]]'', this is just the way he is throughout the series.

** Also Hatake Kakashi and his father Sakumo, who became an outcast after choosing his comrades' lives over his mission and committed suicide afterwards. Kakashi himself took on this approach to the rules after his best friend's death.

* In ''[[Monster (manga)|Monster]]'', Tenma's boss reassigns him from operating on a young boy with a bullet in his head to operating on the mayor instead. Knowing that he is the only one who can pull off the first surgery successfully, he proceeds with it against direct orders. Morally laudable, but it turned out to be [[The Wrong Right Thing]].

* Prince Wilfred of [[Private Prince]] invokes this ''many'' times, specially when {{spoiler|he plans to renounce to his royalty status and marry into his girlfriend Miyako's Japanese family, if that's the only way for him to stay with her and escape the Royal Family.}}

* Pulled by {{spoiler|Renzaburo}} in ''[[Wicked City]]'', who goes {{spoiler|rescue his partner Makie}} despite his boss's orders.

* In the first season of ''[[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha]]'', Nanoha defies orders to save Fate.

* In recent ''[[One Piece]]'' chapters, Jinbe breaks Fishman Island's laws to {{spoiler|[[Crowning Moment of Heartwarming|give blood to Luffy]].}}

** Actually, this is [[Chaotic Good|Takuto's attitude towards rules most of the time]]. [[I Will Protect Her|Especially if said rules may hurt Mitsuki]].

 

* In Devil's Due's ''[[G.I. Joe]] vs the [[Transformers Generation 1]]'', the Joes defy orders to capture Wheeljack and Bumblebee, who were already working with them, and take them to Area 51 for study when they find out that the nukes the government plans to hit the Cobra base with are going to have an [[Earthshattering Kaboom|adverse effect]] when combined with the Energon that Cobra is trying to produce.

** Heck, under [[Larry Hama]]'s pen, the Joes regularly went against orders from more corrupt organizations like the Jugglers in order to do the right thing instead. One story arc even featured ''[[Deuteragonist|Destro]]'' saving the Joes after they were framed by a corrupt General.

* Despite his "Big Blue Boyscout" reputation, [[Superman]] is willing to tear straight through any laws in his way if lives are on the line. He'll also willingly turn himself in afterward.

* This is [[Batman]]'s thing. The entire point of him dressing up like a giant bat and haunting the night is because he would never get anything done playing by the rules.

* Most of the anti-registration superheroes in ''[[Marvel Civil War|Civil War]].''

* The dawn of the [[Bronze Age]] pretty much happened when [[Green Lantern|Hal Jordan]], following a lecture from [[Green Arrow]], disobeyed the Guardians' orders and set out to stop a crooked businessman who was putting poor families out on the streets.

* [[Fantastic Four|Uatu, the Watcher]] is an observer sworn not to interfere in the affairs of Earth but [[Humans Are Special|there's just something about humans--]]

* This trope is pretty much the reason that [[Nick Fury]] made [[Secret War]] happen.

 

'''Kirk:''' The word is "No". I am therefore going anyway. }}

* ''[[Star Trek: First Contact]]'': Captain Jean-Luc Picard disobeys the orders of Starfleet Command and goes to the front lines to engage the Borg.

'''[[The Spock|Data]]:''' Captain, I believe I speak for everyone here, sir, when I say... [[Sophisticated As Hell|"to]] ''[[Sophisticated As Hell|hell]]'' [[Sophisticated As Hell|with our orders"]]. }}

* In ''[[Star Trek: Insurrection]]'', the entire plot revolved around this trope so much that their rebelling against the rules is actually part of the title.

** The thing which sets the plot off is Data, who was assigned on what he thought was a survey mission, and attacked to keep the truth hidden when he discovered what was really going on. This damage kicked him into a kind of basic mode of functioning, probably designed to keep him from being used as a weapon, wherein his program directed him to do the right thing, regardless of whatever else was going on. Essentially he was ''programmed'' with a Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right default mode.

'''Spock:''' If I were human, I believe my response would be "go to hell". }}

* ''[[Dirty Harry]]'' lives this trope. So do some other [[Clint Eastwood]] characters.

* In the film version of ''[[The Running Man (film)|The Running Man]]'', Ben Richards is ordered to fire upon a food riot. When he refuses, the crew overpowers him and carries out the order. Richards is then blamed by the state and becomes known as the "Butcher of Bakersfield".

* In ''[[The Matrix Reloaded]]'' {{spoiler|Neo realises Trinity will be killed by an Agent, and insists she stays out of the matrix; however, despite his pleading, Trinity states "[She refuses] to sit and watch [Neo] die", and does so anyway.}}

** Don't forget Jayne's "If you can't do something smart, do something right."

*** [[Badass Preacher|Shepherd Book]] said it, [[Anti-Hero|Jayne]] was just quoting it. Which makes rather more sense.

* In ''[[Hellboy|Hellboy II]]'', Liz Sherman and Abe Sapien go against orders to take a dying Hellboy to Prince Nuada's realm in order to save his life. Johann Kraus intercepts them, seemingly intending to either reason with them or arrest them for disobeying orders, but instead joins them.

* In ''[[Avatar (film)|Avatar]]'', Trudy Chacon's [[Neutral No Longer|Neutral Face Turn]] comes when she's ordered to fire on a tree full of defenseless Na'vi:

* ''[[Street Fighter (film)|Street Fighter]]'': "Troopers, I just received new orders. Our superiors say the war is cancelled. We can all go home. Bison is getting paid off for his crimes, and our friends who have died here will have died for nothing. But, we can all go home. Meanwhile, ideals like peace, freedom, and justice, they get packed up. But, we can all go home. Well, I'm not going home. I'm gonna get on my boat, and I'm going up river, and I'm going to kick that son of a bitch Bison's ass so hard that the next Bison wannabe is gonna feel it! Now, who wants to go home... and who wants to go with me?"

* ''[[Starship Troopers (film)|Starship Troopers]]'' has a scene where [[Drill Sergeant Nasty|Sergeant Zim]] is arguing with his superior officer to let him join the war. Being a boot camp instructor, he won't get anywhere near the front lines unless he "busts himself back to a Private". Rico bursts in, asking Zim to cancel his resignation so that he too can join the war effort. Zim shows him the resignation documents, and after a silent nod from his superior officer, rips them up and thus gives ''both'' of them what they want.

** And the end of movie shows that Zim did end up busting himself down to private, though that's probably a subversion, since he was actually following the rules in that case.

* The primary reason Jason keeps the evidence from the police in ''[[Mystery Team]]''.

* In '"[[Tears of the Sun]]'', the SEAL Team engages the Nigerian rebels after watching the rebels massacre a village, not to mention trying to extract as many indigenous refugees from the conflict zone as possible, against direct orders from their command center.

* Sartana in ''[[Machete]]'' could have supplied the header quote if there wasn't already one:

* ''[[The Phantom Menace]]'' has Qui-Gon Jinn who will defy the council to train Anakin because he believes the boy is the "Chosen One." Never mind how bad that went. He was sure he was doing the right thing at the time.

* Heimdall in ''[[Thor (film)|Thor]]'' is ordered {{spoiler|by the temporary king Loki}} to [[Exact Words|not open the Bifrost to anyone]]. When the Warriors Three and Sif decide to break the rules and go anyways and tell this to Heimdall, the latter simply replies with a "Good!" and walks away. After readying the Bifrost, of course.

 

*** Although his use of some of the Unforgiveables can be debatable.

*** The first time he tried one (Cruciatus Curse), he was in extreme rage because Bellatrix {{spoiler|killed Sirius}}. The second time (Imperius Curse), he uses it because it's crucial for him to defeat Voldemort. The third time (Cruciatus Curse again) is the only really questionable instance. Of course, what Amycus Carrow did was pretty despicable, but Harry could have just used ''Petrificus Totalus'' instead.

** One of Minerva McGonagall's best moments: during Umbridge's rule as Headmistress, she condones what amounts to almost anarchy at the school from both the students and Peeves the Poltergeist in order to drive Umbridge out of Hogwarts. "It unscrews the other way" will always be one of the best lines EVER in Harry Potter's books.

*** Not just her, but most of the other teachers as well, including Snape

** This is at least partly because for [[Sherlock Holmes]], it's more about the thrill of solving a complex mystery than serving the cause of justice; he's more interested in the mystery than the result. And, as he once lampshaded when letting a perpetrator go because he was convinced the perp was not beyond redemption, it's not his job to compensate for the deficiencies of the police.

* Similarly, his contemporary [[Arsène Lupin]]. When he is not lying, cheating and stealing to get what he wants, he is Lying, cheating and stealing to right a wrong or save some one from an unfortunate fate, even when there are multiple, more ethical, ways to do so.

** ''Starfighters of Adumar'' has a similar but vastly more personal version. Wedge and his pilots have been sent on a diplomatic mission to Adumar, whose [[Planet of Hats|hat]] is pilot-worship and [[Blood Sport]], in order to get them to join the New Republic. The Imperials have also sent some pilots. Both groups fly against native Adumari pilots and win handily, since as [[Proud Warrior Race Guy]]s the Adumari never get very skilled. The Imperial pilots fly with full-strength lasers and shoot to kill; the New Republic ones do not, and Wedge's diplomatic liaison says that in not following standard native practice they are disrespecting their traditions, which means that the Imperial pilots look better. Wedge tells himself that if it was a matter of flying against some champion, some enemy, he'd do it without a qualm, but the Adumari aren't his enemies. He stalls by pulling a [[Sure Why Not]] and telling the liaison that he's waiting for his immediate superior to order him to fly lethally. But he knows that if ordered, he will refuse and end up getting kicked out at the least - which is a big deal for him, since Wedge has been part of the New Republic since he was in his teens, and literally all of his friends are involved in the military.

** There's also Thrawn in ''[[Outbound Flight]]'', who ''really'' wants to protect the Chiss, but often clashes with his culture's views on preemptive attacks, which is what eventually leads to his exile. It's morally ambiguous, and Thrawn does [[The Thrawn Trilogy|become a full-fledged villain later on]], but it's hard to argue that the [[Complete Monster|Vagaari]] didn't deserve everything they got.

{{smallcaps| Oh, damn}}, he said. And walked into the fire. }}

**** It was still [[Crowning Moment of Awesome|awesome]]:

* At least [[Once an Episode]] in [[Dale Brown]]'s books, Brad Elliott, Patrick McLanahan and the Dreamland old-timers will ignore or resist the commands of higher authority to save the world, even if most of them wish they could work together with the conventional military rather than fight.

* This is a major part of Joey Bettany's character in the early ''[[Chalet School]]'' books. She's more than happy to break rules in order to save people (or dogs, in ''Jo of the Chalet School'').

* Siuan Sanche from ''[[The Wheel of Time]]'' does this all the time, although in her case it's more like seeing the rules [[From a Certain Point of View]].

* At the end of the fourth [[Temeraire]] book, Laurence {{spoiler|commits treason by stealing the cure for the dragons' illness and taking it to France, because the alternative is to let the illness spread across the world killing dragons who aren't even involved in the war. Then he goes back to England and turns himself in, fully expecting to be hanged.}}

* In an odd villainous example, Saint Dane of [[The Pendragon Adventure]] {{spoiler|started out as a good guy, who lived as a spirit in Solara and after a while couldn't stand seeing people make bad decisions over and over. His job was to just show every aspect of a situation, but instead he began to point people in a specific direction, which was technically breaking the rules. (Compare with the story of Lucifer in [[The Bible]] to get a better understanding)}} Then he went mad with power and decided to become a god who controlled everything and everyone. Even though the original intent fit this trope (That of pointing man in a positive direction with his hand), at the end of the series he's just gotten plain selfish.

* Similar to the "bust me on the surface" example in the Real Life section, in the [[Honor Harrington]] [[Expanded Universe]] short story ''A Ship Named Francis'', after the captain managed to put himself into a coma by colliding with a bulkhead headfirst during a potato sack toboggan race, leaving [[The Neidermeyer|the borderline psychotic first officer]] in charge, and decides to arrest 20% of the crew on capital charges on the first day of assuming command. Since the ship was 5 days from their home port, statistics implied that the acting captain would have executed the entire crew before they made it back. In order to prevent a mutiny and/or mass murder, the medics and bosun decide to switch the lethal injections with tranquilizers and then store the sedated bodies until they could be revived later, ostensibly to return the bodies to their families. When the bosun points out that by deliberately seeking to subvert their captain's actions, they were committing a court martial offense, one of the medics replied that he'd take his chances with a court-martial on Grayson (With a presumably sane judge presiding).

 

* The final episode of ''[[Titus]]'' sees Amy confronted by the man who sexually assaulted her when she was younger. After finding out who he is, Titus and company have the molester cornered in a school bathroom, ready to wail on him with a baseball bat. The school principal, who up until this point has been nothing but an [[Obstructive Bureaucrat]], says he has to call school security, but tells Titus to "[[Crowning Moment of Awesome|call me when I'm done]]."

** Subverted as of new season six, where {{spoiler|it's demonstrated that fixed points of time and space [[Crowning Moment of Awesome|are not always precisely as they appear]].}}

** In general, a key part of the Doctor's motivation for doing what he does is his righteous outrage at the rules and regulations the Time Lords lived by which prevented them from acting to oppose evil, instead being content merely to stand aloof.

** In fact, the entire series starts with Jack having to explain his use of this trope in Stargate The Movie. Not only did he lie about nuking the Stargate when there turned out to be a threat, which would have wiped out the indigenous civilization (he took the threat itself out with the bomb instead), he lied about Daniel Jackson being dead so Daniel could stay with the wife he'd fallen in love with. General Hammond was not terribly pleased with the two of them when he found out the deception, but he got over it quickly enough.

*** Hell, this is the signature trope of both SG-1 '''and''' their ''[[Stargate Atlantis]]'' equivalents. They always get away with it. In one episode of SG-1 (''Upgrades''), the titular team disobeys direct orders to neutralize a serious threat. When they return to Stargate Command, Jack explicitly apologizes, mentioning that he hopes the court-martial will be fair. General Hammond then invokes this trope, coming up with a (arguably solid) excuse for why they're not in trouble. ''This is basically what happens all the time''.

* Neal does this frequently on [[White Collar]]. If doing what he knows is right means breaking a few rules, he's all for it.

* ''[[Firefly]]'' is full of this. The most notable examples are Simon rescuing River, and Mal sheltering them. Then again, Mal's crew are smugglers, among other things, so it's not like they were keen on obeying the law in the first place.

** This is basically Mal's world view. He doesn't care if it's going to get him killed or if it's against the law, he does what he feels is right.

'''Mal Reynolds:''' You know, I've said that myself, on occasion. }}

* Pretty much any cop show will have characters deciding this, going against their own bosses, other agencies, ignoring diplomatic rules, etc. so convinced are they that trying to solve a murder justifies doing ''anything'' they want. ''[[Bones]]'' averted it pretty surprisingly when Booth told the team he would ''not'' screw the rules to bust a suspect with diplomatic immunity because of the consequences far beyond their murder investigation.

** The same cannot be said of almost anyone else on ''[[24]]'', such as Gen. Brucker, who was arrested and considered a traitor because he defied Presidential orders and {{spoiler|surrendered IRK President Hassan to a terrorist cell, saving thousands of innocent people from a dirty bomb attack.}}

** Jack Bauer ended up spending several years in a Chinese camp being tortured, so... He's probably paid for it.

*** And pretty much anyone he ever cares about dies a violent death or turns out to be a traitor. He also gets fired, arrested, and otherwise punished repeatedly. While he may not always suffer long-term punishments, he surely doesn't gain much.

* Dr. [[House (TV series)|House]] so often breaks the rules and protocols that his Dean of Medicine every year prepares thousands of dollars just in case he does something that would require a lawyer's help.

* Frequently employed by ''[[ER]]'s'' Dr. Ross, to the point where it's his downfall.

* Castiel does this in ''[[Supernatural (TV series)|Supernatural]]''. Angels aren't supposed to defy their superiors, but he ends up hunted and losing his abilities because he decides to help Sam and Dean send Lucifer back to Hell. The other angels want Lucifer to destroy the world because they want Paradise.

* ''[[Boston Legal]]'' has one instance that stands out, though it's slightly less this trope and a little more of a threat to invoke the trope: Alan Shore {{spoiler|is defending an old acquaintance accused of murdering her fiancé literally moments before their courthouse wedding. But when it's revealed that the bride switched identities with a close friend years back, and claims that said friend is the real murderer, Alan finds proof that said friend came the bride a year ago and wanted to go back to her real identity. The bride then killed her, and later murdered her fiancé as well.}} Alan followed up with this: "The only reason you're not sprawled on the floor under a bailiff with handcuffs is because of attorney-client privilege, and, frankly, I don't need this (case) that much. I've done a lot of talking over the years. I'm tired. I'm rich. Take the (plea bargain, 12 years for manslaughter) or I'll walk through that door. I'll get disbarred. And I'll put you away for life. Double first-degree. It'll be life. Until the end of your life."

* On ''[[The Practice]]'', the firm represented a client in a hit-and-run accident. The client's doctor discovered on the plaintiff's medical charts that he had an aneurysm (which his own doctors missed) that would kill him if it wasn't treated. The client refuses to allow the firm to disclose this information. Jimmy Berluti defies attorney-client privilege to tell the boy and his mother of his condition, enabling the doctors to save his life and earning Jimmy a minor judicial censure.

* Every episode of ''[[Leverage]]'' is about the team breaking hundreds of laws to help someone who's been screwed over by the (usually [[Loophole Abuse|loophole abusing]] [[Lawful Evil|law-abiding]]) rich and powerful.

* ''[[Babylon 5]]'' sees this happen quite a bit, as both Sinclair and Sheridan are liable to violate commands from Earthforce (usually through [[Loophole Abuse]]) to do what they feel is right. The possibly greatest example is from the episode "Believers", when Doctor Franklin disobeys a direct order from Sinclair to save a child from a disease that the child's parents won't let him cure for religious reasons.

** As was Sheridan's speech (in the same episode) declaring the station's secession from the Earth Alliance because of Earth's recent atrocities. He basically lays the cards on the table and tells anyone who doesn't want to go along would be free to leave but that Babylon 5 was not playing by Earth's rules anymore.

** It's hard to name a character on the show who doesn't do this at least once. Full credit must go to Garibaldi, however. Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right is practically his personal mantra.

** In one memorable case, he disobeyed his commanding officers to prevent genocide... of a race of androids bent on annihilating the human race. YMMV whether this crosses into [[Honor Before Reason]] territory.

* The [[Body of the Week]] on one episode of ''[[Law and Order Special Victims Unit]]'' was a [[Asshole Victim|Serbian war criminal]] who was spotted by two of his former victims, who murdered him. {{spoiler|Benson and Stabler arrange things so that the killers get away with a light prison term. The boss chews them out; Benson explains it as "I think we did the only thing that's going to allow me to sleep tonight."}}

* This line is used almost exactly in [[Criminal Minds]] episode "Amplification".

 

* In Jewish Law, there is a concept called "Pikuach Nefesh" which gives explicit permission to violate almost any Jewish Law to save someone's life (excluding murdering an innocent, idol-worship or sexual immorality). Yes, there is a rule telling you to screw the rules.

** Rabbi Hillel told of a man who found a man freezing to death on the Sabbath and lit a fire to save his life, then told off his pious friends when they criticized him for breaking the Sabbath. The intense similarity between this story and the tale of the Good Samaritan told by Hillel's near-contemporary Jesus should not be overlooked.

*** Indeed. A significant part of what is recorded of Jesus' teachings is that it's not possible to follow all the rules all the time and still be doing the right thing, and therefore it's not possible to earn salvation by trying to.

** In one Biblical story, Elijah challenges the priests of Baal to a contest by having each side build an altar and seeing which gets a bigger divine response. (Elijah wins, natch.) The Talmud notes that this technically violated the Jewish law that no sacrifices should be done away from the Temple after its construction, but that Elijah received special divine permission so that God could prove His point. (Since Elijah lived in the Northern Kingdom it was impossible for him to get to the Temple without being killed.)

* Similar to the Jewish rules, Islam also has exceptions in order to save someone, including oneself. For instance, eating pork is perfectly acceptable if no other food is available in an emergency. Human is not actually on the list of food prohibitions, in dire situations (though if you murder someone to eat them because you're starving, you are on the bad list). Various denominations of Christianity also permit this in dire situations (the human thing, not the pork, because pork is not a prohibited food for most Christians).

 

* This is both Commander Shepard and Garrus in ''[[Mass Effect]]''.

*** [[Rule of Fun|It was fun, though.]]

*** The people of Omega seem to think he made a difference. The Archangel name wasn't his idea.

** It comes up again in ''[[Mass Effect 3]]'' with the salarian STG. If Kirrahe is alive, he'll promise the unwavering support of the STG regardless of politics, {{spoiler|even if the Dalatrass calls off salarian support for helping cure the genophage.}}

* ''[[Army of Two]]''. Overlaps with [[Screw the Money, I Have Rules|Screw The Money]], their [[Mission Control]] asks them if they want to let the authorities handle it legally, but they decline as they know the [[Big Bad]] is currently in the process of killing witnesses and destroying evidence inside the HQ.

* ''[[Ace Attorney]] Investigations'' has this with {{spoiler|the Yatagarasu, two attorneys and a detective who resorted to finding evidence of crime through theft when the law wouldn't reach far enough for them.}} This becomes a mirrored dilemma for Edgeworth late in the game, when {{spoiler|he must decide whether to use Badd's stolen evidence against Alba, since legally it can't be used at all.}}

* ''[[Final Fantasy X]]'' has this when {{spoiler|Yuna and company decide to try and defeat Sin without using the Final Aeon.}}

*** Or just "Screw your [[Lotus Eater Machine|escapism]] [[Enfant Terrible|at the expense of everyone else]]", depending ''depending''.

* A major theme in ''[[Tales of Vesperia]]''. The protagonist, Yuri Lowell, believes that if a law prohibits doing what's right, said law should be ignored. His friend Flynn, however, argues that vigilantism cannot bring peace, and that if a law is corrupted then it needs to be changed. The game is rather good at avoiding taking sides in this, with both characters getting their share of trouble when they take their ideologies to the extreme.

* The entire last half of ''[[Modern Warfare]] 2'' has {{spoiler|Soap and Price going after Shepherd to kill him in revenge for his betrayal, even if the world paints both of them as international terrorists.}}

* ''[[Star Trek Elite Force]]''. Munro, ignoring Tuvok's orders to return.

* In ''[[Diablo III]]'', Tyrael refused go along with his fellow Angels' non-interference policies. When his superior Imperius tried to punish him for it, Tyrael finally had enough and {{spoiler|tore off his own wings so he could help Sanctuary as a mortal.}}

 

** Miko actually said the phrase "The laws have no meaning... Only honor and the will of the gods matter now". Granted, it turned out that she was doing the wrong, incredibly stupid thing, but she [[Knight Templar|was convinced]] that {{spoiler|killing Lord Shojo}} was the right and necessary thing to do.

* The Mayor's assistant in ''[[Freefall]]'' deliberately goes against the Mayor's [[Fantastic Racism|decisions]] to help Florence stop {{spoiler|Gardener in the Dark}}, noting that there are some things worth risking your internship for.

 

== [[Web Original]] ==

* Cassidy Cain in [[Grandmaster of Theft]] mixes this with [[Pay Evil Unto Evil]] as the titular [[Classy Cat Burglar]], choosing to targets all those who the laws have failed to deal with.

 

* ''[[Iron Man: Armored Adventures]]'': In the episode "Fun with Laser", [[Iron Man]] goes against Nick Fury's order to stop the Living Laser and save the SHIELD space station after Nick's first plan fails spectacularly.

** Pretty much Pepper's reason for every plan of hers, despite some plans including destroying the enemy's entire company.

* In one episode of ''Popeye And Son'', [[Popeye]] and his son are in a father/son contest, and one of the rules forbids the use of spinach. They end up breaking this rule when they have to save Wimpy and his nephew.

** And in "Thanksgiving", a flashback shows Joe chasing a homeless man who stole some food, but he lets the guy off the hook when he see he stole it to feed his starving family.

 

* Gandhi's brand of civil resistance is built around this trope. It's OK to break the rules as long as you do it non-violently, the rule is unjust, and are willing to accept the consequences.

** Likewise, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

* In the US military, you can get away with breaking the rules to do the right thing provided that you have a legitimate excuse and someone in a position of authority believes you. Similarly, direct orders must be lawful in order to be considered valid.

** In addition, obeying an order you know damned well to be ''unlawful'' makes you a willing accessory to the crimes of the superior who issued said illegal order. [[Schmuck Bait|Oh, and if they say, "Don't worry, if we get busted, I'll take full responsibility."]] Two words: "Bull" and "Shit." Odds are they'll find a way to get off with a slap on the wrist and you'll be hung out to dry.

* The US Navy's submarine service has a phrase for this, "Bust me on the surface," invoked in seriousness when a crew member believes that a superior's orders directly endanger the boat. Rarely invoked, and the subordinate had better be right. Invoked more sarcastically (and more frequently) when a crew member ignores written procedure in favor of a more familiar but unwritten procedure.

* The entire Civil Rights Movement was an example of people screwing the rules in favor of what was right.

* So was the Suffragette Movement.

*** That's debatable. The Suffragette Movement was headed by white women who were also working toward black people's rights. It wasn't until the Fourteenth Amendment was put on the table, which would give only black men the right to vote, that some of the women demanding rights felt slighted. Elizabeth Cady Stanton, in particular, got upset enough to start using racist language at that point. (Though, for the time period, it wouldn't have been considered quite as racist as by today's standards.) So it was less that the Suffragette Movement was full of racists and more that the women and blacks were working together before the women felt betrayed and left behind.

* In general, the principle of ''[[wikipedia:Necessity|necessity]]'': an action that would otherwise be criminal is legally justified if it's the only way to prevent an even worse harm.

** Generally speaking, the US and Canada driving laws break down to the following: you are responsible for what's in front of you. If you get rear-ended, it's not your fault. If you get rear-ended and that results in you smashing into the guy in front of you, then it's your fault (you were too close). If you have to violate a minor law to prevent a major accident, you can (usually) get away with it, as long as the cop believes you.

*** Know your state. Illinois, for example, has no such preference. You can, and will, be ticketed for driving too slowly/unsafely if you cause an accident by breaking rapidly/unexpectedly.

*** Again, this is specific to certain locations. In the UK it is ''never'' legal to run a red light.

*** Likewise in Australia. You cannot out-and-out break a road rule even with an emergency vehicle bearing down on you. Traffic going the other way might stop and you can then go on a non-traffic-light turn, but emergency vehicles prefer that they make the illegal maneuvers around you. Mostly because they are the ones equipped with big flashing lights and loud whooping noises.

** All that said, it's better to obey at least the speed limits unless utterly impossible: firefighters, for instance, can and have been charged for speeding when trying to get to the station to answer a call, or responding directly to a fire.

 

* After the Charge of the Light Brigade, Lord Raglan, who'd given the original unclear order, chewed out Lord Lucan, who commanded the Cavalry Division (including the Light Brigade), for following it when he could see there was something '''wrong''' about the instructions.<ref>Sending cavalry charging directly into a three-sided crossfire, which '''wasn't''' what Raglan had meant them to do</ref> Similar to the Prussian major example above, Raglan said, "Lord Lucan, you were a lieutenant-general and should therefore have exercised your discretion, and not approving of the charge, should not have caused it to be made!"

** Which, of course, completely ignored the fact that the LAST few times Lucan had used his discretion (to pursue the enemy when they were fleeing, the whole purpose of cavalry), Raglan had bawled him out at length and threatened to send him home in disgrace. Lucan was also one of TWO generals in the entire expeditionary force who had seen combat since the Napoleonic Wars. It showed.

* On September 26, 1983 [[wikipedia:Stanislav Petrov|Lieutenant Colonel Stanislav Yevgrafovich Petrov]] deviated from standard protocol when he correctly identified a missile attack warning as a false alarm, preventing an erroneous retaliatory strike against the United States and other western targets that could have started World War III.

* Despite assisted suicide being illegal in Britain, the Crown Prosecution Service (roughly equivalent to a US District Attourney but with jurisdiction throughout England and Wales) has flatly refused to pursue homicide charges if they're satisfied that the "perpetrator" was acting with the informed consent of the deceased.

** Only in Third Reich. Rules imposed by occupants, especially those who do not have legitimate casus belli are by definition illegal and citizens of an occupied country are even expected to break them whenever possible.

* This seems to be the expressed attitude of [http://www.resisters.ca/ War Resister Supporters.] Of course, YMMV on whether or not it's morally justified...

** [http://www.niemanlab.org/2011/10/blackout-in-italy-the-first-time-wikipedia-worldwide-has-done-anything-of-this-kind/ This was not a first time].

** [[Your Mileage May Vary]] on whether it's justified, but consider that a closed internet (as proposed by these laws) could adversely affect access to and the existence of Wikipedia.<ref>I tried my best to be neutral</ref>

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Knight in Shining Tropes]]

[[Category:Morality Tropes]]

[[Category:Screw This Index, I Have Tropes]]

[[Category:Plots]]