Strawman Has a Point: Difference between revisions

** A strange example where ''both'' sides fall into this trope revolves around Spike in season 7. Robin wanted to kill Spike as he considered him a threat to the group, but while he was primarily driven by revenge for Spike killing his mother and didn't consider that the person who killed her didn't actually exist anymore, the point remains that Spike had spent ''centuries'' being a mass-murdering monster and had just recently gone on another killing spree under the influence of the current [[Big Bad]]. Meanwhile, Buffy wanted to keep Spike alive because she considered him no longer dangerous to them and a valuable asset, but while she was clearly being influenced by her feelings for him and didn't actually have any guarantee whatsoever he was free from the control of the First, the point remains that the First had ''much'' worse at its disposal and they needed literally every advantage they could get against it.

** Xander is portrayed as a Strawman after the initial shock and dismay of Angel being back from hell has worn off on the Scoobies. The audience is supposed to feel that Xander is just being jealous and can't understand the love that Buffy and Angel share. Except that he is totally correct in that Angel is a huge threat, which he proved in the previous season when he lost his soul. Everyone eventually gets over the fact that they were tortured or attacked except for Xander and brings up that Buffy should slay or at the very least not be in contact with him several times over the next few episodes, for which Willow and Buffy admonish him. Buffy assures them that she is keeping things professional, but every time we see them they are making out. This wouldn't be a problem if she knew exactly how far she could go before he would lose his soul, but the terms of his curse are vague at best and it can be broken by other means.

** Ironically, Buffy and Xander end up on the opposite side of the argument when it turns out that Anya, Xander's vengeance demon ex-fiance, is responsible for several deaths. Buffy instantly decides she's a danger and needs to be killed, Xander disagrees because... well, Anya's their friend and they're kind of used to them turning evil by now. In the end, Willow [[Takes a Third Option]].

* On ''[[The Daily Show]]'' March 18, 2010 episode, while making fun of [[Glenn Beck]] making fun of progressives, Jon Stewart [[Lampshade|Lampshades]] this when he says "Hmm... [[Straw Man Has a Point|Strawman-]][[Jumping Off the Slippery Slope|Slippery-Slope-]][[Dumbass Has a Point|Dumb-Guy]] might have a point." Does Jon read [[TV Tropes]]?