Troubled Abuser: Difference between revisions

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Compare this phenomenon to [[Kick the Dog]], except that the designated kicker was a Kicked Dog themself, making it Dog Kicks Littler Dog. If a writer ''really'' wants to play this up, he or she can have a whole ''chain'' of Dogs kicking down the line in this fashion. If a whole chain of these is used, you can reasonably expect it to be used for [[An Aesop]] about how abuse only begets abuse.
Compare this phenomenon to [[Kick the Dog]], except that the designated kicker was a Kicked Dog themself, making it Dog Kicks Littler Dog. If a writer ''really'' wants to play this up, he or she can have a whole ''chain'' of Dogs kicking down the line in this fashion. If a whole chain of these is used, you can reasonably expect it to be used for [[An Aesop]] about how abuse only begets abuse.


Compare the [[Troubled Sympathetic Bigot]], whose bigotry is seldom portrayed as sympathetic due to the ugly reputation bigotry has gained over the years, but is nevertheless a sympathetic person. The '''Troubled Abuser''', given that (s)he is, well, [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|troubled]], automatically gains some measure of [[Woobie]] status due to his or her status as troubled being out in the open, but unlike bigotry, abuse is less likely to be portrayed in an unsympathetic light. Sometimes, the '''Troubled Abuser''' may ''also'' be a [[Troubled Sympathetic Bigot]].
Compare the [[Troubled Sympathetic Bigot]], whose bigotry is seldom portrayed as sympathetic due to the ugly reputation bigotry has gained over the years, but is nevertheless a sympathetic person. The Troubled Abuser, given that (s)he is, well, [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|troubled]], automatically gains some measure of [[Woobie]] status due to his or her status as troubled being out in the open, but unlike bigotry, abuse is less likely to be portrayed in an unsympathetic light. Sometimes, the Troubled Abuser may ''also'' be a [[Troubled Sympathetic Bigot]].


May overlap with [[Jerkass Woobie]] due to the common traits of having had a hard life and treating other people in a substandard way. After all, they of all people should know how bad being abused feels. However, abuse is sometimes portrayed in a positive light, so this is not always the case.
May overlap with [[Jerkass Woobie]] due to the common traits of having had a hard life and treating other people in a substandard way. After all, they of all people should know how bad being abused feels. However, abuse is sometimes portrayed in a positive light, so this is not always the case.


Comparable to, and sometimes overlapping with, [[Freudian Excuse]], in which a villain cites a childhood of poor quality as having a role in his or her evil deeds or is revealed to have had a bad childhood in order to gain [[Woobie]] status. However, unlike a villain with a [[Freudian Excuse]], the '''Troubled Abuser''' isn't just guilty of ''any'' morally questionable act, they are guilty of committing one or more of these acts against someone with whom they have or end up developing an interpersonal relationship. Additionally, the '''Troubled Abuser''' can be troubled in ways other than childhood experiences. Sometimes, the '''Troubled Abuser''' has a [[Freudian Excuse]], in which case these two tropes overlap, but [[Freudian Excuse]] and '''Troubled Abuser''' are not exactly the same thing. For example, a serial killer who targets random women he doesn't know and is later revealed [[Harmful to Minors|to have witnessed]] [[Domestic Abuser|his mother]] [[Domestic Abuse|attack his father with a knife on a regular basis]] would go under [[Freudian Excuse]], but would not be a '''Troubled Abuser''' because he is committing crimes, but not against people he has a relationship with, or even interacts with on a regular basis. [[Abusive Parents|A female character who is the single mother of a child that she verbally abuses on a regular basis]], [[Parental Neglect|if she even gives the kid any attention at all]], but is revealed to be doing so because the kid is a [[Child by Rape]] and reminds her of her rapist is a '''Troubled Abuser''' without a doubt, but wouldn't fit under [[Freudian Excuse]] because the hard part of her life, as far as we know, did not happen in her childhood.
Comparable to, and sometimes overlapping with, [[Freudian Excuse]], in which a villain cites a childhood of poor quality as having a role in his or her evil deeds or is revealed to have had a bad childhood in order to gain [[Woobie]] status. However, unlike a villain with a [[Freudian Excuse]], the Troubled Abuser isn't just guilty of ''any'' morally questionable act, they are guilty of committing one or more of these acts against someone with whom they have or end up developing an interpersonal relationship. Additionally, the Troubled Abuser can be troubled in ways other than childhood experiences. Sometimes, the Troubled Abuser has a [[Freudian Excuse]], in which case these two tropes overlap, but [[Freudian Excuse]] and Troubled Abuser are not exactly the same thing. For example, a serial killer who targets random women he doesn't know and is later revealed [[Harmful to Minors|to have witnessed]] [[Domestic Abuser|his mother]] [[Domestic Abuse|attack his father with a knife on a regular basis]] would go under [[Freudian Excuse]], but would not be a Troubled Abuser because he is committing crimes, but not against people he has a relationship with, or even interacts with on a regular basis. [[Abusive Parents|A female character who is the single mother of a child that she verbally abuses on a regular basis]], [[Parental Neglect|if she even gives the kid any attention at all]], but is revealed to be doing so because the kid is a [[Child by Rape]] and reminds her of her rapist is a Troubled Abuser without a doubt, but wouldn't fit under [[Freudian Excuse]] because the hard part of her life, as far as we know, did not happen in her childhood.


As tempting as it is to add '''large-scale criminals''', such as practitioners of genocide, serial killers, etc. who happen to count as '''Troubled''' by virtue of having a [[Dark and Troubled Past]] or [[Freudian Excuse]] just because you think they are monstrous for their deeds, exercise great caution before you do. Simply doing evil deeds on a large scale '''does not''' make one an '''Abuser''', which is the other part of the requirement to be listed here. However, that does not mean that large-scale criminals ''can't'' be abusers. Before listing any large-scale criminal, consult our handy [[Abuse|Useful Notes page on the topic of abuse]], read it thoroughly, and think carefully about whether or not ''any'' of the character or person's actions count as abuse. If they don't, then don't add them. If you've done your thinking and one or more of said criminal's actions seem to count as abusive to you, go ahead and add them, but give details on ''what they do'' that is abusive in the description.
As tempting as it is to add '''large-scale criminals''', such as practitioners of genocide, serial killers, etc. who happen to count as '''Troubled''' by virtue of having a [[Dark and Troubled Past]] or [[Freudian Excuse]] just because you think they are monstrous for their deeds, exercise great caution before you do. Simply doing evil deeds on a large scale '''does not''' make one an '''Abuser''', which is the other part of the requirement to be listed here. However, that does not mean that large-scale criminals ''can't'' be abusers. Before listing any large-scale criminal, consult our handy [[Abuse|Useful Notes page on the topic of abuse]], read it thoroughly, and think carefully about whether or not ''any'' of the character or person's actions count as abuse. If they don't, then don't add them. If you've done your thinking and one or more of said criminal's actions seem to count as abusive to you, go ahead and add them, but give details on ''what they do'' that is abusive in the description.


{{examples}}
{{examples}}
== Anime & Manga ==
== Anime and Manga ==
* ''[[Umineko no Naku Koro ni]]'' has both Rosa Ushiromiya and her father Kinzo.
* ''[[Umineko no Naku Koro ni]]'' has both Rosa Ushiromiya and her father Kinzo.
** Rosa was abused by Kinzo, tormented by her brothers and sister (which Rudolf aknowledges as some point), and is a single mother where the father of her daughter Maria {{spoiler|left her without marrying her and while she was pregnant}}. All in all, her life's a train wreck. Is it any wonder that she winds up taking so much of it out on Maria, as much as poor Maria doesn't deserve it?
** Rosa was abused by Kinzo, tormented by her brothers and sister (which Rudolf aknowledges as some point), and is a single mother where the father of her daughter Maria {{spoiler|left her without marrying her and while she was pregnant}}. All in all, her life's a train wreck. Is it any wonder that she winds up taking so much of it out on Maria, as much as poor Maria doesn't deserve it?
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* In [[Mercedes Lackey]]'s ''When the Bough Breaks'', the rich and successful father horrifically sexually abuses his preteen daughter. When he's brought to the elven version of justice, it's shown that his father physically and psychologically abused him as a child.
* In [[Mercedes Lackey]]'s ''When the Bough Breaks'', the rich and successful father horrifically sexually abuses his preteen daughter. When he's brought to the elven version of justice, it's shown that his father physically and psychologically abused him as a child.


== Live Action TV ==
== Live-Action TV ==
* From ''[[Veronica Mars]]'' we have {{spoiler|Aaron Echolls}}, who abuses his son. We learn later that his father was also an abusive alcoholic.
* From ''[[Veronica Mars]]'' we have {{spoiler|Aaron Echolls}}, who abuses his son. We learn later that his father was also an abusive alcoholic.
** The abused child in question, {{spoiler|Logan Echolls}} torments Veronica, provides the drugs that are used in her rape, and arranges such deranged activities as "bum fights." Despite being one of her biggest tormenters, he eventually became Veronica's boyfriend. He became woobified, as large portions of the audience chose to excuse his actions on the basis of the abuse he suffered at the hands of his father.
** The abused child in question, {{spoiler|Logan Echolls}} torments Veronica, provides the drugs that are used in her rape, and arranges such deranged activities as "bum fights." Despite being one of her biggest tormenters, he eventually became Veronica's boyfriend. He became woobified, as large portions of the audience chose to excuse his actions on the basis of the abuse he suffered at the hands of his father.
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** And of course, Solid Snake to the Genome Soldiers: In the most fucked up way possible, abusive brother to brother.
** And of course, Solid Snake to the Genome Soldiers: In the most fucked up way possible, abusive brother to brother.


== Webcomics ==
== Web Comics ==
* In ''[[Drowtales]]'', [http://www.drowtales.com/mainarchive.php?id=112 Kel'noz suggests that this is the case] for [[Babysitter From Hell]] [http://www.drowtales.com/mainarchive.php?id=67 Syphile].
* In ''[[Drowtales]]'', [http://www.drowtales.com/mainarchive.php?id=112 Kel'noz suggests that this is the case] for [[Babysitter From Hell]] [http://www.drowtales.com/mainarchive.php?id=67 Syphile].


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* The ''[[South Park]]'' episode "Cartman Sucks" has a subplot where Butters gets sent to a [[Cure Your Gays|"straight camp"]] that very [[Anvilicious]]ly shows how ineffective, pointless, and [[Some Anvils Need to Be Dropped|wrong]] it is to attempt to [[Cure Your Gays]]. One example is one of the staff members, who cheerfully tells the campers that being gay and bisexual is abnormal and encourages them to "pray the gay away" from the inside of a [[Transparent Closet]]. To inspire them, he tells about how he was ''once'' gay, but not no longer because he [[Blatant Lies|turned straight]] by way of praying to God to make him straight, which he was obviously encouraged to do when he was younger by one or more homophobic authority figures.
* The ''[[South Park]]'' episode "Cartman Sucks" has a subplot where Butters gets sent to a [[Cure Your Gays|"straight camp"]] that very [[Anvilicious]]ly shows how ineffective, pointless, and [[Some Anvils Need to Be Dropped|wrong]] it is to attempt to [[Cure Your Gays]]. One example is one of the staff members, who cheerfully tells the campers that being gay and bisexual is abnormal and encourages them to "pray the gay away" from the inside of a [[Transparent Closet]]. To inspire them, he tells about how he was ''once'' gay, but not no longer because he [[Blatant Lies|turned straight]] by way of praying to God to make him straight, which he was obviously encouraged to do when he was younger by one or more homophobic authority figures.


== Truth in Television ==
== Real Life ==
* If statistics are right, 30% of all [[Abusive Parents]] were mistreated by theirs.
* If statistics are right, 30% of all [[Abusive Parents]] were mistreated by theirs.
* Joseph Frizl described his relationship with his mother as physically, verbally, and emotionally abusive. As an adult, he kept his mother imprisoned in the attic for 20 years before her death and infamously took his 18 year old daughter Elisabeth and imprisoned her in the cellar, meanwhile raping her enough times that she gave birth to seven children, three of whom never saw the light of day until one of them had a seizure requiring medical attention, enabling their release, at which time Elisabeth was 42 years old.
* Joseph Frizl described his relationship with his mother as physically, verbally, and emotionally abusive. As an adult, he kept his mother imprisoned in the attic for 20 years before her death and infamously took his 18 year old daughter Elisabeth and imprisoned her in the cellar, meanwhile raping her enough times that she gave birth to seven children, three of whom never saw the light of day until one of them had a seizure requiring medical attention, enabling their release, at which time Elisabeth was 42 years old.
Retrieved from "https://allthetropes.org/wiki/Troubled_Abuser"