Troubled Abuser: Difference between revisions

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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.
 
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