The trope is about something getting ruined for everyone because of someone. The examples, however, tend to use the trope as either a Stock Phrase or "something gets damaged or destroyed", occasionally both at the same time. Several other examples also show signs of shoehorning. There is likewise an issue with the description that may be contributing to the misuse; part of it claims that it "turns up whenever clumsiness or stupidity once again wrecks something, especially something monetarily valuable or precious", but most of it talks more about an action leading to a collective consequence so I'm inclined to believe this is the main definition that's getting muddled together with a second concept. The page quote is also a misrepresentation of what the trope is, and the discussion page shows it lacks a YKTTW discuss archive - which tells me it was most likely created without being taken to the proper place first. This page of launches
seems to support this; it says it was created on Aug 20 2009, but it doesn't show up with other tropes that were launched that day, meaning it never went through the process that is (today) required to create a new trope.
There was a previous attempt of taking it to TRS, but the thread was closed because there was no wick check at the time. It also has two videos, of which the featured one is misuse; it shows a dog destroying stuff which leads to a family meeting but doesn't reveal if this actually ruins anything for the whole family, and the perpetrator is an animal while the trope mentions that, most of the time, the "crime" requires a sentient perpetrator to qualify.
The below wick check has the following results:
- Only 12% of the sample is correct use.
- Almost half of the sample — 48%, that's 24 wicks — is some form of misuse.
- 32% of the sample comprises potholes; most of these are also misuse.
- The remaining wicks are ZCE and uncategorized wicks; one wick has two entries for Why We Cant Have Nice Things, one of which falls under misuse. I'm not sure about the other entry and how to even handle a wick that has multiple entries that may fall under different categories.
Wick check
- Literature.Atlas Shrugged: The creators in the world willingly want to help the rest, but socialist and bureaucratic types screw it up. So they basically take their inventions and leave.
- Website.Not Always Legal: The trope name is dropped in the comments of this story: A US movie crew shooting in Vancouver, BC donates any extra perishable food to people in the poor part of town at the end of the week, and the system works out great until one person in said neighborhood gets greedy and attempts to scam the film crew out of money by claiming his food was moldy (it wasn't). This causes a domino effect that goes up to the higher ups at the movie studio, and afterward the film crew is no longer allowed to donate food to the poor part of town and can only throw it out while everyone else in the poor neighborhood misses out on decent meals just because of one person.
- Characters.The Legend Of Korra Past Characters: Because of the Gaang's actions from the previous series, he relocated the library to the Spirit World and forbade all humans from ever having access. When he finds out Jinora is Aang's granddaughter, he happily hands her over to Unalaq.
- Recap.The Office USS 5 E 26 Casual Friday: Toby declares that Casual Day is cancelled after getting fed up with everyone's complaints and Dwight's attempts to enforce his own dress code on everyone.
- Characters.Twitch Plays Pokemon: Democracy is supposed to be used to get through mazes, puzzles, and other in game obstacles that require planning and precise movements. Sometimes it's used by the mob to carry out agreed upon complex operations, but a lone hacker with bots can abuse the system to do whatever they want on their own. The mob will abandon operations to revert to anarchy mode.
- Film.My Best Friend Is A Vampire: Modoc's explanation for why humans are afraid of vampires involves "a few bad apples in the Middle Ages." You can practically hear his voice dripping "I'm looking at you here, Dracula." Probably?
- BurnNotice.Tropes Q To Z: Jason Bly enjoys barging into Michael's loft and ripping everything apart in search of "evidence". Destruction of property.
- Anime.Pokemon 2000: Lawrence III's ship has little force fields around all of his treasures to keep them from being broken. Not that it helped, considering that it it couldn't protect against Aeroblast. Destruction of property.
- TheSimpsons.Tropes S To Z: In "Trilogy Of Error", Lisa says, "This is why I can't have nice things" after Homer breaks her Linguo robot by pouring beer in it. Destruction of property with the phrase added.
- WesternAnimation.Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2012: Mikey, who even admits it:
Mikey: You know I can't be trusted with nice things! Phrase only.
- WebVideo.Boring Trousers: In Let's Watch Some BAD... EH... HEH... HUH.... (females!) 1/3, Boring Trousers watch a "Baddest" Girls in Videogames countdown list, dripping with cringe-worthy misoginyist comments by the male interviewees. Boring Trousers sums it up:
Adam: This is why we can't have nice things! Phrase only.
- Recap.S 3 E 13 Arthurs Dummy Disaster Francine And The Feline: Everyone's dummy either breaks, gets shrunk in the wash, or is buried. George eventually gives away a damaged Wally to D.W., though in a later episode he gets him back. Destruction of property.
- WesternAnimation.Ultimate Spider Man 2012: Spidey admonishes Loki for breaking the doors to Odin's chamber. Destruction of property — or more specifically, what looks like an attempted intrusion.
- Film.Moonraker: Bond fights Chang in an Italian glass museum. There had been a tour through the museum earlier, just to establish exactly how priceless each piece was. It goes like you'd expect. Destruction of property.
- Characters.Soul Eater Spartoi: In his debut appearance, Kid ends up destroying a perfectly symmetrical pyramid. Destruction of property.
- EverybodyLovesRaymond.Tropes Q To Z: Marie said this in "The Author" when Ray and Robert broke the living room lamp during their scuffle. Destruction of property with the phrase added.
- Creator.Jeff Foxworthy: In a routine on Games Rednecks Play, Jeff talks about how he and his brother once wrestled each other in the living room and broke his dad's Jack Daniel's Elvis decanter. His mom's reaction: "We just can't have nice things!". Destruction of property with the phrase added.
- Literature.Murder Most Unladylike: If you're a detective, don't ever go on vacation. People will die and your vacation will be ruined. Shoehorning.
- WebVideo.Twitch Plays Pokemon Crystal: Any time a Pokémon is released, morale and unity suffers. Shoehorning.
- Recap.Rugrats S 2 E 7 Let There Be Light The Bank Trick: In the opening of the episode, Tommy and Chuckie are seen playing with chess figures. Unfortunately, they were for a chess game Lou had been playing by mail for fifteen months. Shoehorning.
- Music.Reputation: "This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things."
Because you break them
I had to take them away Phrase only. - Series.Mock The Week:
- Season 15 is off to a rocktastic start when Dara passes some new plastic pound notes to everyone for specimen purposes - and barely a minute later Ed Gamble has ripped one in half. Destruction of property.
- Amusingly, the tail end of season 15 has another example when Dara gets to play with a Nerf Tri-Strike dart rifle, and starts shooting the other panelists - by the time they get to "Scenes We'd Like To See", the bolt handle has somehow come off in Dara's hand.note Shoehorning. This is just the item breaking down.
- WesternAnimation.SWAT Kats: A priceless historical site gets obliterated in "The Deadly Pyramid." Granted, it wasn't entirely their fault. Destruction of property.
- Series.The Daily Show With Jon Stewart: When Jon showed clips of bipartisan support for a bill that would strengthen the ban on the ivory trade, because it kills elephants and funds terrorists, then showed the bill being blocked because the NRA opposed it because it might have a negative effect on antique arms tradingnote , he said "this is why we can't have nice things." Phrase only.
- ComicStrip.Get Fuzzy: Rob says this, word-for-word, when Bucky destroys his and Satchel's bobble-head figure of Nomar Garciaparra (because Bucky took its seemingly nodding expression as an indication it wanted a fight). Destruction of property, presumably with the phrase included.
- Recap.Buffy The Vampire Slayer S 3 E 11 Gingerbread: Buffy grabs some paper to draw the mark she saw on the dead boy's hand. As it's a valuable parchment from the 12th Century, Giles quickly removes it and hands Buffy a notebook. Shoehorning.
- Film.Mars Attacks: The aliens destroying Earth's landmarks for giggles. Destruction of property.
- Recap.Miraculous Ladybug S 01 E 20 Guitar Villain: Jagged Stone feeds his IPad to Fang when XY insults him on TV. He also destroys XY's special effects at the Eiffel Tower. Destruction of property.
- Recap.Kim Possible S 4 E 6 Mad Dogsand Aliens: Said mostly word-for-word by Drakken when Shego blasts Warmonga into a computer. Phrase only.
- Webcomic.Dubious Company: Why Can't We Have Cool Ships?: Walter really needs to lock up the Magitek engine room of his Cool Ship, err.. Barry's Cool Ship, err.. Barry's other not quite as cool ship. Shoehorning.
- VideoGame.You Dont Know Jack: Schmitty sometimes directly says this trope after getting an incorrect answer.
- Recap.Mystery Science Theater 3000 S 05 E 19 Outlaw: Invoked by Gypsy at the boys' roughhousing.
- Funny.SCP Foundation SCP 914 Experiment Log: Test # SCP-914 + Skateboard Wheels = Bad Idea:
Note 2: Following the collision of a Class-D personnel with Dr. ████ at ██ mph, all human testing has been suspended until Dr. ████ can come up with a procedure that isn't idiotic. Not sure where this one belongs.
- Webcomic.Kukuburi: The comic has been on a long hiatus with occasional updates. Unfortunately, because of a hacker attack, the site is currently down until further notice.
- Webcomic.Dark Legacy Comics: Dark Legacy has a high turnover rate, due to how Jerkass the core group is. It doesn't seem to explain how the potholed trope fits.
- Fanfic.Keystone: Leonard but due to his Hair-Trigger Temper he only makes it worse, hence Why We Can't Have Nice Things. Under Guilt Complex. No proper context.
- Bad Export for You: This also applies to TP-Link routers sold in North America. Due to a threatening letter by the FCC, TP-Link has decided to region-lock their routers, and the US version of the routers will be locked down extra tightly that third party firmware will be forbidden to run on the routers. The reason for this is because some killjoys have been using custom firmware to boost the own Wi-Fi signal strength on their router so their signal is strong enough to be picked up where ever they are on the block. But that comes at the price of drowning out and thus effectively jamming some of the neighbors' Wi-Fi signals, and in some cases even disrupts the radar systems of airplanes. Why We Cant Have Nice Things indeed.
- VideoGame.Hydrophobia: Scoot suffers from this at times, and very badly at that. Is it really that hard to find people with genuine accents? Sinkhole.
- Watch the Paint Job: In any case, there is one important rule to remember: the rarer the car is, the more expensive and exotic and classic it is, and especially the more a character fawns over it as though it is one of the most important things in the world to them, the less likely it is to make it through the movie or TV episode in one piece, much less intact. Part of a chained sinkhole. Destruction of property.
- YMMV.Marvel A Fresh Start: There's the fact that Peter Parker was gradually shunted back into poverty, moved back into NY and now lives in a shoddy apartment, and rooms with Robbie Robinson's son again, meaning that Peter is once again the "relatable loser". Many of Peter's fans didn't take that well. YMMV use of the trope.
- Analysis.Military Mashup Machine: Used as a header on top of the page.
- Funny.Giant Bomb: During the playthrough of the Uncharted 2: Among Thieves multiplayer beta, Ryan manages to get his character stuck in the level geometry, leading to horrified screams and cries of "Put me out of my misery! The teleporter didn't work!" And then they decide to end the Quick Look by becoming griefers. "You're the reason why we can't have nice things!" Phrase only.
- Ballroom Blitz: And yet again in the season 5 episode "Make New Friends But Keep Discord", when Discord invites, then ignores, the Smooze to the Gala. Maybe ponies just aren't meant to have nice things. Potholed as a Stock Phrase.
- WebVideo.Echo Chamber: Tom wears one that depicts the sinking of the Titanic and the caption "This is why we can't have nice things." Phrase only.
- WarpThatAesop.Live Action Films: The World's End: Humans Are Morons and that is Why We Cant Have Nice Things. Seems to only be used as a phrase.
- WesternAnimation.Archer: Used as a Stock Phrase in the image's caption.
- DeconstructedTrope.Bo Jack Horseman: Bojack's perception of the world has been predicated on the belief that life, especially in the one he had on his old sitcom Horsin' Around, is basically rinse-and-repeat: someone does a bad thing, they learn an important lesson and are forgiven by the people around them. This would be fine and well, except he thinks this also applies to real life. While it could be attributed simply to him being a moron or an immature jerk, it's instead shown to be a response to the complexity and overbearingness of real, day-to-day life and how Bojack wishes it would be. Of course, Bojack's ability to forget each lesson he's taught and bad action he has done hasn't stopped others from remembering his misdeeds in painful and resenting detail or calling him out... or refusing to speak to him again... or hating his guts... or just plain sabotaging his chances to become a better person. Part of Bojack's arc is the realization of how this worldview has destroyed most of the good things he once had. This sounds more like the character experiences the consequences of what he does, rather than him doing something that ruins a good thing for everyone else.
- Recap.Jackie Chan Adventures S 2 E 29 Enter The Cat: During a fight with Finn and Ratso in which the pair chuck an artifact at him, Jackie lets out a panicked Big "NO!" before catching it and putting it down safely, saying it's a Babylonian urn. Sinkhole; threat of property destruction.
- Series.Big Fat Quiz Of The Year:
- That time someone brings a bunch of wine bottles? Somebody steals one. Mel Giedroyc brings some pastries for them to try? Food Fight!
- The one with Mr Blobby, whose suit actor apparently couldn't get a good view of anything, going by the way he knocked over Jimmy's podium and then bashed a hole in the set.note Destruction of property, which doesn't even ruin anything (the note admits it was staged).
- TheFairlyOddParents.Tropes S To Z: In "Merry Wishmas", after Timmy and the other Dimmsdale residents didn't get what they wanted, Timmy decides to give everyone a coupon for one free wish. Unfortunately, Vicki isn't happy with just one wish, so she wishes for a million wishes, some of which make their way into the hands of other kids, who go on a wishing spree. When Jurgen investigates the high wishing activity, he finds that Timmy in Dimmsdale is responsible for this, so he stops the wishing, and then he tries to replace Christmas with Wishmas, because he believes fairies are better than Santa Claus, with Santa moving into Timmy's house after he feels he's no longer popular. Timmy captures Jurgen, Cosmo and Wanda (who are known as the Magic Mailman and his Mail Mites) in order to bring Santa out of retirement when the kids are disappointed in Wishmas. Even Dad Turner (as Nogman) helps out by letting Santa use his Nog-mobile, and the Dimmsdale kids help out by filling the sleigh with a mountain of surplus toys. Very wordy. I'm not 100% sure whether this fits this trope or a different one; it's certainly a consequence of some sort, but I'm torn between deciding whether it's "a character ruined a good thing" or "a character sparked a chain of events".
Proposal
Rename and rewrite the trope from scratch. Part of me, however, wishes to have the trope cut instead given it appears to have been put out without going to YKTTW/TLP first. I'm open to other solutions.
Wizards Don't Own Cats (she/her)
The rename + rewrite to a new definition seems to have already reached consensus range while the others are in the red.
Assuming that vote wins, the draft I have written offline is pretty much done (sans examples) so it'll be ready for me to pop into a sandbox when needed for further working on by other people too. I currently have the tentative idea of Someone Ruins It for Everyone as the placeholder title until we decide on a proper name, unless the sandbox needs to be named after the original title. Again this is the first time I'm handling a TRS project, so is this the correct procedure after the crowner or is there a different process from what I've described?
![[up]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/smiles/arrow_up.png "[up]"){kind=icon}
You got it. You're correct there that you can have a draft written up beforehand as long as it's still in a draft stage, i.e. the votes may still shift while voting is open.
Wizards Don't Own Cats (she/her)
I just found Sandbox.Why We Cant Have A Wick Check, which seems to be a wick check that was started last year by Kayube (who initially saw a problem) and, if I'm looking at it right, never finished.
Since I recently requested to cut the sandbox I created to house my own wick check and OP as it wasn't needed anymore, should this one also be cut? Asking since I didn't create that one so I don't want to get too hasty with a cut request.
EDIT: The top vote has risen to 17 and the rest are still in red. I think the crowner is pretty conclusive at this point, as it would have to shift rather significantly for a different vote to come close.
Edited by Eggy0 on Apr 29th 2024 at 8:14:46 PM
Wizards Don't Own Cats (she/her)
I think the crowner may be worth calling now — the top vote has only gone higher and is still the only one in the green, which sounds pretty conclusive at this point.
Go ahead and get rid of my wick check attempt.
Sounds good on paper (he/him)
Done.
It's unanimous. Rename + rewrite it is. Feel free to paste in and share your draft, Eggy 0
Edited by Tabs on May 4th 2024 at 7:35:30 AM
Wizards Don't Own Cats (she/her)
I have just done my thing — it can be found at Sandbox.Someone Ruins It For Everyone. Currently there are no examples, just a description and a proposed title and laconic on top, as I was imagining that handling the description first would help with properly picking out valid examples to move to the new version.
Feel free to edit the draft and/or make suggestions. What I wrote is by no means the final version.
Anyone else have suggestions for the title crowner? So far:
Wizards Don't Own Cats (she/her)
I got some other ideas to add into the mix or to help come up with a new thing:
- One Person Spoils Everything
- One Person Ruins Everything
- One Persons Error Everyone Elses Punishment (One Person's Error, Everyone Else's Punishment)
Nintendo Fanatic Extraordinaire
How about Collective Punishment?
Wizards Don't Own Cats (she/her)
I have mild concerns that Collective Punishment may be seen as being about multiple people getting the same punishment regardless of whether it was caused by an individual or not, though it might just be me.
On that note: I just thought of a few other ideas, a couple of which I found on a website that shows synonyms for collective punishment.
- Shared Retribution
- Mutual Sanction
- One Wrongdoer Mass Punishment
- One Wrongdoer Joint Punishment
- One Wrongdoer Collective Sanction
- One Wrongdoer Collective Consequence
Edited by Eggy0 on May 3rd 2024 at 2:50:52 PM
I think some of the suggestions suggest a different/expanded definition. Crowner's up.
Nintendo Fanatic Extraordinaire
How about "The Spoilersport?"
Kirby is awesome.
Captain of USS Bajor
Strongly against the suggestion of Collective Punishment as the name: that's a preexisting term with a significantly different definition.
Wizards Don't Own Cats (she/her)
Seems the votes have stalled, I haven't seen much if any movement in the past couple of days. Is the crowner good to be called (the top vote is at 15 and the next highest vote is at 2) or should it run longer?
Sounds good on paper (he/him)
Calling in favor of Someone Ruins It for Everyone since it's the only option with consensus, and there's a lot of consensus in favor of it.
Patiently awaiting the release of Paper Luigi and the Marvelous Compass.
Wizards Don't Own Cats (she/her)
Okay, so with that we work on the sandbox I provided earlier (at Sandbox.Someone Ruins It For Everyone).
Do we start bulking it up with valid examples from the page now or handle the description some more beforehand? I'm also thinking of starting with the clean-up of misuse in the meantime.
Also, what do we do with the old page when all is said and done, cut it or redirect it?
Edited by Eggy0 on May 9th 2024 at 2:51:25 PM
Animu
First, the sandbox needs to be moved to the main space (because the description is nice). Then, the on-page examples get copied to Someone Ruins It for Everyone while the old name turns into a disambiguation page.
That's when cleanup can start!
Edited by animuacid on May 9th 2024 at 3:07:00 PM
Wizards Don't Own Cats (she/her)
Oooh gotcha. So the main is good to be made then? Just need confirmation before I do anything.
Animu
Well, only mods can create pages in Main, so wait or holler them. Let's also see what others think about the sandbox.
Edited by animuacid on May 9th 2024 at 5:31:45 PM
Wizards Don't Own Cats (she/her)
Understood. I'll wait — I've got the sandbox pinned too in case I want to make any changes and see what changed. So far I'd only seen one edit from someone else, but I do expect the possibility of other changes.
Wizards Don't Own Cats (she/her)
It's been a few days; any opinions on the sandbox?
Crown Description:
What should the new name of Why We Cant Have Nice Things be?
Crowner time.