History Main / CondescendingCompassion

** Ironic since its arguably the basis of the game

CondescendingCompassion is when a person feels themselves magnanimous enough not to hold someone's 'faults' against them openly. They can't help being a commoner, idiot, a mutant or simply '''wrong''' so it would simply be rude to treat them badly because of it. Instead, they resort to the ''much'' better idea that they should be sympathetic or even friendly to that lesser being, but of course they won't really take them seriously. In a way, the condescension or even pity is likely well intentioned, but if the target of this attitude realizes it (and they probably will) then [[DontYouDarePityMe they're naturally likely to be quite insulted or hurt]].

--> It sounds so easy to say: [[CondescendingCompassion "They are just like us!"]] How long time will it take for us to even begin to say [[NotSoDifferent "We are just like them"]]?

--> Again, [[MisBlamed we can blame]] [[HollywoodStyle the studios all we want]]. [[LowestCommonDenominator But they've learned from hard experience that for the most part]], [[CondescendingCompassion if they don't play to our prejudices,]] [[UnfortunateImplications we simply won't go see their movie.]]

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* Aw, poor atheist! Don't worry, I'll pray for your immortal soul, though you'll probably be doomed to reincarnation/damnation/die! Or better yet, join us and you probably won't! Maybe! (though you still won't be as good as us, of course!)

* Aw, poor atheist! Don't worry, I'll pray for your immortal soul, though you'll probably be doomed to reincarnation/damnation/die!
** And, on the flip side, "Those poor, simple-minded, self-righteous religious folk. Everything they believe in is a lie and they're all being brainwashed into doing their leaders' bidding!"

* Aw, poor atheist! Don't worry, I'll pray for you!
** And, on the flip side, "Those poor, simple-minded, Christians/religious people. God is nothing more than a fairy tale and they're all being brainwashed."
* Those poor people in the territory we're colonizing/our ancestors colonized! They've lost their lands and their way of life and we should help them find them again!

* This was actually the start of liberalization towards homosexuality in the western world: Instead of criminals, they were now considered only sick. Not that anyone would consider this progressive nowadays, since SocietyMarchesOn, and people suffered from it. Still, without this first step, homosexuality might still be considered a crime.
** The progression was pretty much from "criminals" (19th century) to "mentally ill" (most of the 20th century) to TheWoobie (1970s through 1990s) to PositiveDiscrimination (1990s and 2000s), and finally to the (generally) nuanced portrayals of today.

* Autism Speaks has the goal of curing [[UsefulNotes/HighFunctioningAutism Autism]]. You might say it has [[WellIntentionedExtremist good intentions]], but most autistic individuals are outraged by their conformist message and portrayal of autism as an illness that needs to be cured rather than a [[CursedWithAwesome blessing with some negative side-effects]].

* In ''Webcomic/SomethingPositive'', Dahlia (who is wheelchair-bound due to spinal damage) often has to suffer the well-meaning 'sympathy' of people who constantly pity her for her lack of legs, especially people who seem to think that just because her legs do not work she must also suffer mental problems.

* Angel's father in ''[[Film/{{X-Men}} X-Men: The Last Stand]]'': His quest to help his son is a classic example, only fueling the son's self-hatred. As he caught his young Angel trying to cut off his own wings, he reacted with revulsion to the fact that his son was a Mutant. He then dedicated his life to trying to "cure" his son from being a mutant.
* ''TheBreakfastClub'' This is Claire's attitude towards the unpopular kids in school, particularly Bender. Her popularity and friends influence her to be mean to those "beneath her," and much of her conflict stems from hating the fact that this is so.
* Played with by the protagonists of ''{{Inception}}'' as they write the story of the DreamWithinADream. [[spoiler:Their target is a young heir who they intend to manipulate to make a certain business decision. There is some resentment between him and his dead father, with the father's last word to him being "disappointed". The protagonists resolve this by giving him a fake epiphany...]]

-->[[spoiler:'''Father:''' No... I was disappointed... because you tried.]]
* ''{{Secretary}}'' is one of the very very few romantic comedies with a masochist as the protagonist. It is also the perhaps ''only'' romantic comedy that starts with the protagonist getting signed out from a mental hospital and has a lot of [[BrokenBird heavy mental problems]] that are not PlayedForLaughs at all.

May factor into BlackAndWhiteInsanity or WindmillPolitical. Compare and contrast HeteronormativeCrusader.

CondescendingCompassion is when a person feels themselves magnanimous enough not to hold someone's 'faults' against them openly. They can't help being a commoner, idiot, a mutant or simply '''wrong''' so it would simply be rude to treat them badly because of it. Instead, they resort to the ''much'' better idea that they should be sympathetic or even friendly to that lesser being, but of course they won't really take them seriously. In a way, the condescension or even pity is likely well intentioned, but if the target of this attitude realizes it (and they probably will) then they're naturally likely to be quite insulted or hurt.

* Autism Speaks has the goal of curing [[UsefulNotes/HighFunctioningAutism Autism]]. You might say it has good intentions, but many autistic individuals dislike the way they portray autism.
** Many autistic individuals would rather have the unique accomplishments of autistic musicians, artists, scientists and inventors held up to say "These people are different, but also important to the world" rather than "These people are broken, pity and help us fix them."

* In Lois Bujold's "Mirror Dance," a scene at the end comes when the beautiful, powerful, and highly competent and respected mercenary officer Elena Bothari-Jezek reports to the short, crippled, morbidly obese Lord Mark, about [[spoiler:destroying the records of his horrific experience of being repeatedly raped, tortured, and even forcefed over a period of days]] as Mark lays there while everyone else is busying themselves with carrying out the terms of the happy ending Mark had arranged for them. When she places her hand on his arm and expresses her pity, the result is a CrowningMomentOfAwesome. "Don't you DARE pity me. I WON!"

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* In ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'', this was the attitude Neliel had towards DeathSeeker Nnoitra and even said to him that he was an "animal" compared to her.

CondescendingCompassion is when a person feels themselves magnanimous enough not to hold someone's 'faults' against them openly. They can't help being a commoner, gay, a mutant or simply '''wrong''' so it would simply be rude to treat them badly because of it. Instead, they resort to the ''much'' better idea that they should be sympathetic or even friendly to that lesser being, but of course they won't really take them seriously. In a way, the condescension or even pity is likely well intentioned, but if the target of this attitude realizes it (and they probably will) then they're naturally likely to be quite insulted or hurt.

Poor Bob! [[AllOfTheOtherReindeer He's not exactly the same way as everyone else.]] And as we all know, [[FalseDichotomy there's only two kinds of people]]: The good normal people who are like us, and the people who are not like us and who are thus lesser than us. And thus, Bob ought to be grateful that Alice is such a wonderful person who looks down on him with mercy instead of hatred. While she would never consider him an equal, she pities him for not being like her.

Alice is prejudiced, and her pity is likely to actually hurt Bob: Either by [[DontYouDarePityMe angering him]] or by encouraging him to [[InternalizedCategorism resent himself for being a lesser kind of person than Alice]].

Alice is certain to [[InnocentBigot consider herself Good]]. While this belief is misguided, [[TroubledSympatheticBigot she might actually be a very sympathetic character as she struggles with her own prejudice]]. Her position might also give her a lot of grief, as her fellow bigots [[WithUsOrAgainstUs consider her a traitor]] for not being enthusiastic about TorchesAndPitchforks. As she listens to Bob and starts understanding that he actually has a point, she might also [[WrongGenreSavvy be very ashamed of letting herself fall for his heresies and fear that she is turning Evil by listening to him]].

Bob might be [[CursedWithAwesome a superpowered mutant]], gay, or maybe even [[ASinisterClue left-handed]]. But whatever's "wrong" with him, it's only wrong according to Alice (and her peers, if any): It's not portrayed by the narrative as ''actually'' being wrong. If Bob actually ''is'' evil, see instead BadPowersBadPeople, DepravedHomosexual or similar.

Note that the thing Alice pities Bob for doesn't have to be something Bob cares about or even notices. Being left-handed or whatever didn't make Bob feel different until Alice started yapping about it. One of them is likely to come across as BlueAndOrangeMorality here, but which one really depends on the situation. Of course, the whole drama may very well [[NeverLiveItDown be about a single incident rather than something that is a regular part of Bob's life]]. This is also a tactic that is commonly employed by {{Fan Hater}}s and ComplainingAboutPeopleNotLikingTheShow, a la "It's a shame you suffer from this affliction that's causing you to like/dislike X." Very much {{Truth In Television}}.

In the real world this tendency is usually associated with the political right (''especially'' where homosexuality and bisexuality are concerned). However, it can also show up on the left, with social democrats/socialists taking a condescending view of the poor even as they try to improve their lives.

Sometimes a version or subversion of your run-of-the-mill StrawmanPolitical. Compare MoralGuardians, WindmillPolitical, InternalizedCategorism, BlackAndWhiteInsanity and HeteronormativeCrusader. Contrast ForHappiness.

--> It sounds so easy to say: [[PityingPerversion "They are just like us!"]] How long time will it take for us to even begin to say [[NotSoDifferent "We are just like them"]]?

--> Again, [[MisBlamed we can blame]] [[HollywoodStyle the studios all we want]]. [[LowestCommonDenominator But they've learned from hard experience that for the most part]], [[PityingPerversion if they don't play to our prejudices,]] [[UnfortunateImplications we simply won't go see their movie.]]