History Main / DudewheresMyRespect

So, you're a hero who's a fair way through your quest. You've slain [[KillItWithFire fire]]-{{breath|Weapon}}ing [[OurDragonsAreDifferent dragons]], or assassinated [[TheMafia mob bosses]], or torn apart an army base filled with hostile aliens. [[OneManArmy You've cut a swath through the land]], [[SociopathicHero slaughtering anything or anyone]] who gets in your way and [[WeDoTheImpossible spit in the face of impossible odds]]. You're well on your way to finishing the job. When you need a favor, anybody who knows who you are ''should'' be [[HundredPercentHeroismRating too grateful]] or [[TheDreaded too afraid]] to turn you down. But instead...

"Go clean out my stables."

"Go throw around some [[Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda Cuccos]]."

"Go collect some apples from my garden."

"Go beat up this guy that's been hassling me."

"Don't you know who I am? Where's my respect?" Of course, you've [[ButThouMust got no choice]] but to debase yourself and comply with this humiliating request, even though you've probably gone FromNobodyToNightmare and by rights [[CombatPragmatist you should just]] [[AssholeVictim kill them]] and take what you need. Is a little empathy [[DidYouThinkICantFeel so hard to muster?]] Also, [[NoHeroDiscount don't expect merchants to give you a discount]] or something because you're a known hero and benefactor. Hell, some will even try to [[AdamSmithHatesYourGuts charge you more because you're famous.]]

On the other hand, someone may have this attitude [[WantsAPrizeForBasicDecency when they've actually done no more than the bare minimum]]. Granted, if he's a {{Jerkass}} making an effort to do something nice for a change, he may have exceeded expectations, but this still has shades of believing ItsAllAboutMe. See also DoggedNiceGuy.

Please restrict RealLife examples to people who have been VindicatedByHistory already. As TruthInTelevision as this is, it's normally too personal to be considered.

** Forrest himself has been in so many historical events and done so much, from winning a Medal of Honor to being a millionaire tycoon, yet no one recognizes him ever and TV reports just call him "a gardener from Greenbow, Alabama". That being said, it really isn't like he goes around asking or demanding respect. He doesn't even seem to realize that he's being slighted in any way.

* ''WesternAnimation/Wish2023'': The crux of his Villain Song, "This is the Thanks I Get?!", where Magnifico is complaining to himself about how he sees the citizens as ungrateful to him despite everything he does to maintain the kingdom and (supposedly) spoil them rotten.

* Nikola Tesla. Mostly due to actions of [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Thomas Edison]], his reputation was ruined, and he never got the Nobel Prize for Physics he deserved even though his research was the basis of much of 20th century electricity-driven technology. [[VindicatedByHistory Until a popularity surge many decades after his death]], he was barely mentioned in history books.

* Benedict Arnold was one of the best U.S. generals during the American Revolution and in particular his victory at Saratoga (in which he displayed both great skill and extraordinary bravery) was ''the'' turning point in the war, one of several occasions his insights and leadership turned the tide of battles ''after'' he had [[ICanStillFight suffered crippling wounds]]. While Arnold probably didn't help his case by being [[ArrogantKungFuGuy generally unpleasant to his fellow officers and openly claiming to be the best general on either side of the war]] (the possibility that he might have been ''right'' doing nothing to quell his ego), he was constantly passed over for commendations and promotions in favor of politically motivated selections, and generally treated like shit by his (often less competent) superiors. From a historical perspective, his becoming a turncloak [[MistreatmentInducedBetrayal is quite understandable]]. Ironically, after his defection Arnold was rewarded by the British with a commission of brigadier general, a reduction from his Continental Army position of major general. He was treated with contempt by his superior, Sir Henry Clinton, and mistrusted by his subordinates because they considered him a traitor -- both to Great Britain ''and'' to the colonists. In other words, he received a lesser version of RewardedAsATraitorDeserves...
* During the golden era of heavyweight boxing, the now late boxing legend Joe Frazier had to struggle and earn the heavyweight championship the hard way. However, he was always in the shadow of UsefulNotes/MuhammadAli whom many people believed was still the true champion. Frazier, at first, still liked Ali and even gave him some money during his boxing exile and helped him get his boxing license back, so the two can finally fight. How was he thanked for this? Ali went on a bashing campaign, calling Frazier some of the worst names he'd ever call an opponent. To make matters worst, the boxing fans and even the media, mostly took Ali's side and joined in ridiculing Frazier. After the two fought for the first time and Frazier won, the crowed still chanted for Ali. When Frazier fought and lost his title badly to George Foreman, the most played back clip of the fight, was the one where Howard Cosell said "Down Goes Frazier!." It's still a well known statement today. Over time, however, people began to feel sorry for Frazier and even got on Ali for his cruel ways back then, forcing him to apologize. Today, Frazier is considered just as great as Ali, but for different reasons.

* Music/RingoStarr apparently suffered some of this (being ''just'' the drummer), to the point where he walked out on Music/TheBeatles during their infamous White Album sessions. They got on without him by getting Music/PaulMcCartney to fill in, but ultimately sent him a telegram telling him [[HeartIsAnAwesomePower how much they needed him.]] George even decorated his drum kit with flowers when he came back, and before the band performed their final concert on the rooftop, Paul left him a card saying "You're the best drummer in the world."
* Similar to the above, Music/DaveGrohl cites this as the reason he learned guitar. Back when he was on a world tour with {{Music/Nirvana}}, they were all given nametags in Germany. Grohl noticed that his tag said something different than Music/KurtCobain and Krist Novoselic's. When he asked their guide, he explained that theirs said "Musician." Grohl then asked what his said, and was told "Drummer."
* UsefulNotes/RafaelNadal has more French Open titles than anyone in the history of UsefulNotes/{{tennis}}, but is usually TheUnfavourite when he plays the French Open, with many people, the French crowds included, deriding him for being an InvincibleHero there.
** Meanwhile, his countryman David Ferrer has become more well-known for the alleged lack of respect he gets from tennis pundits and fans than anything about his actual gameplay. The Indian Wells tournament organizers even ''forgot to put his opening round match on the schedule'' once -- and this was when he was the fifth-best player in the world!
** UsefulNotes/NovakDjokovic suffers from this trope to an extent too. Despite his massive achievements and long stints at No. 1, his history/status as the player who's beaten longtime legends UsefulNotes/RogerFederer and Rafael Nadal the most times means that he's often not the crowd favorite in his major matches. When he beat Federer in the 2015 US Open final, many reports on that match observed that the crowd was so pro-Federer that they were loudly cheering for Djokovic's mistakes despite Djokovic being the No. 1-ranked player who was in the midst of having one of the best-ever tennis seasons at that time.

* The discovery that the Earth orbits the sun has been attributed to Copernicus for many centuries, at least among laymen. In truth, the idea was conceived ''and partially proven'' [[OlderThanYouThink almost two thousand years earlier]] by Aristarchus of Samos, whose texts were studied by Copernicus. Have you ever heard of him? The scholar Aryabhatta of India had also postulated heliocentrism in the second century AD, but he is unknown outside of India. He did get his due when India’s first ever satellite was named after him.

* Although ''some'' factions of the Norwegian resistance movement got their due after UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, several others did not. Thus, the communist resistance, who had fought the German occupation with a fervor like any others, ended up under surveillance, and their leaders even got arrested (after 1950). The Norwegian "war sailors" got it even worse. The Navy men had suffered heavy losses in the convoy business, constantly being shelled by German submarines and planes, securing a life line to the British Isles. The Norwegian flotilla was almost solely responsible for the shipment of crude oil and petrol to the UK, without which the R.A.F. never would have gotten off ground (with disastrous results). This unit also, under great peril, managed to secure a route for resistance and refugees across the North Sea. Due to some shade agreements with the shipping elite in Norway, the sailors got nothing out of it, no economic compensation whatsoever, and they even had to ''pay'' for treatment (many of them lived as {{Shell Shocked Veteran}}s the rest of their lives). If any particular group in this country ever invoked this trope time and again, it was the war sailors.
* During UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, many ethnic minority units endured horrendous discrimination in spite of their contributions to the war effort. The Senegalese Tirailleurs were often denied the benefits of their white counterparts in the French Army even though they are more likely to be executed by the Nazis, which culminated in ugly incidents like French Army soldiers executing Tirailleurs who protested about denied pensions. Likewise, US Army's 442nd Infantry Regiment, which is comprised entirely of Japanese-Americans, became one of the most decorated units in the US Army, yet its member were routinely accused of being spies for Imperial Japan and their families were locked up in internment camps.

* Brazilian voice actor Marco Antônio Costa ended up falling out with Disney due to an escalation of this. First, as he dubbed over Bail Organa in ''Westernanimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'', he discovered that [[TheOtherDarrin he was recast as C-3PO]]. Then, in spite of recording the trailer for ''Film/{{Tomorrowland}}'' was replaced for the eventual film. And ultimately, angered at Disney spending big bucks to have a Youtuber as a CelebrityVoiceActor in ''Westernanimation/FindingDory'', when it was time for ''Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanDeadMenTellNoTales'', he asked a bigger salary (though he noted as slightly larger than his usual fee, and nowhere as big as what the Youtuber got) to return as Jack Sparrow, claiming the success of the movies gave him the clout to deserve this. Disney not only replaced Costa, but chose to blackball him from all future projects.
* When the Usefulnotes/COVID19Pandemic first hit, many nations imposed lockdowns to contain the spread. While exact measures vary between countries, they generally intended people to stop going to work and stay in their homes, with the exception of "essential workers" required for the functioning of society. This category again varies per nation, but often includes professions such as supermarket staff, truck drivers and garbage collectors. More than a few people noted that these "essential workers" were never treated or paid as such before this moment, as opposed to the various high paying, high status jobs that the world could evidently do without quite well.