History Main / MakeanExampleofThem

** [[PragmaticVillainy Tarkin would prefer to negotiate terms with the Mon Calamari]], and when that fails occupy their planet with troops rather than use OrbitalBombardment. But when he does go that far he keeps going even after their king tries to surrender, so that the newly established Empire can make it clear what they will do to anyone who defies them.

* ''ComicBook/DarthVaderDarkLordOfTheSith''. After two failed attempts to kill him, which Vader strongly suspects were organised by conspirators in the upper-ranks of the Imperial Officer Corps, he tells Sidious that there will be consequences to this, and he will take either some Imperial lives or all of them. Sidious agrees, [[CantKillYouStillNeedYou only ordering him to spare Grand Moff Tarkin]]. And so, at Vader's request, Palpatine introduces Darth Vader to the Empire's Army/Navy as [[TheDragon his right hand]] and [[MouthOfSauron his voice]]. What does Vader do? He selects five random officers and force-chokes them to death, declaring that he will always survive each assassination attempt against him but they will not. This shows to the Imperial Officers to not mess with him and that [[BadBoss he has no qualms to kill anyone in his own ranks just to prove his point]].

* ''Manga/AssassinationClassroom'': Part of the foundation of [[BigBad Chairman Asano]]'s pedagogy is to make his students think that losing is a FateWorseThanDeath so they will avoid failure by any means necessary. He created Class 3-E for this purpose. Formed by students who either failed to keep their grades up or were punished for breaking regulations, they're the pariahs of the school and the rest of the students as well as the faculty are encouraged to threat them like trash. Effectively, Class 3-E's role is to demonstrate what happens to the people that are labeled "failures" by the system.

** The World Government tried to do this with Gold Roger, the King of Pirates, before the main story began. It backfired when Roger announced his legendary hidden treasure to the world and made the Marines' jobs of controlling pirates much harder.

* ''Fanfic/TheNightUnfurls'': This is Kyril's reasoning for [[TakeNoPrisoners not taking any prisoners, or, if he did have any, killing them]], as well as why he intends to put down the rebellion by force during the ''Rebel Scum Arc''. He intends to send a message to the Black Dogs and the traitors, to let them know what he would do to them should they continue to pursue their goal of a Sex Empire.

* ''Fanfic/TheNightUnfurls'': This is Kyril's reasoning for [[TakeNoPrisoners not taking any prisoners, or, if he did have any, killing them]], as well as why he intends to put down the rebellion by force during the ''Rebel Scum Arc''. [[WhatTheHellHero Not everyone agrees with him wholeheartedly]], though.

* ''Literature/ThatTimeIGotReincarnatedAsASlime'': As part of his plans to integrate the monster-populated kingdom of Tempest with the rest of the world, Rimuru advocates a policy of pacifism against humans and builds up Tempest as a prosperous new trade hub through what was previously a dangerous forest. However, this inadvertently threatens the kingdom of Falmuth, whose economy was reliant on being a major trade hub themselves that circumvented the forest. With people flocking to Tempest as the new superior trade center, Falmuth decides to respond by [[spoiler: masacring hundreds of civilian monsters and threatening to declare war on a flimsy "monster extermination" pretext, intending to take the city for themselves]]. Tempest responds in kind by [[spoiler: completely anihilating the entire 20,000-man invading army and letting Rimuru devour their souls]], half because [[spoiler: they needed the souls to resurrect their fallen and let Rimuru evolve into a Demon Lord]] and half to send a message to the other nations that they should not [[GoodIsNotSoft mistake their pacifism]] [[GoodIsNotSoft for weakness]].

->''O everyone will see\\
An' everyone will know\\
Boy you reap what you sow''
-->--'''Music/SixteenHorsepower''', "Heel on the Shovel"

->''"Burn it! Until it smolders. These people are traitors and must be made examples of."''
-->-- '''[[HangingJudge Judge]] Claude Frollo''' to a hapless miller's house, ''WesternAnimation/TheHunchbackOfNotreDameDisney''

* ''Series/StarTrekVoyager''. In "Resistance", several crewmembers have been captured by an oppressive government. Janeway is helped by Caylem, an insane old man who believes Janeway is his missing daughter, and they're going to rescue his wife, also held by the government. Later when they're captured also, the evil Third Magistrate Augris reveals that his wife and daughter have been DeadAllAlong.
-->'''Augris:''' I must say I'm impressed, Caylem. You never made it this far before. (to Janeway) Every so often he goes on one of his missions to rescue his wife. She's been dead for twelve years.
-->'''Caylem:''' [[MadnessMantra Lies! Lies! Lies!]]
-->'''Augris:''' Sometimes he gets all the way up to the front gate. We send him on his way and allow him to serve as a reminder of just how futile it is to challenge us. I thought you'd learnt that lesson when you lost your daughter. She made it as far as the tunnels before she was shot.

* ''LightNovel/RebuildWorld'':

* ''LightNovel/TrappedInADatingSimTheWorldOfOtomeGamesIsToughForMobs'', has the character Angelica, who as a duke's daughter, has several retainers and attendants go to the Royal Academy with her. Firstly, they refuse to fight for her when she issues a ThrowingDownTheGauntlet challenge, and they profusely apologize to her but she gives them the cold shoulder. Secondly, some of them become DoubleAgent for a foreign power, as part of a (foiled) conspiracy to pin the blame on her father for her fellow students being massacred, while she is kept as the only hostage. As well, all of her retainers present attack her friends. All of these retainers get locked up by the protagonist, and face AFateWorseThanDeath at the hands of her father and brother, the details of which are TooMuchInformation for her. Those student's families get crushed and replaced with new vassals by her father.

--> '''Morden:''' What do you want?
--> '''Vir Cotto:''' I'd like to live just long enough to be there when they cut off your head and stick it on a pike as a warning to the next ten generations that some favors come with too high a price. I would look up at your lifeless eyes and wave like this. Can you and your associates arrange this for me, Mr. Morden?
* ''Series/BlakesSeven''. In "Shadow", an organised crime boss prepares to make a nasty example of two people who tried to steal from him. However the example isn't to discourage others from stealing, but to show his superiors and underlings that he's tough enough to run his territory.

* ''Fanfic/ChildOfTheStorm'': once upon a time, a time-traveller happened upon a likely lad with vast potential to be his apprentice, one with the potential - so he thought - to save the universe one day. He raised the boy as his own, trained him in the mystic arts and his native mutant powers, until the young hero was ready to defeat and drive out none other than Kang the Conqueror. The mission done, they were to journey on and help guide history from the shadows, preparing for the ultimate battle with Thanos. Unfortunately, this young apprentice foster-child had an ego. Even more unfortunately, he happened to be {{ComicBook/Apocalypse}}. He betrayed his teacher, forcing him to flee, claimed Kang's empire, expanded it, and ruthlessly warped it and its inhabitants with his bizarre SocialDarwinist philosophy. Unfortunately for ''him'', his mentor was [[spoiler: [[TheDreaded Doctor Strange]]]]. Long story short, Apocalypse's empire collapsed around his ears, and Apocalypse's body was killed, while his soul was trapped inside the rotting corpse - and if that weren't enough, it was stuck on a metaphysical yo-yo, so once Apocalypse figured out how to break free and BodySurf, it would inevitably snap back in short order. He was stuck like that for ''eight thousand years''.

* In the ''{{Series/Firefly}}'' fic ''[[https://m.fanfiction.net/s/5502176/1/ Freedom to the Free]]'', Simon, River, Wash and Kaylee are captured and [[MadeASlave enslaved]]. Simon gets in trouble because of his natural tendency to protest and talk back and gets put in a [[https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=T7lGsWO5R10 scold’s bridle]]. The overseer makes him wear it for 3 nights and insists on making him wait til he’s in the eating area before it’s removed so as to make an example of him.
* The ''VideoGame/MegaManX'' fanfic ''Fanfic/LimitlessPotential'' has Sigma broadcasting a NewEraSpeech [[DoNotAdjustYourSet through every monitor and communications device in Abel City]], announcing that reploids are now going to replace humans as Earth's ruling species. Dr. Fujiwara, who had been working with him thinking he would be able to rule Abel City, protests about this, and Sigma decides to use him as an example of what will happen to anyone who opposes them, [[ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice impaling]] [[TheresNoKillLikeOverkill and then]] [[OffWithHisHead beheading him with his saber]].

-->'''Hopper:''' Let this be a lesson to ''all'' you ants: Ideas can be very dangerous things.

* In ''Film/TheHungerGamesMockingjayPart1'', President Snow has people caught with the Mockingjay symbol shot publicly through the back of the head at the beginning as an example to the District uprising.
* In ''Film/IngloriousBasterds'', the eponymous Jewish-American soldiers strike fear into the Nazis' hearts by leaving one survivor of every group of soldiers they massacre, branding them with a swastika carved into their forehead.

* ''Film/TheHitmansBodyguard'': President Dukhovich [[EstablishingCharacterMoment is introduced]] paying a visit to a professor who's been saying things critical of his government. He decides that having the professor executed for treason will simply inspire other dissidents to step up and take his place, so he instead personally kills the professor's wife and son, then throws the professor in an internment camp.
* In ''Film/TheAggressionScale'', crime boss Bellavance orders his chief lieutenant Lloyd not only to recover his stolen money but to send a "loud and messy" message by killing not only the thief, but anyone who could have been the thief.
* In the prologue of ''Film/GIJoeTheRiseOfCobra'', James [=McCullen=]'s medieval ancestor was expected to be executed for selling weapons to opposing nations, so he intended to be DefiantToTheEnd. Instead, the French [[AFateWorseThanDeath forced him to wear an iron mask for the rest of his life]].
* ''Film/{{RRR|2022}}'': This is the idea behind [[spoiler: publicly flogging Bheem]] until it backfires. Subverted later when Ram warns them not to [[spoiler: turn Bheem into a bigger martyr by publicly hanging him]].

* Happens a lot in ''Literature/TheHungerGames''. Executions and floggings are often done in public, the privileged citizens of the Capitol always have Avox slaves (people from the districts who were arrested on political charges and had their tongues cut off) dangled in front of them (although a lot of them don't seem to get the message), an entire district (one of the 14 settlements that make up the whole nation) was nuked, and the titular games themselves are just there to actively remind the districts how badly they were crushed the last time they rebelled and how much crueller the Capitol is willing to be after suffering through that one war.

* ''Literature/MaulLockdown'': Izhsmash is killed and has broken circuit boards shoved through his mouth and dead eyes as a warning to anyone else who thinks of hacking into the prison database.

* In ''Literature/WyrdSisters'', the Duchess has a thing about having underlings punished as an example to the others. The Duke remarks that if she keeps it up, eventually she'll be having the last remaining guard cut his own throat as an example to himself.

* ''Literature/EvidenceOfThingsNotSeen'': Alvin Clark's dad, who owns the salvage yard, shoots tools that don't work properly. He tells the other tools, "This is what happens to lousy tools."
* ''Literature/WatershipDown''
** Blackavar tries to escape the dictatorship-warren of Efrafa, beating up a couple of sentries in the process. The Council tears his ears to shreds and orders him displayed to every Mark on silflay, and tell everyone who asks why he was punished. By the time Bigwig encounters him, he's started to crack up.
** The rabbits [[JustSoStory explain the existence]] of the [[DeadGuyOnDisplay gamekeeper's gibbet]] as the [[TheGrimReaper Black Rabbit]] making an example of ''elil'' who have killed without his permission.

* ''Series/HouseOfTheDragon'': The Rhaenyra-aligned Lord Caswell is hanged and his body left hanging in the inner courtyard of the Red Keep by the Hightowers to discourage any pro-Rhaenyra action when they crown Aegon king against the will of King Viserys.

* In ''Series/SquidGame'': [[spoiler: After being executed by the Front Man for cheating the games, Byeong-gi's body along with the those of the corrupt guards are hung from the facility's elaborate neon stairway as a warning to any player willing attempt to do the same.]]

-->''"For by now I could have stretched out my hand and struck you and your people with a plague that would have wiped you off the earth. But I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I might show you my power and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth. You still set yourself against my people and will not let them go."''

* After being eliminated in the first challenge in ''The Sidemen Experience'', Creator/{{KSI}} had his legs waxed to show the other WebVideo/{{Sidemen}} what will happen to them should they wipeout or lose to the others in ''VideoGame/OlliOlli''.

* Just like the original campaign, ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfVoxMachina'' has the party find [[spoiler:[[WhamShot seven bodies hanged from the Sun Tree, dressed to look like them.]]]] Cue SmashToBlack. The normal music over the credits is replaced by the sounds of creaking rope, making it all the more unnerving.

->''O everyone will see\\
An' everyone will know\\
Boy you reap what you sow''
-->--'''Music/SixteenHorsepower''', "Heel on the Shovel"

->''"Burn it! Until it smolders. These people are traitors and must be made examples of."''
-->-- '''[[HangingJudge Judge]] Claude Frollo''' to a hapless miller's house, ''WesternAnimation/TheHunchbackOfNotreDameDisney''

** Blackavar tries to escape the dictatorship-warren of Efrafa, beating up a couple of sentries in the process. The Council tears his ears to shreds and orders him displayed to every Mark on silflay. By the time Bigwig encounters him, he's started to crack up.

** Blackavar, a member of the Owsla tries to escape the dictatorship-warren of Efrafa. The Council rips up his ears and orders him displayed to every Mark on silflay. By the time Bigwig encounters him, he's started to crack up.

-->-- '''[[HangingJudge Judge]] Claude Frollo''' to a hapless miller's house, ''WesternAnimation/{{The Hunchback of Notre Dame|Disney}}''