History Main / NeverTrustATrope

This trope is about Those Guys, and how you can Never Trust One of Them. Who are "they"? '''Those Guys.''' You know. '''Them!'''

This trope usually appears when a character has had a past problem with a member of a specific ethnicity/species/nationality/religion/[[PersonalityBloodTypes blood type]] or what-have-you. Ever since that time in the past, the character has known that anyone else belonging to his particular Target Group of Rage is not to be trusted. Call them [[CrazySurvivalist crazy,]] they're just [[CrazyPrepared prepared.]] "You can '''Never Trust''' a type AB-[[strike:[[ABNegative negative]]]]-positive!" the character will exclaim at every opportunity.

Alternatively, the character may just be a bigot. Perhaps all members of his particular blood type have been told from infancy that AB-positives are born evil, and he's just expressing what his society has told him is true. Or maybe there's no particular reason given for the bigotry.

Regardless of how the character came by his negative opinion of the despised group, this trope almost always leads to AnAesop about how all members of a group are individuals and should be treated as such and not be negatively stereotyped just because the last AB-positive you met killed your entire family and ate your dog. Not all AB-positives are evil! Thus, stating "Never Trust a (whatever)!" is just TemptingFate.

A slightly modified version of the trigger statement might be expressed as "Only '''they''' are ever '''Like That'''" -- as in "Only the [[StarWars Sith]] deal in absolutes." No one else ever does. Ever. Period. You heard me. Don't argue.

Obviously this is subverted if it turns out that, whoops, yes, [[AlwaysChaoticEvil all AB-positives are in fact evil]] and [[TheFarmerAndTheViper not to be trusted.]] It's InTheBlood, as it were. Normally only done in cases of FantasticRacism, although certain authors actually try to make RealLife groups fit this mold. We don't like those authors.

This would be UnfortunateImplications, but the unfortunateness is not implied, it's stated outright.
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!!Examples

[[AC:Anime & Manga]]
* ''OuranHighSchoolHostClub'' parodied this - actually using [[PersonalityBloodTypes blood type AB]] as their example. TheStraightMan Haruhi brushes this off as superstition -- until she learns that Kyouya belongs to this group, which leaves her totally convinced.

[[AC:Comics]]
* ''CalvinAndHobbes'': Never never never never ''never'' trust a [[http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/1991/02/24 tiger]].
* A ''{{Peanuts}}'' poster featured Snoopy looking battered, with the caption: "Never trust a smiling cat!"

[[AC:Films -- Animation]]
* ''{{Hoodwinked}}'': "Never trust a bunny" is used by the Wolf as an IronicEcho. When he first says it, he and Twitchy have just made the mistake of trusting Boingo for directions to Granny Puckett's house, which has led them into a bat-infested cave. Twitchy nods in approval. However, it becomes more powerful later when, after Flippers makes TheReveal about who the culprit is, the Wolf says, "[[IKnewIt I knew it!]] Never trust a bunny!"

[[AC:Films -- Live-Action]]
* ''OnceUponATimeInTheWest'''s CrowningMomentOfFunny: "How can you trust a man who wears both a belt and suspenders? The man can't even trust his own pants."
* ''Film/{{Dragonheart}}'': "Never trust a dragon."
* ''Who Framed Roger Rabbit'': "Never trust a toon."
** Not just Toons.
--->'''Valiant:''' Drop it, lady!\\
'''Jessica:''' I just saved your life and you still don't trust me?\\
'''Valiant:''' I don't trust anybody or anything!
* Peter Jackson's ''TheLordOfTheRings'': Gimli, "[[ElvesVsDwarves Never trust an elf!]]"
* Subverted in the ''I, Robot'' movie (not the books): the robots really weren't to be trusted. Except for one.
* The trailers for ''PiratesOfTheCaribbean: Dead Man's Chest'' included the caption "Never trust a pirate."

[[AC:Literature]]
* SherlockHolmes, legendary misogynist: "Women are never to be entirely trusted -- not the best of them."
* ''The39Clues'': "Never trust a Cahill."
* ''Never Trust A Dead Man'': [[CaptainObvious Do we need to say it]]?
* ''Literature/HarryPotter'': "Never trust anything that can think for itself if you can't see where it keeps its brain."
* ''Literature/ThePrincessBride'': "I could give you my word as a Spaniard." "No good. I've known too many Spaniards."
* ''{{Redwall}}'': Marlfox, "[[CunningLikeAFox Never trust a vixen, never trust a vixen]]!" Variation, in that it's actually a member of the group in question saying this (during a dream sequence, but nevertheless). Mossflower's foxes are ''[[CardCarryingVillain proud]]'' of being untrustworthy.
* The D'regs in ''Discworld/{{Jingo}}'' also pride themselves on being untrustworthy:
-->'''Ahmed:''' He is being looked after by an old lady whom I trust.\\
'''Vimes:''' Your mother?\\
'''Ahmed:''' Ye gods, no! My mother is a D'reg! She'd be terribly offended if I trusted her. She'd say she hadn't brought me up right.
** Discworld/{{Mort}} has "Never trust a Grand Vizier." (Though it's a bit different from other examples of this trope, as that's actually [[EvilVizier pretty sensible advice]].)
* There's quite a lot of this going on in the Literature/DarkLife series: The Topsiders don't trust the Pioneers, the Pioneers don't trust the Surfs, The Surfs don't trust the Pioneers who don't trust the Topsiders...and nobody trusts the Outlaws.
* In ''Literature/WarriorCats'', the Clans often say this about each other.
* In ''Literature/IClaudius'', Herod Agrippa repeatedly advises Claudius to never trust ''anybody'', and he's absolutely right. Claudius once writes him a letter saying that he has taken Herod's advice and trusts no one -- with the exception of several people whose names he lists, Herod among them. All of them, Herod included, prove to be untrustworthy.
* "Literature/TheRailwaySeries": "Never trust domeless engines; they're not respectable."

[[AC:Live-Action TV]]
* ''Franchise/StarTrek'': "Never trust a Klingon."
** This was [[DeadHorseTrope discarded]] after the events of ''Film/{{Star Trek VI|The Undiscovered Country}}'' and killed for good by ''[[Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration TNG]]''.
** Also Ferengi Rule of Acquistion #47: "Never trust a man wearing a better suit than your own."
** Similarly, the Romulan proverb: "Never turn your back on a Breen."
** According to most Bajorans, you should never trust a Cardassian. While not all Cardassians are evil, they did take over Bajor, kill a large percentage of the population, turn another large chunk into slaves, and generally act like [[ANaziByAnyOtherName Space Nazis]] for '''50 years''', so you can see how they got the idea.
* In ''Series/DoctorWho'', "The Green Death", The Doctor tells a joke that ends with the line "Never Trust A Venusian Shanghorn." It's the [[OrphanedPunchline only part of the joke we get to hear]].
** Cassandra in the ''Series/DoctorWho'' episode "New Earth", "Never trust a nun, never trust a nurse and ''never'' trust a cat." By the way, we're dealing with people who are all three at once. Nun nurse cat-people. Although in that case they really shouldn't have been trusted...
* ''Series/IClaudius'' has Herod Agrippa give this advice to the title character:
-->'''Herod:''' Well, just one more piece, then I'm done. ''Trust no one'', my friend, no one. Not your most grateful freedman. Not your most intimate friend. Not your dearest child. Not the wife of your bosom. Trust no one.\\
'''Claudius:''' No one? Not even you?
* [[InvertedTrope Inverted]] in one episode of ''Father of the Pride'', where the MoralOfTheStory is that just because somebody's from a poor minority group doesn't mean they're incapable of crime.
* ''GameOfThrones''. King Robb's mother warns him to "never trust a Greyjoy!" He ignores this advice and dispatches his childhood friend Theon Greyjoy to make an alliance with his father. Unfortunately Theon was sent to Winterfell as a child to make sure the rebellious Greyjoys stayed in line. Not only has Robb returned their hostage, Theon also knows that Winterfell is weakly defended.

[[AC:Music]]
* 30h!3's 'Don't Trust Me.' "Don't trust a ho, never trust a ho, won't trust a ho, WON'T TRUST ME."

[[AC:Religion]]
* "Put not your trust in princes, in the children of men, in whom there is no salvation." -- [[Literature/TheBible Psalm 146]]

[[AC:New Media]]
* This very wiki has NeverTrustATrailer, though there's unlikely to be any Aesop against our anti-trailer bias anytime soon.
** Trailers really are AlwaysChaoticEvil though. So that's okay.
*** Except for the one behind [[{{Transformers}} Optimus Prime]]. Ultra Magnus', I'm not so sure about...

[[AC:Puppet Shows]]
* ''Team America: World Police'' has "Never trust actors."

[[AC:Tabletop Games]]
* ''TabletopGame/{{Shadowrun}}'' has "never deal with a dragon" as one of its most oft-quoted pieces of street wisdom.

[[AC:Video Games]]
* ''StarWars: Jedi Knight II'' has the immortal OneLiner: "Never trust a bartender with [[{{Pluralses}} bad grammar]]."
* A randomly comedic line in ''Franchise/StarWars: KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'' is "Fat people always lie."
* ''VideoGame/{{Warcraft}}'': "Never trust an elf!" Good advice considering who he's talking about here, isn't it?
** Garithos also has it out for dwarves, naga, demons (although that one's [[AlwaysChaoticEvil justified]]) -- really, just about anyone who isn't [[FantasticRacism human]]. He's just less ''quotable'' on subjects that aren't elves.
*** And, of course, Kael'thas only betrays humanity and sides with Vashj, Illidan and the demons [[DramaticIrony because Garithos was going to execute all of Kael's troops]].
* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'': According to Wakka, you can never trust an Al Bhed. Even though, you know, Yuna is half Al Bhed and Rikku IS Al Bhed. Both totally untrustworthy.
** He gets called out for seeing Rikku as untrustworthy in spite of the time he's spent with her, and the realization that Yuna is half Al Bhed presumably pushes him into accepting the Al Bhed after he gets over his shock ("Yuna's Yuna, right?"). And that hatred started in the first place (despite his protests otherwise) when his brother went into battle with an Al Bhed machina weapon and never came home.
* In ''KingsQuestV'', the Narrator might tell King Graham, "[[CaptainObvious Never trust a bad guy, Graham.]]"
* ''VideoGame/{{Diablo}}'': Among drunkard Farnham's words of wisdom: "I've never seen [Adria the witch] eat or drink, and you can't trust somebody who doesn't drink at least a little."
** [[VideoGame/DiabloIII Well...]]

[[AC:Western Animation]]
* ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'': Never trust something that bleeds for four days but doesn't die.
** Also in ''South Park'', Cartman once did a school project on how Gingers are evil. The other kids tried to teach him an Aesop by sneaking into his room at night and making him look like a Ginger. Cartman immediatly set about organising the Gingers into an EvilArmy. Subverted, since in ''South Park'' Gingers ARE Evil.

[[AC:Real Life]]
* [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epimenides_paradox "All Cretans are liars"]] -- Epimenides of Crete
* "Never trust a man with TwoFirstNames."

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* ''HarryPotter'': "Never trust anything that can think for itself if you can't see where it keeps its brain."

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** He gets called out for seeing Rikku as untrustworthy in spite of the time he's spent with her, and the realization that Yuna is half Al Bhed presumably pushes him into accepting the Al Bhed after he gets over his shock ("Yuna's Yuna, right?").