History Main / TheChainOfHarm

* in Film/RomyAndMichelesHighSchoolReunion Heather is surprised to learn that the protagonists, who she'd resented at school, were in turn looked down on by the "A group". She's ''delighted'' to learn that she herself had consistently made another girl at school feel miserable.

# The scapegoat in question is often [[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman not human]] and [[WhatMeasureIsANonCute an animal viewed as a pest]]. In the above example, this would probably continue on from the dog, to cat, ending with a rat being killed. ItGetsWorse, if the animal has some productive use (such as rats clearing the street of insects), since their normal prey will now come along with a vengeance.

* Happens in a Creator/CharlieChaplin movie.

* Happens in a CharlieChaplin movie.

* In StrangerInAStrangeLand, this trope, exhibited by monkeys in a zoo, causes Michael Smith to laugh for the first time and allows him to start to understand humanity.

* In an episode of ''Series/{{Scrubs}}'', J.D. witnesses Dr. Cox getting humiliated by Jordan and decides to make a quick exit, saying "Anger like this has a way of being passed on to whoever's closest." As soon as he's out of the room, Carla comes in to ask for Cox's help. He angrily snaps at her, she gets angry and snaps at Turk and so on. Ironically, the chain eventually reaches J.D. anyway.

* This is often played out in various stories of revenge or horror. But it can also be PlayedForDrama (a family is at the end of the chain, or an oppressor is at the beginning and gets his comeuppance), or PlayedForComedy (slapstick, such as a situation where one person hits a guy with a hammer, and he can't hit back, so he kicks a cat or something).

* In ''HowIMetYourMother'' this is known as the Chain of Screaming. When someone screams at a subordinate, the subordinate must scream at someone lower, who in turn screams at someone else, and so on until someone screams at the original screamer and the cycle is complete. Marshall's attempts to break the chain do not go as well as he hoped.

* PlayedForComedy in ''AvatarTheLastAirbender.'' Katara tries to get caught "earthbending" (it's complicated) so she insults Sokka calling his ears big in a fake argument, and Aang uses a sewer grate to airbend a rock. Afterwards, Sokka says, "Momo, you have some big ears."

* In an episode of ''{{Scrubs}}'', J.D. witnesses Dr. Cox getting humiliated by Jordan and decides to make a quick exit, saying "Anger like this has a way of being passed on to whoever's closest." As soon as he's out of the room, Carla comes in to ask for Cox's help. He angrily snaps at her, she gets angry and snaps at Turk and so on. Ironically, the chain eventually reaches J.D. anyway.

* ''OracleOfTao'' is the trope namer of this. Oddly enough, despite being given an explanation of this, it is not actually carried out in the game.

* ''ComicStrip/ForBetterOrForWorse'' illustrates this in several strips. One Sunday comic shows the trickle down effect with a frustrated and exhausted Elly yelling at Michael over some slight, followed by him going after their dog Farley. Farley barks at Elizabeth, who throws her stuffed Bun-Bun down as the punchline.

Contrast to CycleOfRevenge, which directly targets the person causing harm. Compare to RevengeByProxy.

* PlayedForComedy in ''AvatarTheLastAirbender.'' Katara tries to get caught "earthbending" (it's complicated) so she insults Sokka calling his ears big in a fake argument, and Aang uses a sewer grate to airbend a rock. Afterwards, Sokka says, "Momo, you have some big ears."

* ''Literature/GoodOmens'' has Crowley rely on this, having shut down mobile phone service in London for several minutes during busy hour, which he expects to produce a lot of angry executives who take it out on subordinates and so on. He views it as a much more efficient method of spreading pain and misery than the usual demon noble's gradual corruption of righteous or powerful individuals, something that none of them are able to understand or appreciate.

* ''GoodOmens'' has Crowley rely on this, having shut down mobile phone service in London for several minutes during busy hour, which he expects to produce a lot of angry executives who take it out on subordinates and so on. He views it as a much more efficient method of spreading pain and misery than the usual demon noble's gradual corruption of righteous or powerful individuals, something that none of them are able to understand or appreciate.

* In StrangerInAStrangeLand, this trope, exhibited by monkeys in a zoo, causes Michael Smith to laugh for the first time and allows him to start to understand humanity.

* Seen in [[http://dilbert.com/fast/2003-03-29/ this]] {{Dilbert}} strip.

As a scenario, a man running a company is under a great deal of pressure from his superiors to produce the product faster. He's just been yelled at. Obviously, he can't talk back to his supervisor since he'd get fired, so what does he do? He yells at his normally best worker on something small. Well, the target man [[WouldNotHitAGirl doesn't want to be known as the guy who beats his wife]], so he shouts at her when something wrong happens. Because of the marital strife, she screams at her kid all the time. The child has no weaker human to take it out on, so the kid beats the family dog, which bites the nearby cat. And so on. The strong harms the weak, who gives siimilar treatment to the weaker, who in turn harms the next weaker.

A very messed-up theory as a variant of typical karma. The basic premise of karma is something like this: "Don't do something bad, because laters something bad will happen to you." This, on the other hand is quite different.

As a scenario, a man running a company is under a great deal of pressure from his superiors (who may in turn be under pressure from theirs either to [[DrosteImage infinite regression]], or ending with a few extremely bored customers) to produce the product faster. He's just been yelled at. Obviously, he can't talk back to his supervisor (which would break the chain) since he'd get fired, so what does he do? He yells at his normally best worker (why not the worst one? Because the best one is most likely to be nearby, trying to please him) on something small. Well, the target man doesn't [[WouldNotHitAGirl want to be known as the guy who beats his wife]], so he shouts at her when something wrong happens. Likewise, she could shout right back at him (which also would end the cycle in favor of some other dysfunction, but also strain the marriage), so she screams at her kid all the time. The child has no weaker human to take it out on, so it beats the family dog, which bites the nearby cat. And so on.

-->'''Blackadder:''' Nothing. You are [[ButtMonkey last in God's great chain]].

As a scenario, a man running a company is under a great deal of pressure from his superiors (who may in turn be under pressure from theirs either to [[DrosteImage infinite regression]], or ending with a few extremely bored customers) to produce the product faster. He's just been yelled at. Obviously, he can't talk back to his supervisor (which would break the chain) since he'd get fired, so what does he do? He yells at his normally best worker (why not the worst one? Because the best one of most likely to be nearby, trying to please him) on something small. Well, the target man doesn't [[WouldNotHitAGirl want to be known as the guy who beats his wife]], so he shouts at her when something wrong happens. Likewise, she could shout right back at him (which also would end the cycle in favor of some other dysfunction, but also strain the marriage), so she screams at her kid all the time. The child has no weaker human to take it out on, so it beats the family dog, which bites the nearby cat. And so on.

Obviously NeedsMoreExamples.

* ''OracleofTao'' is the trope namer of this. Oddly enough, despite being given an explanation of this, it is not actually carried out in the game.

* In ''HowIMetYourMother'' this is known as the Chain of Screaming. When someone screams at a subordinate, the subordinate must scream at someone lower, who in turn screams at someone else, and so on until someone screams at the original screamer and the cycle is complete. Marshall's attempts to break the chain do not go as well as he hoped.

* Some of the more "realistic" revenge plots might use this to demonstrate a trickle-down effect of bad deeds as part of AnAesop rather than a direct effect of someone retaliating.

* The inverse of this (in terms of order) sometimes happens in spraying pesticide. Rats eat plenty of bugs, which then snakes eat plenty of, which birds like hawks eat. The hawks usually end up sterile.