History Main / TroubledSympatheticBigot

* ''Manga/IThinkOurSonIsGay'': {{Downplayed|Trope}} with Akiyoshi -- he doesn't act hateful about gay people, but has a stereotyped view of them and is slightly uncomfortable about the topic of same-sex romance and sexuality. His wife Tomoko often subtly encourages him to be more open-minded, and he takes the lesson to heart.

* In ''Anime/CodeGeass'' Cornelia and Clovis have a particular hatred for the Elevens that goes beyond the belief in Britannian superiority over the numbers. This is because they believe that their beloved younger siblings Lelouch and Nunnally were murdered by Japanese people during the war.
** However, to their credit, they do not let it get in the way of their duties as Viceroy of Area Eleven, although it is unsure as to whether this loss of his siblings is the reason Clovis was so quick to order a massacre of an entire Eleven ghetto to hide his secret when such lengths were unnecessary, and may have spared his life when Lelouch finally confronted him.

They will be harmed by [[BoomerangBigot their]] [[InternalizedCategorism own]] [[YouAreWhatYouHate bigotry]]. And maybe others, too. However, they're unlikely to go so far as to engage in actual HonorRelatedAbuse. CondescendingCompassion might be generated, in either direction. They might be ashamed of their ''lack'' of bigotry, fearing that it will make them a [[CategoryTraitor traitor to their race, gender, religious group or whatever]].

* ComicBook/{{Magneto}} of the MarvelUniverse has been very different characters under different authors. In some versions he was this trope, both as a villain and as a reluctant hero. In any case, his family was killed in the Holocaust, which left him with the belief that differences between humans could not be overcome, and that it was better for mutants to straight up conquer a world for themselves because regular humans wouldn't let them have it.

* In the ''Anime/FullmetalAlchemist'' movie, many of the [[spoiler:AU versions]] of the characters that we've come to know and love have quite literally become [[spoiler:Nazis]]. Quite sympathetic ones though.

* Archie Bunker from ''Series/AllInTheFamily'' has shades of this (as well as most tropes related to bigotry), as one of the main themes of the series is how lost he feels in a modern world that constantly challenges his prejudices. This is most notable in "Stretch Cunningham Goodbye", one of the series' best episodes, where Archie is invited to give the eulogy at a close friend's funeral, not knowing that the man was Jewish.

[[folder:Film]]

* In the Literature/{{Discworld}} of Creator/AAPessimal, a girl arrives in Ankh-Morpork from that world's UpToEleven version of UsefulNotes/SouthAfrica. As her country is firmly stuck in UsefulNotes/TheApartheidEra, she brings a lot of ingrained attitudes off the boat with her which she has to struggle to set aside. And at first she doesn't see ''why'' she has to shed some of her hitherto unchallenged assumptions about black people.

->''"Accept them? How can I accept them? Can I deny everything I believe in? On the other hand, can I deny my own daughter? On the other hand, how can I turn my back on my faith, my people? If I try and bend that far, I'll break. On the other hand... No!'' There is no other hand!"

->''"Accept them? How can I accept them? Can I deny everything I believe in? On the other hand, can I deny my own daughter? On the other hand, how can I turn my back on my faith, my people? If I try and bend that far, I'll break. On the other hand... No! There is no other hand!"''

* ''WesternAnimation/Ben10AlienForce'' has "Reiny". He is a member of the very first alien race to inhabit the universe if he is to be believed. When he and Ben end up trapped on a desert planet, the two end up becoming friends. Realizing that he's lost the ideal that his kind is superior to all other lifeforms,(and that he's spliced his DNA with one) he allows Ben to go home and stays on the planet in self-imposed exile for losing the core ideals of his race. Much later, Reiny's entire race is revealed to be this. Azmuth explains that their ideas led to inbreeding and several other strange customs to the point that the entire race is nearly extinct.

* In ''Film/GranTorino'', Walt is clearly annoyed that his neighborhood has been largely taken over by Hmong families, and isn't shy about throwing out stereotypes and racial slurs. He is further annoyed, after chasing away some gang-bangers who were harassing a boy in the Hmong family (he claims the only reason they did this was because [[IWasJustPassingThrough they were on his lawn]]), when his new neighbors send him gifts of thanks and invite him over. In the end, he realizes [[NotSoDifferent how much he has in common with his neighbors]] and becomes genuinely close to them (except for the matriarch, who doesn't like white people). [[spoiler:He ends up willing his classic Gran Torino to the boy after his HeroicSacrifice.]]

** Besma bint Abdul to a lesser extent than Hamilton. While she is nice towards her Christian handmaid Petra whom she treats as a little sister, she loathes "American devils" for [[NotSoDifferent the same reasons as Hamilton does with her people]].

* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsOfColdSteel'':

* In ''Theatre/FiddlerOnTheRoof'', Tevye is constantly struggling with his belief in tradition versus his three daughters' yearning for liberation. He manages to accept the first two of them (who want to chose their own husbands on their own terms, but within their own religion), but draws the line with the third (who falls in love with a Christian and converts in order to marry him).

[[folder:Fan Fic]]

* In ''Film/SchindlersList'', the protagonist wrestles with his conscience for quite a while before making the leap from being a nazi slaver to being a subversive hero secretly saving thousands of Jews from the Nazis.

* ''Literature/LincolnRhyme:'' Italian prosecutor Dante Spiro in "The Burial hour" has a deep grudge against Americans due to his grandfather being an Allied soldier who was mistaken for an Axis one by Americans and put into a prison camp with Nazi soldiers who saw him and his unit as traitors and tortured most of them to death while the guards stood and watched. The fact that the senior American officers responsible for the mistake refused to apologize didn't help. The lingering stress of this incident hurt his mother's mental health. Spiro himself admits that while he knows his resentment for Americans isn't entirely rational he has a hard time getting over it.

This character is genuinely sympathetic, but his opinions are not. This creates a tension that creates [[PlayedForDrama drama]] and angst. Such a character is often a walking debate/Aesop on whether RousseauWasRight or not -- can we rise above our petty prejudices?

He will harm himself with his bigotry. And maybe others, too. However, he's unlikely to go so far as to engage in actual HonorRelatedAbuse. CondescendingCompassion might be generated, in either direction. He might be ashamed of his ''lack'' of bigotry, fearing that it will make him a [[CategoryTraitor traitor to his race, gender, religious group or whatever]].

While a very different kind of character, CerebusSyndrome may lead a NobleBigot or an InnocentBigot to become a Troubled Sympathetic Bigot. A Troubled Sympathetic Bigot tends to be neither heroic nor villainous -- he's only a little human, struggling with his life.

* [[DownplayedTrope Downplayed]] with Jay from ''Series/ModernFamily'', who struggles with homophobia. While he loves his son Mitchell, his sexuality continues to make him uncomfortable, which eventually comes to a head during [[spoiler:Mitchell and Cameron's wedding]]. However, Jay does ultimately put his issues aside to support his son, and he generally remains sympathetic because it's clear that he's doing his best to overcome his prejudice, which is mostly caused by him growing up in far less gay-friendly time.