History Recap / TheSimpsonsS18E18TheBoysOfBummer

* JerkassBall: Everyone in Springfield, other than the Simpsons, holds the ball when they torment Bart just for missing a game-winning catch in a baseball game, even going so far as to goad him into committing suicide, lampshade d when Marge points to a billboard advertising Springfield as "[[WorldOfJerkass The Meanest City in America]]".

Bart survives his fall and is knocked unconscious. While the family visits him in the hospital, they hear a mob of townspeople outside chanting "Bart sucks!". Finally having had enough of the town's constant bullying, Marge steps outside and angrily chews them out on their extreme vindictive behavior, effectively more than living up to their title as the "meanest city in America". Feeling guilty, the townspeople apologize for hurting Bart and agree to restage the game to fix his self-esteem. Bart awakens in his baseball uniform on the field and, after 78 tries, Bart finally catches the ball and "wins" the game.

* UngratefulTownsfolk: The citizens of Springfield becomes these for the whole episode when they bully Bart into suicide just because of a screw-up on a ball game. [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] with a billboard even citing it as the "Meanest City in America".

-->'''Marge''': You should all be '''ashamed!''' Passing judgment on a child for a sports boo-boo! Now, thanks to you, my special little guy will be haunted by this for the rest of his life! I always thought that[[note]]referring to a billboard calling Springfield the "Meanest City in America"[[/note]] was just a slogan to attract small businesses. But now I know it's the truth!

* NotHyperbole: Marge angrily points out (as she is ShamingTheMob) that when the town made billboards advertising itself as "[[CardCarryingJerkass the Meanest City in America]]", she believed at first that it was just some kind of publicity stunt.