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5[[quoteright:350:[[Webcomic/MikeBookseller https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/4_5_0.png]]]]
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7->'''Gus:''' In these situations, we must emulate the Prime Minister.\
8'''Dave:''' What, cock it up and then blame someone else?
9-->-- ''Series/DropTheDeadDonkey'', Pilot episode
10
11It's never easy to admit that we are responsible for our actions and deserve to be blamed — in fact, for some people it's one of, if not ''the'' most difficult thing(s) to do — and it is often far more comfortable to play the BlameGame and convince ourselves that it is the fault of another, even though this is the coward's way out. We may blame others even when we know deep down in our hearts that it is our fault. Due to the RuleOfDrama, fictional characters will [[ItsAllMyFault blame themselves]] for things going south most of the time, but there are some cases where the character who ''really'' is to blame will blame everyone else instead. Common variations include:
12
13* The person stuck with the blame fails to defend themself, perhaps out of sheer dumbfoundedness at [[RefugeInAudacity the other person's gall]].
14* The blame-shifter offers [[InsaneTrollLogic an absurdly flimsy pretext]] for ducking responsibility.
15* The character does this all the time... and [[KarmaHoudini consistently gets away with it]].
16* The person [[ObliviouslyEvil can't comprehend what they did is wrong]] because of how [[InnocentlyInsensitive innocently they did it]].
17** The person genuinely believes that [[RationalizingTheOverkill they acted in an acceptable manner in response to another's unacceptable provocation]], and genuinely believes that others are wrong for feeling angry with them.
18* The person [[OnlySaneMan thinks they're the last sane person in a world of unreasonable idiots]]; therefore, anyone who blames them is wrong.
19** The person thinks [[KnightTemplar they're morally correct or righteous]], and thus it is impossible for them to be at fault because they did the right thing, even when it wasn't.
20* The person [[BlamingTheTools blames their tools]] for being defective rather than considering the problem may be their own lack of skill.
21* The person never outright denies responsibility, but instead dodges the issue entirely, usually via a bunch of platitudes about becoming a better person without ever actually taking direct responsibility for their behavior.
22
23SubTrope of PsychologicalProjection. This is a frequent component of ComedicSociopathy and RevengeMyopia. The [[OppositeTropes diametric opposite]] of ItsAllMyFault or AtLeastIAdmitIt. A character prone to this will likely try GladIThoughtOfIt, too. Compare HypocriticalHumor, which can involve a similar denial of one's own flaws, and ImplausibleDeniability. See also ItsAllAboutMe and {{Narcissist}}, which are key reasons why a character would fall into any of the above. Also compare BackhandedApology, an insult disguised as an "apology" where the perpetrator attempts to shift blame onto their victim e.g. I am sorry you were so stupid as to fall for my deception. If the character doesn't blame others, but isn't sorry for what they've done, see TheUnapologetic (however, the two tropes can overlap, generally when the character says "IDidWhatIHadToDo"). This trope is the defining characteristic of TheUnfairSex. Can overlap with EverythingIsRacist, when the person blames their failings which are clearly their own fault on societal prejudice and hatred towards people of their race/gender/sexual orientation/taste in music/whatever. If the person is upset that their victims dare to fight back, they are likely FeelingOppressedByTheirExistence. Overlaps with BlamingTheCuckold if an adulterer blames their partner for the affair. A rebuttal to this trope would involve StoppingTheBlameGame.
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25The formal term for this is [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-serving_bias "self-serving bias"]], and it is a key personality trait of both TheSociopath and the {{Narcissist}}. Related cognitive biases include the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defensive_attribution_hypothesis defensive attribution hypothesis,]] as well as the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fundamental_attribution_error fundamental and]] [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultimate_attribution_error ultimate attribution errors.]] Even in the average person, the brain is designed more for self-defensiveness and maintaining its own comfort than for strict accuracy, explaining why it can be so difficult for people to accept they made a mistake or change their opinions even in the face of clear evidence.
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27Compare with MamaDidntRaiseNoCriminal, for parents that try to shift blame off of their kids, rather than themselves. Subtrope of the {{S|evenDeadlySins}}in of {{Pride}}.
28
29NOTE: Please remember that examples of people blaming others for something that's ''clearly'' the fault of someone else (i.e. a third party) is not an example of this trope; that's MisplacedRetribution. This trope is only for when people attempt to shift the blame off of ''themselves.''
30
31[[noreallife]]
32----
33!!Examples, that are ''never'' wrong!:
34[[index]]
35* NeverMyFault/AnimeAndManga
36* NeverMyFault/ComicBooks
37* NeverMyFault/ComicStrips
38* NeverMyFault/FanWorks
39* [[NeverMyFault/AnimatedFilms Films — Animated]]
40* [[NeverMyFault/LiveActionFilms Films — Live-Action]]
41* NeverMyFault/{{Literature}}
42* NeverMyFault/LiveActionTV
43* NeverMyFault/VideoGames
44* NeverMyFault/WesternAnimation
45* NeverMyFault/OtherMedia
46[[/index]]
47
48[[folder:Religion]]
49* ''Literature/TheBible'':
50** Literature/BookOfGenesis:
51*** After Adam and Eve eat from the tree, God finds them hiding under a bush, and He asks what happened. Instead of fessing up, Adam blames Eve for their sin, and Eve blames the serpent. And Adam doubles down, blaming her in a way that implies that ''God'' should ultimately take the responsibility: "The woman ''You put at my side'' -- she gave me of the tree, and I ate." Never mind Adam was older than her by a good bit. [[SarcasmMode Good thing God couldn't see through that one]]...
52*** When Hagar gets pregnant with Ishmael and ends up despising her mistress, Sarah blames Abraham for getting her handmaid pregnant in the first place, and Abraham in turn blames Sarah for giving him the handmaid to father a son through.
53*** Rebekah instructs Jacob on how to deceive her husband/his father to take the blessing, and when he has qualms about the possible consequences she assures him she'll take them all on her own head. After the plan is successful and she's sending off Jacob to escape the consequences, she pushes all responsibility for the act onto him.
54** Literature/TheFourGospels depicts Pontius Pilate as the man who ordered the crucifixion of Jesus after the Pharisees paid a group of people to call for the other guy to be released. Instead of admitting that he was putting an innocent man to death, he washes his hands in front of the people and claims that it's SomebodyElsesProblem. To this day, however, the Apostle's Creed states that Jesus "suffered under Pontius Pilate."
55** The Jews in the Scriptures also act like this in the Literature/ActsOfTheApostles. In the gospel of Matthew, they were willling to accept the responsibility of Jesus' death by saying to Pontius Pilate, "His blood be on us and on our children" (from Matthew 27:25), but later on at the preaching of the apostles they are backing away from that position, saying that the apostles are intending "to bring this Man’s blood on us!" (from Acts 5:28)
56* UsefulNotes/OrthodoxChristianity states that this trope is the reason why Adam and Eve were banished from the Paradise by God, as they rejected repentance and blamed other beings: the serpent, Eve, and God Himself. Orthodox Church states that if they had repented, the sin would have been forgiven.
57* In the Catholic Church, you can't receive absolution in the Sacrament of Penance unless you acknowledge that you have no one else but yourself to blame for your faults and sins.
58[[/folder]]
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