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->'''Arya:''' You're fine with murdering little boys, but thieving is beneath you?\\
'''The Hound:''' A man's got to have a code.
-->-- ''Series/GameOfThrones'', "[[Recap/GameOfThronesS4E1TwoSwords Two Swords]]"

Whether someone is a [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} weirdo]], [[EvenEvilHasStandards villain]], pervert, {{jerkass}}, {{geek}}, or [[NiceGuy just]] ''[[NiceGuy way]]'' [[ExtremeDoormat too nice]], deviant from the customs of "normal" society -- one often finds that those things can only go so far. These characters find that when they're in a situation where they would cross a certain line, they don't do it. Or they get disgusted at those who ''do'' cross that line.

The standard is often [[MoralityTropes moral or ethical]], but could also be regarding [[CulturalPosturing culture]], or TrueArt, or good taste, or good manners, or what constitutes a good meal, or even the boundaries around a {{fandom}} — basically, anything that a person or group is willing to treat as SeriousBusiness. The point of this trope is that [[ShadesOfConflict no matter how high or low anyone thinks the line is]], they all believe that there ''is'' a line, and that those who cross it are in the wrong. Even people you wouldn't think of as having standards still tend to believe in ''something.''

Compare ConscienceMakesYouGoBack, SuddenPrincipledStand. See WhatTheHellHero when someone calls out a person's actions for violating their own standards. If someone judges other people's actions but assumes their own must be good by definition, they have MoralMyopia. If someone's standards are applied inconsistently, it's a DoubleStandard. Conversely, someone's standards may be consistent but at odds with genuine morality, leading to CuriousQualmsOfConscience. Contrast with ItsNotAboutTheRequest, where someone refuses to do something not because of a moral standard, but because of something about how or who asked or told them to do it. See also ShadesOfConflict for the many variations that may occur when people with different levels of standards collide.

Someone who doesn't observe any standards may cross the MoralEventHorizon and become a CompleteMonster.

This is TruthInTelevision, of course; just about all people do try to follow some sort of standard, and even [[TheSociopath outright sociopaths]] can tell (at least intellectually) the [[MoralSociopathy difference between right and wrong]]. Though standards may [[ValuesDissonance differ from time and place and individual]], and people may [[{{Hypocrite}} fail to live up to their own standards]], for someone to not have ''any'' ethical or moral standards is usually the sign of an [[AxCrazy extremely dangerous]] [[ChaoticStupid and unpredictable]] individual. That said, Administrivia/NoRealLifeExamplesPlease
----
!!Sub-tropes:
[[index]]
* AbandonmentInducedAnimosity: Leaving someone, especially your friend, behind to face punishment or even death is considered a low move by pretty much everyone.
* AboveTheInfluence: No matter how desperately someone wants to knock boots with this person, they would never take advantage of their crush if the person was in a vulnerable state (such as being inebriated).
* ApeShallNeverKillApe: A violent group sees it as immoral to be violent toward one of their own.
* ArbitrarySkepticism: In a world with lots of weird stuff, this is so remarkable that one can't help pointing it out.
* BadassPacifist: They're going to absolutely defeat their enemies, but they're not going to be even a little bit violent about it.
* BlackmailIsSuchAnUglyWord: A villain is perfectly willing to ''do'' evil, but takes offense to someone ''calling'' it evil.
* BlackAndWhiteMorality: Sees the world in clear and unambiguous shades of pure good vs. pure evil.
* BlackAndWhiteInsanity: The above, taken to a completely irrational extreme.
* BlueAndOrangeMorality: A strict ethical framework, but one that happens to be based on [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} strange or]] [[BizarreAlienPsychology alien moral principles]].
* CaperRationalization: A group of criminals comes up with a reason this particular crime is justifiable.
* ChildAbuseIsASpecialKindOfEvil: The abuse of children is seen as a deplorable crime by pretty much everyone.
* ChivalrousPervert: An individual who has some filthy desires but holds themselves to a standard when going about them.
* ChoosyBeggar: Just because they're needy doesn't mean they don't have good taste.
* ChurchgoingVillain: A villain may be vile to the core, but still believes that RealMenLoveJesus.
* CodeOfHonour: The standard is formally codified and agreed to, often with a HeroicVow.
* TheCommandments: The standards take the form of a short simple list of rules.
* ConMenHateGuns: They make their living scamming and cheating people, but they refuse to resort to violence.
* DudeNotFunny: As much as they love a good laugh, they will rebuke anyone who dares to make jokes that are in poor taste.
* EthicalSlut: Has a very active sex life, but goes about it in a moral and responsible way.
* EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas: Villains care about their mothers especially.
* EvenBeggarsWontChooseIt: The poor may be needy, but they're not desperate enough to accept ''that'' handout.
* EvenTheDogIsAshamed: An action so bad, it even warrants the disapproval of the NonHumanSidekick.
* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: Villains care about people in their own families and would never dream of hurting ''them.''
* EvenEvilCanBeLoved: Someone decides to see the villain for who he is and not for how evil he is, and thus decide to love him even when other people think it's a bad idea.
* EvenEvilHasStandards: An evildoer rejects some bad deed as too evil for them to be involved with.
* EvenTheLovingHeroHasHatedOnes: Even the AllLovingHero has people they dislike and consider unworthy of redemption.
* EvenMooksHaveLovedOnes: Evil henchmen aren't evil to their families.
* EvenNerdsHaveStandards: Something is considered too nerdy even by other nerds.
* EvenTheRatsWontTouchIt: The LethalChef's food is so awful, it gets turned down by vermin.
* EverythingIsRacist: When someone has put his bar of racial sensitivity too high, everybody else's standards are deemed too rude.
* EvilVirtues: Being effectively evil requires strengths of character.
* FamilyValuesVillain: A bad guy who believes in good old fashioned family values.
* FandomHeresy: A {{fandom}} may [[BrokenBase disagree about everything]], but they will ''not'' disagree about this.
* ForTheEvulz: A villain who knows the difference between good and evil, and chooses to be on the side of evil.
* HitmanWithAHeart: A {{Professional Killer|s}} who will NeverHurtAnInnocent.
* HookerWithAHeartOfGold: They may make a living selling their body for sex, but they genuinely care about people and want to make them happy other ways.
* HonorAmongThieves: Scoundrels agree on clearly defined limits to their villainy.
* HonorBeforeReason: This standard is followed to the (sometimes bitter) end, even when other people believe that having flexibility is better for moral (and sometimes ''actual'') survival.
* HorrorHatesARulebreaker: The supernatural's standards might be arbitrary, but they're there.
* {{Hypocrite}}: Someone who has high standards, but doesn't practice what they preach.
* HypocriticalHeartwarming: A bully who frequently enjoys tormenting someone doesn't like their victim being bullied by someone else.
* IfYoureSoEvilEatThisKitten: Testing whether someone is truly evil by their willingness to do something obviously cruel.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Someone who, even if 99.999% of the time is a colossal {{Jerkass}}, still has a moment when he decides it's enough.
* KarmicThief: Steals only from [[AssholeVictim people who deserve it]].
* KinslayingIsASpecialKindOfEvil: Killing one's own family members is considered an InUniverse MoralEventHorizon.
* KnightTemplar: Believes that simply holding a standard is enough to justify other evil behavior. (If they even ''realize'' that their behavior is evil, that is.)
* LawfulStupid: Even idiots have standards — they just put HonorBeforeReason without any common sense.
* MistreatmentInducedBetrayal: When people decide that their self-worth is more valuable than any allegiance they may be following.
* MrViceGuy: Having vices does not stop the character from following a heroic calling.
* MustBeInvited: Vampires, zombies, demons, etc. will not enter a human's home ([[DemonicPossession or body]]) unless they are specifically invited in.
* NeverHurtAnInnocent: A villain wouldn't harm an innocent bystander.
* NeverSpeakIllOfTheDead: It is considered disgraceful to say negative things about the deceased, given that they're no longer around to defend themselves from criticisms or accusations.
* NobleBigot: Even though prejudiced towards a certain race, still values their lives.
* NobleDemon: A villain who pursues evil goals but refuses to be too evil about getting there.
* NobodysThatDumb: A stupid character reveals themselves to be aware of their idiocy and addresses that even they have limits to their stupidity.
* NotWhatISignedOnFor: Someone is recruited for one cause, but the group's real cause and/or actions make them rethink the deal.
* NoZombieCannibals: Zombies will not attack their own kind, no matter how far gone they may be.
* ObstructiveCodeOfConduct: What you have when the standard gets in the way of your mission.
* PetTheDog: When a villain or AntiHero does something nice or heroic for their adversary for their sake.
* PityTheKidnapper: When the kidnapper thinks its victim is too much for it to handle.
* PoliticalOvercorrectness: When someone tries to avoid being rude to the point everybody else thinks it's ridiculous.
* PoliticallyCorrectVillain: A villain may perform every evil act under the sun, but he explicitly refuses be bigoted in any way as he does so.
* PragmaticVillainy: A villain occasionally performs good deeds (or doesn't act as evil as he should), because on the long run it is a more beneficial decision.
* PrinciplesZealot: Follows their standards no matter what, good or bad consequences be damned.
* RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil: Murder, robbery, and arson may be one thing, but [[EvenEvilHasStandards even many otherwise evil people]] are aghast at sexual assault.
* ScrewTheMoneyIHaveRules: When a person can't be bribed or otherwise persuaded to bend their standards.
* ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight: When a person holds two sets of standards that conflict, they take the higher road.
* SelectiveSlaughter: A killer refuses to harm certain people or groups, such as [[WouldntHurtAChild children]] or [[NeverHurtAnInnocent innocents]].
* SerialKillerKiller: A SerialKiller that only targets people as evil as he is.
* SlaveryIsASpecialKindOfEvil: Slavery and human trafficking are seen as worse than other crimes.
* StraightEdgeEvil: A villain believes in the value of clean and orderly living.
* ToBeLawfulOrGood: The moral dilemma that results when someone's standards conflict with their duties.
* TooKinkyToTorture: TortureAlwaysWorks for the villains... until the hero comes along, and it turns out that what villains call "inhuman torture" the hero instead calls "foreplay" (sometimes ''literally'').
* TooSpicyForYogSothoth: The EldritchAbomination refuses to eat the hero, or tries but can't keep down their meal.
* TreacheryIsASpecialKindOfEvil: Traitors are considered the scum of the earth.
* TechnicalPacifist: Someone who has no qualms with using non-lethal violence against other people [[ThouShaltNotKill but won’t kill anyone]].
* VillainousEthicsDecay: Evil characters are demonstrated to have standards by pitting them against other villains (usually younger ones) who don't care about breaking them.
* VillainousMedicalCare: An injured hero gets medical treatment provided by a villain.
* VillainousParentalInstinct: Even evil people will protect or take care of their children.
* VirtueViceCodification: Formalized lists of what character qualities are considered good or evil.
* WantsAPrizeForBasicDecency: Someone thinks they have high standards, but compared to everyone else's standards, they've only attained the bare minimum.
* WellIntentionedExtremist: Does morally problematic things, but only in pursuit of a worthy goal.
* WhatYouAreInTheDark: The moment that reveals whether a person's standards are really a part of their character or whether they're just a SlaveToPR.
* WifeBasherBasher: Someone finds domestic abuse inexcusable to the point that they're willing to beat up or kill anyone who beats or mistreats their spouse.
* WouldntHitAGirl: He may be a complete jerk, but he won't hit women.
* WouldntHurtAChild: Whichever is their code of conduct, the iron-clad rule is that children are off limits.
* WouldNotShootACivilian: They may be trained to kill, but they only kill enemy soldiers.
* YouMonster: Someone being called a "monster" for their acts too atrocious even for the bad guys.
* YourNormalIsOurTaboo: A different group's standards consider your standards really weird.
* YourTerroristsAreOurFreedomFighters: Two conflicting groups each see themselves as upholding a standard and the others as breaking it, for [[MoralMyopia pretty much the exact same reasons]].
[[/index]]
----
!!Examples:
[[index]]
* EveryoneHasStandards/AnimeAndManga
* EveryoneHasStandards/ComicBooks
* EveryoneHasStandards/FanWorks
* [[EveryoneHasStandards/LiveActionFilms Film — Live-Action]]
* EveryoneHasStandards/{{Literature}}
* EveryoneHasStandards/LiveActionTV
* EveryoneHasStandards/VideoGames
* EveryoneHasStandards/WebAnimation
* EveryoneHasStandards/{{Webcomics}}
* EveryoneHasStandards/WebOriginal
** ''EveryoneHasStandards/TheKillCount''
* EveryoneHasStandards/WesternAnimation
[[/index]]
[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Comic Strips]]
* Lampooned in ''ComicStrip/BloomCounty'', where it was combined with an EvilLawyerJoke and a dose of SelfDeprecation on the part of the writer. The strip's resident AmoralAttorney, Steve Dallas, was thinking about changing careers, because he wanted "an easier way to make a living than getting psychopaths and rapists off the hook". (Not that he cared about who they hurt; he just wasn't all-that ''good'' at it.) Then Opus suggested that Steve try getting into cartoonist art, to which Steve replied by jabbing him in the butt with a pen and angrily shouting, "I have ''some'' scruples, dude!"
* Calvin of ''ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes'' may be quite self-centered, but even he thinks [[http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/1986/11/27#.UuBFK2Qo5dg starving people are nothing to joke about.]] He's also periodically disgusted by people who litter.
** Despite the rather minuscule nature of Calvin's good side, he rarely tries to actually hurt someone beyond thrown snowballs or water balloons, note and is always remorseful over any harm resulting.
** When the clones he created for himself keep getting into trouble at school, he's exasperated, noting even he doesn't get sent to the principal's office every day.
** At the end of the story arc where he locked Rosalyn out of the house, Calvin reflects on what happened and comes to the conclusion that he went too far.
* In ''ComicStrip/{{Dilbert}}'', even a pirate with a diseased parrot refuses to be spokesperson for the unethical company Dilbert works at.
* ''ComicStrip/{{Garfield}}'':
** [[https://www.gocomics.com/garfield/2008/02/24 Jon spent all morning writing a love sonnet and then the computer crashed.]] Actually, it just pretended to, because "Even the Internet has its standards".
** Like many cats, Garfield has no problem with hunting animals for food, but got upset with Jon's family turning his pet chicken Nadine into soup because he considered her family.
** Unlike many cats, however, Garfield would ''never'' consider rats "food". As [[https://www.gocomics.com/garfield/2020/12/02 this strip]] indicates, he'd rather stick to his diet -- something he hates -- than eat a rat.
* Wimpy from ''ComicStrip/{{Popeye}}'' is a mooch, cowardly, selfish, and has betrayed Popeye on numerous occasions, however, he refuses to kill under any circumstances. He was also once greatly angered when he heard that someone was poaching goons.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Film — Animation]]
* In ''WesternAnimation/AllDogsGoToHeaven'', before Charlie starts actually caring for Anne Marie, he's indignant when she tells him that [[NotSoDifferentRemark he's not that much different from]] [[BigBad Carface]]. He even asks if he did what Charlie did for her like telling her a story or tucking her in bed or kissing her goodnight. Earlier in the movie, the dogs at the casino even say that Charlie treats them better than Carface does.
* ''Literature/AnimalFarm (1954)'': When [[BigBad Napoleon]] sentences some animals to death for supposedly siding with [[TheScapegoat Snowball]], Moses the raven (who had before calmly watched Napoleon's [[AngryGuardDog dogs]] tear up Snowball) turns his back on the dogs mauling the hens and sheep and goose, horrified at this cruelty.
* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Balto}}'', Nikki and Kaltag are eager to see Balto and Steele fight for the medicine. In spite of them helping Steele bully Balto earlier, their amusement turns to genuine concern as Steele uses very dirty moves to get the upper hand, resulting in Balto getting a nasty bite wound. They then become very shocked when Steele carelessly knocks the medicine sled down. After the fight, they and Star decide to abandon Steele and follow Balto.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheBadGuys2022'':
** When Snake is urged to share a push pop with Shark, he refuses and eats it, getting Shark to swallow him whole in retaliation. The other Bad Guys and Professor Marmalade are understandably aghast at this, though Snake declares that it was [[WorthIt worth it]].
** A darker and more dramatic example comes when Marmalade reveals that he's set up turning the Bad Guys to good and then framed them for stealing the heart-shaped meteorite. None of the Bad Guys are happy with him for this, but they're shocked when Wolf lunges at Marmalade with a feral snarl, [[IllKillYou ready to kill him]] (since Marmalade had tricked him earlier with his "such a good boy" comment). Even Snake -- Wolf's closest friend and the guy who wants to eat Marmalade due to [[TrademarkFavoriteFood his love for guinea pigs]] -- is left agape.
* ''WesternAnimation/ABugsLife'': Flik and Atta have to cover their eyes in horror before Hopper gets eaten by the bird's chicks.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Coco}}''
** Miguel's father, Enrique, takes his mother Elena's side when it comes to enforcing the family's ban on music, but he is horrified when Elena smashes her grandson's homemade guitar that Miguel treasured.
** Imelda may be unwilling to [[spoiler:immediately forgive Héctor for supposedly walking out on his family even after the truth is known but she gets shocked upon seeing her husband about to fade away, showing that even she thinks that Héctor doesn't deserve [[DeaderThanDead such a fate]]. Indeed, it is the threat of him being erased, not the revelation that he wanted to return before being killed, that convinces her to help him live by retrieving the photo that Ernesto has confiscated]].
* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Felidae}}'', Francis says this when Bluebeard comes to his house for the first time.
--> '''Francis:''' Did you come back here to take a leak? Forget it. You don't piss in here anymore. I live here now, and I have my standards.
* Most of the population of Paris were quick to bully and attempt to flog Quasimodo in Disney's ''WesternAnimation/{{The Hunchback of Notre Dame|Disney}}'', but even they were horrified when Judge Frollo ordered Esmeralda to be burned at stake.
** Earlier, when Frollo's philosophy begins to extend to anyone who even ''might'' have the suspicion of harboring gypsies, the citizens begin to become fearful. When the judge burns down a poor miller's home while his children are inside just because the family has offered lodging to gypsies before, they outright turn on him and say "Frollo's gone ''mad''!"
* ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles1'':
** Edna Mode is a bit of a NightmareFetishist, what with her having an underground armory designed to test super suits for durability, and she watches the demonstrations with glee when entertaining Helen. But what is one line she will not cross? As she puts it, "No capes!" When Bob tries to argue with her about this after he "convinces" her to make a suit for him, Edna cites a LongList of supers that died due to a CapeSnag (which is confirmed in the DVD extras for most of them), and she makes it clear that she will not have his potential death on her hands due to that. Bob did call her the best for a reason, after all.
** Violet gets offended when Helen assumes that she and Dash left Jack-Jack all alone in the house to stow away in the plane. As she puts it sarcastically, only a complete idiot would do such a thing. No, she got the best babysitter she could find at a late notice who had a good reputation for handling infants. Well, Violet ended up being right on that count of her friend Kari stimulating a baby's mind.
** After Syndrome vows to get Bob's family one day (and having already proved he ''means'' to meet that claim earlier), a furious Bob has enough and throws a nearby car right at his getaway aircraft. He makes a SympatheticWince, however, when it results in Syndrome getting {{Cape Snag}}ged into one of its propellers (as a nod to the aforementioned BrickJoke) and detonating the craft. Even for a monster like him, that's a brutal way to go.
* ''WesternAnimation/KronksNewGroove'':
** Kuzco is openly disgusted by Yzma scamming the old people. He interrupts the movie to loudly denounce her for what she's doing.
** Birdwell may be the competitive type, but she draws the line at cheating.
* In ''WesternAnimation/MonstersInc1'', bringing objects from the human world into the monster world, even by accident, is a serious crime. [[spoiler:Kidnapping children and planning on doing them harm? A bigger crime that the Child Detection Agency's willing to overlook the other one over.]]
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheNightmareBeforeChristmas'', Jack Skellington quite literally lives to scare people (though he's a [[DarkIsNotEvil generally nice guy]] despite his spooky talents); his whole job as the Pumpkin King is to ensure that the spirit of All Hallows' Eve is kept scary. But he absolutely ''refuses'' to work with the villainous [[TheWormThatWalks Oogie Boogie]]; the other denizens may be monsters, but Oogie is genuinely evil. When Jack hires the EnfanteTerrible trio of Lock, Shock, and Barrel to "kidnap the Santy Claws," he [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness loses his cheerful demeanor for the first time]] and gives them a strict instruction:
-->'''Jack''': And one more thing...leave that no-account ''Oogie Boogie'' '''''OUT OF THIS!'''''
* Despite his love for penguins, even [[BearyFriendly Corporal]] from ''WesternAnimation/PenguinsOfMadagascar'' is a little miffed that Skipper, Kowalski, and Rico destroyed the North Wind's airship.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Ratatouille}}'': Talon, Skinner's lawyer, knows full well of and seems to support Skinner's frozen foods sold in Gusteau's name. He also advises him to wait for the deadline of the will to pass and then fire Linguini. But even he seems to be unnerved of his client's conspiracy rant, especially when he keeps talking about the rat. He seems to think Skinner was starting to go insane, wondering out loud if he should be concerned about him.
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheRoadToElDorado'', all those witnessing are horrified when Tzekel-Kan reveals that his "proper tribute" to the Gods is a HumanSacrifice, especially Chief Tannabok, Miguel and Tulio. The latter two use their GodGuise to quickly put a stop to it before any blood is shed.
-->'''Tulio:''' (''quietly'') I don't like this…\\
'''Miguel:''' (''quietly and urgently'') Tulio, we've got to do something!
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Rumble}}'': For as much as Steve wants to distance himself from his father, Rayburn, even he thinks that Tentacular wanting to destroy the stadium that Winnie's dad, Jimbo Coyle, and Rayburn built together purely to get out of Rayburn's shadow is crazy.
* Snakebite Scruggs from ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooOnZombieIsland''. For how much of a grumpy, tourist-hating curmudgeon he is, Scruggs is still above letting a dumb tourist (and his dumb dog) get eaten by alligators on his watch.
* ''WesternAnimation/Sing2'':
** Jimmy Crystal's top personnel, Jerry and Suki, are loyal professionals and seem willing to partake in even some of Jimmy's more ruthless business measures. However, they both look very uncomfortable when they see Jimmy snarl abuse at his own daughter, Porsha, for losing her role in the production, and when he finally decides to get rid of Buster in retaliation. When Crystal first tries to kill Buster, Jerry manages to buy the koala some time by reminding Jimmy of a TV appearance he has scheduled, with Suki freeing an imprisoned Buster while they're gone. As Jimmy becomes increasingly more unhinged and psychotic in his vendetta against Buster in the third act, Suki finally draws the line and angrily sics the police on him, though Jerry remains loyal to Jimmy as the latter is being taken away.
** While ReformedCriminals Marcus, Stan and Barry are still perfectly willing to help the Moon Troupe break the rules and obliterate Jimmy Crystal's goons for them, they don't touch Jerry or Suki, being non-physical personnel of Crystal who are blatantly cowering throughout the scuffle rather than actively participating in it anyway.
* ''WesternAnimation/SnowWhiteAndTheSevenDwarfs'': the huntsman is ordered by the Queen to murder Snow White so that she'll be considered FairestOfThemAll again. He objects to this to the Queen's face, but submits when she tells him to do it anyway. When he actually gets to the point of coming up behind Snow White with a knife in hand, though, he can't bring himself to do it and confesses instead, telling her to run away for her own safety.
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSpongeBobMovieSpongeOutOfWater'', Squidasaurus is appalled that the Bikini Bottomites try to sacrifice Spongebob.
--> '''Squidasaurus:''' And I thought ''my'' friends were primitive.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheSuperMarioBrosMovie'': The Bros.'s two uncles spend the family dinner scene making fun of the [[StylisticSuck poorly-made commercial]] they made for their recently-established plumbing business, as well as using coordinated outfits and white work gloves as their trademark. Then the Bros.'s father [[InnocentlyInsensitive tells Mario]] he's nuts for leaving a “steady job” (the job in question had been toxic due to a BadBoss) for his “crazy dream” and is dragging Luigi down with him in the process, making Mario insulted enough to storm off from the table. The uncles proceed to give the father {{Disapproving Look}}s along with the rest of the family, showing that even ''they'' knew he went too far with his insensitive comments.
* ''WesternAnimation/TrollsWorldTour'': When he sees the effects of the ultimate power chord on the troll monarchs, Riff is taken aback and concedes to Poppy's point that everyone being the same isn't a good thing.
* In ''WesternAnimation/TurningRed'', Tyler has been mocking Mei for how creepy and stalker-ish her mother is. In the climax, [[spoiler:when Ming attacks the concert, he joins Mei's friends in assisting with restoring Ming back to normal and saving 4*Town when they are dangling from their stage harnesses. He is a jerk at first, but he wouldn't want someone hurt for real.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/WreckItRalph'': Ralph definitely did not like Vanellope at all in the first act of the film since she stole his ''Hero's Duty'' medal. However, when he witnesses the other racers bullying Vanellope, not only is he absolutely disgusted by it, but he chases them off when they shove her into a mud puddle. Keep in mind that this was before Ralph even had a reason to like her.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Music]]
* In Music/TheLonelyIsland's "Like a Boss", Andy Samberg's character (the "boss") says it in the moment, but as the song winds up and the man giving him a performance review double-checks that in an average day, "You chop your own balls off and ''die,''" he agrees to those two things, but tries to go back on having said "something about suckin' your own dick". That ain't him.
* PlayedForLaughs in Music/JonathanCoulton's song "[[VillainSong Re: Your Brains]]," about a [[FullyEmbracedFiend sentient zombie]] trying to convince some human survivors to give themselves up:
-->''All we wanna do is eat your brains!\\
We're not unreasonable; I mean, no one's gonna eat your eyes.''
* Record label Nuclear Blast is no stranger to publishing blatantly antireligious songs, and had already published some spicy ones by Norwegian black metal band Music/DimmuBorgir. But the company drew the line with their song "Tormentor of Christian Souls", which was apparently so bad the label refused to put the lyrics for the song in the booklet. They still published the song itself, they just refused to tell anyone what it was really saying.
* In the "Once Upon a Time in Space" concept album, Jonny D'Ville-- a murderous space pirate who loves violence-- refuses to kiss the Sleeping Beauty analogue because kissing a sleeping stranger is creepy.
* In a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QS0q3mGPGg Songify This of Charlie Sheen's Winning interview]], Charlie is giving a list to sort on what is winning or not. Violating the rules of the Geneva Convention is the only thing considered weak.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Podcasts]]
* ''Podcast/TheAdventureZoneBalance'': Taako is generally the [[KleptomaniacHero party klepto]], as well as the undisputed king of RefugeInAudacity. However, he balks when Magnus tries to steal money from a bank. Not for any moral reasons, but because of the myriad of reasons they'd almost certainly get caught. For one thing, the bank has loads of security measures. For another, they're literally there to ''stop a bank robbery''. For ''another'', they're working with the chief of police, who not only knows they're there, but is the one who let them in and is currently ''right outside''.
-->'''Taako:''' This isn't a dungeon, people do ''business'' here! Put that back! ''[later]'' You two can split it fifty-fifty if you want, I swear to ''God'', first thing I do when we get outside is I rat you out. I’m writing it on my goddamn character sheet, so I never forget to rat you two out.
* In Episode 2 of ''Podcast/MysteryShow'', Starlee tries to find Britney Spears by going to a mall and a restaurant where she had been had been photographed by paparazzi. After having no luck, she becomes very uncomfortable with her methods and decides to try [[BribingYourWayToVictory a different way.]]
** In Episode 5, which revolves around Starlee trying to find out how tall Jake Gyllenhaal is:
-->'''David:''' So many ways of finding out the objective truth of this information would have been unethical. You can't go to his doctor and find out. That's not the type of people we are. Unless that's what you did, in which case, that is the type of people we are.
* "Podcast/RelativeDisasters":
** After the rescue of the survivors from the Batavia, Lucretia Jans was put on trial for being raped, something which genuinely pisses off Greg to the point where he is almost shouting that part of the story and nearly breaks into {{Angrish}}.
** In Victorian England the misogynistic laws audibly disgusts both hosts.
* ''Podcast/WoodenOvercoats'': [[UnsympatheticComedyProtagonist Rudyard]] utterly ''loathes'' Eric Chapman, his business rival, and spends most of the series attempting to destroy him and/or run him out of town. When he meets Jerry in "Rudyard Makes a Friend," he's delighted that Jerry hates Chapman, too, and they bond plenty over that. [[spoiler:But when he finds out Jerry intends to ''kill'' Chapman, Rudyard immediately points out that this is too far. In one of his most selfless acts, Rudyard makes every effort to thwart the plot, eventually outright standing between Jerry and Chapman, and pulling a GoThroughMe.]]
-->'''Eric:''' ''[touched]'' Rudyard...\\
'''Rudyard:''' It's the principal of the thing. Nothing personal.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Professional Wrestling]]
* ''Really'' bad storylines tend to get this reaction.
** Case in point: [[OldShame Katie]] [[{{Squick}} Vick]]. The brain child of the Executive VP of Television Production, Kevin Dunn, it was a terrible angle involving necrophilia, a doll dressed up as a cheerleader, and Wrestling/TripleH in a Wrestling/{{Kane}} mask. Hunter has gone on to say that it was the ''only'' time he ever questioned Wrestling/VinceMcMahon about a storyline. After negative fan reaction, the feud between Kane and Hunter immediately ended, the entire angle was moved to CanonDiscontinuity, and the only time it's ever brought up is usually to reference how ''terrible'' it was.
** Wrestling/VinceRusso had a pet gimmick called "Beaver Cleavage", a hyper-sexualized version of ''Series/LeaveItToBeaver''. He had fought tooth and nail with the rest of creative to get it on the air -- after the (expected) negative fan reaction, Vince [=McMahon=] himself pulled the plug, which is what would ultimately cause Russo to jump ship to Wrestling/{{WCW}}.
** Though even ''Russo'' has standards. Vinny Ru ''hated'' the [[Wrestling/ImpactWrestling TNA]] "Immortal" storyline, which basically amounted to [[Wrestling/NewWorldOrder nWo]]: Take 2. As if to indicate how bad the storyline was, it involved Wrestling/JeffHardy turning heel and Wrestling/RicFlair and Hogan ignoring their decades-long feud. He knew the storyline was going to bomb, and the only reason he kept writing it was because Wrestling/HulkHogan and Wrestling/EricBischoff kept pressuring him to do so. All it did was prove that Hogan was still a massive AttentionWhore.
** TNA was also responsible for Claire Lynch, its answer to Katie Vick, which had wrestling's first ever pregnant crack whore. It was by far and away the ''nadir'' of Wrestling/AJStyles's career, and everyone has gone on to say that the only good thing to come out of it was the formation of [[Wrestling/ChristopherDaniels Bad]] [[Wrestling/FrankieKazarian Influence]]. The sad part was that this storyline was ''after'' Vince Russo's departure from the company.
* Despite being a neutral party whose only involvement was being in the match, Leah Vaughan prevented her mentor Cherry Bomb from staking [[Wrestling/{{Rosemary}} Courtney Rush]] through the heart, presumably because she didn't want to just step back and watch while outright murder was committed in front of her.
* Following ''that'' Hell in a Cell match featuring Wrestling/MickFoley and Wrestling/TheUndertaker, Vince [=McMahon=] personally spoke to Mick after the match and told him this: "Mick, you have no idea how much I appreciate what you just did, '''''but I never want to see that again.'''''"
** According to Mick's first book, the idea to start on top of the Cell and get thrown off originated as a joke, and when Mick took the idea seriously, '''Wrestling/TerryFunk''' thought he was crazy.
* In 2004, WWE writer Dan Madigan (who was one of the people behind Katie Vick) suggested that Jon Heidenreich’s gimmick be an unfrozen Nazi managed by Paul Heyman, who is Jewish...and whose mother survived the Holocaust. When the idea was pitched, Vince [=McMahon=] himself walked out of the board room and didn’t come back for the rest of the day. Suffice to say, Madigan’s career didn’t last much longer and he was fired in early 2005.
* Wrestling/JimRoss has gone on record stating that Wrestling/BrockLesnar, even with his RealLife abrasive attitude towards other superstars and his mercenary attitude towards [=WWE=], actually ''didn't'' want to break The Streak, but was ordered to do so by Vince and had gained the approval of Undertaker himself.
* '''[[Wrestling/EddieGuerrero Eddiesploitation]]'''. According to Wrestling/{{Konnan}}, ''no one'' wanted to do it. Not Wrestling/TripleH, not Wrestling/StephanieMcMahon, not Wrestling/ReyMysterioJr, ''definitely'' not Wrestling/ChrisBenoit and almost certainly not Wrestling/ChavoGuerreroJr or the still-grieving Wrestling/VickieGuerrero. No one -- except for the boss himself, Wrestling/VinceMcMahon, which means everyone had to go through with it anyway. Match after match, promo after promo, feud after feud, all centered around Eddie and his death. At one point, Wrestling/RandyOrton was forced to say Eddie was "in hell" to Rey's face as part of their feud on the Road to ''Wrestling/WrestleMania'', and yeah, Orton hated doing that, because just like everyone else, he loved Eddie. All of this only ended when Benoit finally put his foot down and called Vince out, after Vince tried to set up a feud between Benoit and Chavo over Eddie's "estate". As a coda to this tragedy, when RD Reynolds wrote out its entry for the Website/WrestleCrap Gooker Award (which it unsurprisingly won), he didn't include any soundbites or images -- it was so loathsome he couldn't bring himself to go through it again, article or none.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
* ''TabletopGame/{{Anathema|2011}}'': Players are required to murder as many people as possible, but even the most bloodthirsty shrouds have a group of people that they're strongly adverse to killing. The penalty if you do kill a member of that group? You lose some of your will to live.
* In ''TabletopGame/{{BattleTech}}'', during the opening years of the First Succession War, Jinjiro Kurita ordered the slaughter of the entire population of a planet, [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII Nanking-Massacre-style.]] While the DCMS obeyed (refusal to undertake the orders was an executable offense), they had to, outside of the most fanatically loyal units, be forced and bullied into doing it. The fluff recounts numerous suicides of DCMS troops who could not live with themselves over what they were made to do.
** Since the Succession Wars, any weapons of mass destruction, be they nuclear, biological, or chemical, are considered too horrific to use. Consequently, using one is one of the best ways available to get everyone to [[EnemyMine stop shooting at each other]] and start shooting at ''you''. Witness the stomping given to the Word of Blake by most everybody else, ''including the clans'', as an example.
* Vivien Reid in ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'' is an ecoterrorist who thinks civilisation is a blight on the multiverse, and during her visit to Ikoria, she has nothing positive to say about the city of Drannith, which has a strongly authoritarian philosophy and kills monsters by the dozen. However, when Lucca -- who had been her protege earlier in the story -- forms an army of monsters by controlling them with the Ozolith and attempts to conquer Drannith with them, Vivien concludes this is an unnatural and cruel corruption of the ''eludha''[[note]]the magical bond that links some Ikorian humans to monsters as partners[[/note]] and leads the army of bonders she's gathered ''against'' Lucca in order to ''save'' Drannith.
* In the ''TabletopGame/{{Ravenloft}}'' {{sourcebook}} series known as the "Ravenloft Gazeteers", it is mentioned in the first volume that the peasantry of Barovia, the most {{Uberwald}}ian of the Uberwaldy domains in the Core, a backwards realm of benighted, impoverished peasants whom the in-universe author has been jeering at, look down on the denizens of neighboring Nova Vaasa, which they regard as hopelessly corrupt, squalid and oppressed. This sentiment is reiterated in the opening fiction of the fifth volume, where the narrator notes she asked the owner of a tavern on the Barovian side of the border why he built his establishment here, in the dark and sinister foothills, rather than on Nova Vaasa's sunny plains. The reply she gets is that whilst there is much evil in Barovia, at least Barovia's evil restricts itself to the night.
* ''TabletopGame/ScarredLands'': Shelzar proudly flaunts its moniker of [[ViceCity "The City of Sins"]], being a city-state built on the principles of hedonism and embracing drug-use, slavery, polygamy, homosexuality and prostitution. But, even Shelzar has things that are regarded as legally and/or culturally beyond the pale:
** [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil Rape is the ultimate crime in Shelzar]]. Rapists will be swiftly [[GroinAttack castrated]] if discovered. In the {{sourcebook}} for Shelzar for the first edition of the setting, it's said that whilst Shelzari see nothing particularly wrong with Stebec Faun staffing his brothel with prostitutes that include titanspawn and even [[ILoveTheDead undead]], but if it got out that he was abducting people off the street and selling them to wealthy patrons to do whatever they like to them, they would recoil. It's stated directly that the normally lenient and laughable Shelzari legal system would ''literally'' skin him alive for that act. This almost assuredly ties back to the city's disgust with the act of rape.
** Whilst the {{Flesh Golem}}s called [[OurCentaursAreDifferent sintaurs]] are seen as a status symbol, to the point of holding sintaur ''parades'' during the annual Night of Masks festival, their counterparts the [[BlobMonster slavering orificers]] are seen as perverse even by Shelzarian standards. They're not ''illegal'', but are normally kept hidden away in the homes of nobles or tucked away in particularly extreme brothels.
** Zigzagged with knife pits. Whereas normal gladiatorial combat is a well-respected fact of public life, Shelzari knife-fighting focuses on the use of daggers and related weapons to make for the bloodiest, most spectacular bouts possible, with an emphasis on showmanship, cruelty, and agility. Officially, knife pits are illegal... ''unofficially'', they're enormously popular and it's open knowledge that everybody from commoners to city officials enjoys attending a knife pit match.
** In contrast to knife pits, skin dens are considered too hideously perverse for even Shelzar, and are both illegal and despised by the Shelzari, existing only in the form of secret brothels of horror attended by the most jaded and depraved. Whilst skin dens put on a number of "acts", including people being [[BestialityIsDepraved forced to have sex with animals, monsters and titanspawn]][[note]]most of whom are BeastMan races[[/note]], often to the point of being literally raped to death, people being EatenAlive, and people being burned alive, their pre-eminent act consists of [[FlayingAlive people being skinned alive]].
* ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'': The Imperium is a deeply religious institution, at times verging on theocratic and at others diving right in. The Imperial Faith is a warlike and xenophobic creed, preaching the [[BurnTheWitch fiery destruction]] of the alien, the mutant and the heretic. Entire worlds are devoted to the Emperor's worship; armies are raised in the name of the God-Emperor of Mankind; the head of the Adeptus Ministorum is one of the most powerful people in the Imperium. And ''even within that context'', the apocalyptic fanatics of the Redemptionist creed are widely considered to be sketchy and overzealous at best, outright unhinged at worst, to the point where Imperial authorities often feel the need to either suppress Redemptionists (they're considered a proscribed cult on the planet of TabletopGame/{{Necromunda}}, for example) or at least find ways to direct them away from burning innocent people for not being fanatical enough.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Theatre]]
* ''Theatre/LesMiserables'', the revolutionaries refuse to let Gavroche put himself in the line of fire, because he's the youngest of all of them. [[spoiler:He has to sneak past them to get the shells they need, ignoring their protests]].
* ''Theatre/MissSaigon'': For all the Engineer's unscrupulous greed, he never even considers the idea of running off with little half-American Tam, to lie his way into the visa he so desperately wants, without taking Tam's mother with him. Right from the start of his plan, he says "they must let ''us'' in".
* In ''Theatre/SweeneyToddTheDemonBarberOfFleetStreet'', Sweeney goes JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope at the end of Act One and develops a kill-them-all philosophy, saying that he'll slaughter the upper classes for their exploitation of the poor and the lower classes to put them out of their misery. We see that philosophy in action in "Johanna Quartet," where he kills random patrons of his barber shop without a second thought. However, when a man comes in with his young daughter, Sweeney lets him live--he can't bring himself to kill a father (especially because he desperately misses Johanna, his own child).
[[/folder]]

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