Markup View

Author: Dacilriel

Sep 10th 2012 at 4:25:13 PM

I'm confused by the title and description. When I read StrawPacifist and the laconic I think of a character being set up deliberately to badly portray pacifism, ie "Bob is a naive idiot who would gladly stand by while his family is murdered by a burglar" in a work that is clearly opposed to pacifism.

The description though, seems to be good or neutral pacifist characters who are viewed poorly by their companions due to prejudices or societal expectations.

The examples in the bullet list range from negative portrayals (Hypocritical Pacifist) to positive portrayals (BadassPacifist), so I'm really not sure how the list is an example of either a true Strawman or a character who is misunderstood.

I think there are the makings of a real trope here, since there are often confusions and negative attitudes regarding pacifism, but it seems to me that the trope needs to be better defined and more clearly explained. Is this specifically about good pacifists who are looked down on by other characters? Is it about negative character portrayals being used by writers to make a point? Is the point of the trope that pacifism is being portrayed positively or negatively?

It may be worth noting that in real life religions and philosophies there is a range of beliefs covering what is meant by pacifism. Some pacifists embrace absolute non-violence, while others accept the use of violence for necessary self-defense. This can lead to people having misconceptions and setting up straw arguments without fully understanding the position.