History Main / BecauseYouCanCope

[[index]]
* BecauseYouCanCope/FanWorks
[[/index]]

* BecauseYouCanCope/{{Literature}}
* BecauseYouCanCope/LiveActionTV

[[folder: Anime and Manga]]
* In ''Anime/CodeGeass'', this is revealed to be the reason [[spoiler: Lelouch and Nunnally's]] parents justified abandoning them. [[spoiler: They rationalized that living in a foreign land as little more than political hostages was more sustainable than living right next to a MadScientist EvilUncle who was immortal and had an army of child soldiers with superpowers. Lelouch tells them off because DaddyHadAGoodReasonForAbandoningYou doesn't hold weight when said daddy then declares genocidal war on the specific country that they were abandoned in.]]

* Twisted version in ''{{Manga/Gravitation}}'': Shuichi demands that Yuki stay in the relationship for ''him'', since, although Yuki is coughing blood due to stress (allegedly due to Shuichi's presence in his life), it won't kill him -- but Shuichi claims he will die without Yuki. Could be a WhatTheHellHero moment for Shuichi, but Yuki's own JerkAss tendencies and the fact that his illness isn't actually Shuichi's fault are mitigating factors.

[[folder: Comic Books]]

[[folder: Film -- Animation]]

[[folder: Film -- Live-Action]]
* Batman does this to ''himself'' in the ending of ''Film/TheDarkKnight'', after Harvey Dent goes nuts and becomes Two-Face, kills five cops and mobsters, and dies. If the truth about Harvey Dent ever comes to light, any legitimacy his indictments have also dies, and there's no chance that the charges against the criminals of Gotham City will stick. Batman takes the metaphorical bullet, and pretty much orders Commissioner Gordon to lay the blame for the killings at his feet.

[[folder: Video Games]]
* Meta example: The role of [[AnAdventurerIsYou a "Tank" in most RPG games]]. He's built to take damage, so the player just lets the enemies beat him up while focusing on protecting the SquishyWizard and GlassCannon characters. An important priority is to make sure he ''can'' cope by buffing/healing him to take more pain, and disrupting enemy tactics that ''would'' be too powerful for anyone to cope with.
* In ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'', the HeroicSacrifice variation appears in Leliana's Song. [[spoiler:Tug pulls a "Because I can cope", getting himself tortured rather than Sketch. Tragically, he overestimates his own toughness.]]
* The Sentinel role in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'' is this trope invoked intentionally. The designated tank provokes the enemies to attack him so that the other characters can attack or heal; as a bonus, the Sentinel gets abilities that allow him to guard, guard ''and'' heal, guard and ''counterattack''... the ideal Sentinel not only can cope but becomes much ''better'' at coping when in the role. The Sentinel also grants a bonus to everyone else's defense while active.
* Marche in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTacticsAdvance'' is a great example of Ongoing Neglect: His younger brother, Doned, has an unnamed illness that requires he go to the hospital occasionally, and he is confined to a wheelchair. This becomes a plot point later in the game, as [[spoiler: Doned is revealed to have gained the ability to walk in Ivalice, and is a streetear who gives out information about Marche's location, so bounty hunters can attempt to collect the reward on Marche's head. Marche and Doned eventually have a heart-to-heart, where Marche convinces his brother that he was not left behind, and Doned accepts that Marche is given the shaft when it comes to parental care.]]
* In ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublicIITheSithLords'', [[CynicalMentor Kreia]] is clearly [[TrainingFromHell working under this philosophy.]]
* In ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'', if you don't have enough Paragon/Renegade points to use Charm or Intimidate to resolve Miranda and Jack's argument, you will have to choose to support one of them and later pass another Charm or Intimidate check if you want to regain the loyalty of the other. If you chose to support Jack, both your options to regain Miranda's loyalty consist of telling her that she's more reasonable than Jack. A similar principle comes into play with the Renegade option to restore [[spoiler:Legion's]] loyalty. The same applies in DummiedOut dialogue for a Grunt vs. Mordin argument, except for the Renegade means of regaining Mordin's loyalty.

[[folder: Western Animation]]
* On ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'', Francine is hurt when she discovers that her parents are leaving all their money to her sister. At first, she assumes that it's because she was adopted when really it's because her sister is a [[TheDitz ditzy]] (and unmarried) AsianAirhead whom they believe needs the money a lot more than Francine does.
* On ''WesternAnimation/TheClevelandShow,'' Robert neglects his own son, Rollo, to spend time with Junior and help him become cool. At the end of the episode, he justifies this by noting that, being his son, Rollo is born cool, while Junior needs a ''lot'' of help.
* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Daria}}'', Quinn gets a cash reward from her father for getting an A on an essay. Daria, the much smarter of the two, immediately calls him out on it for it being a DoubleStandard, even implying that it would demotivate her since her consistent high grades garner no such rewards. In this case, though, it's to milk him for money (which works).
** If one reads between the lines, this may be why Helen's mother showers Rita with money and gifts -- she's never held down a job for long and has an unstable love life, while Helen and their other sister, Amy, are both financially successful. It's clear that Helen, at least, gets lots of praise from Mom, so it's not a clear-cut case of ParentalFavoritism. (Rita even seems to think that ''she's'' the favorite.)
* This is the extremely controversial ending of the infamous "Seahorse Seashell Party" episode of ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy.'' The whole Griffin family is trapped indoors during a hurricane, and begin to, as always, gang up on eldest daughter Meg, who has been TheUnfavorite and ButtMonkey for years. Their treatment of her has long passed from gentle joking to full-on physical, psychological, and emotional abuse. Meg, who can't take it any more, finally proceeds to tear them all down in a series of [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech blistering speeches]], explaining exactly why and how Chris, Lois, and Peter have mistreated her. They are stunned by her words and begin turning on each other. In the end, though, Meg realizes that the family is [[BigScrewedUpFamily so dysfunctional]] that they ''need'' a "lightning rod" to absorb all of their neuroses and problems, or the individual members will ultimately destroy themselves. She resigns herself to being that lightning rod, which Brian praises as a sign of maturity and responsibility. The audience, who saw this as an incredibly BrokenAesop about justifying and even embracing abuse because "you can take it," reacted with utter outrage, and cite that "lesson" as the reason that "Seahorse Seashell Party" is considered the absolute worst episode of the series.
* {{Deconstructed}} in ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'' with Lilith and Eda's mom, Gwendolyn. Because Eda was [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything afflicted with a dehabilitating curse at a young age]] and Lilith was very self-sufficient, Gwen poured all her time and resources into trying to cure her, while [[ParentalNeglect neglecting Lilith]]. It's not that she doesn't love her, it's just that she thought she didn't need her as much. But she very much ''did'', especially since she was already [[spoiler:bearing the guilt of having cursed Eda in the first place]]. Meanwhile, being the one who got all the attention wasn't a picnic for Eda, either, since her mother completely refused to listen to her wishes and kept coming to her with phony cures sold by scam artists, not wanting to accept that the curse likely ''can't'' be cured; only managed. Gwen's intentions were purely good, but she neglected one daughter and completely isolated the other for over thirty years because she was sure she knew best.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' featured this with Bart getting his first-ever A grade on any school test -- after genuinely studying ("It was like a whole different kind of cheating.") -- and the restaurant treating it like a birthday; for Lisa, of course, this is a standard occurrence.
* One live-action segment of an episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheSuperMarioBrosSuperShow'' dealt with this. Mario and Luigi meet a little boy who is running away from home, prompting Mario to reminisce about a time when he did the same thing as a child. He explains that he and Luigi were both fighting, but their mother only punished him because, as the older brother, he was supposed to know better.

Somehow, Alice escapes her captors and David manages to survive childhood. Unsurprisingly, however, they are less than happy with the person who failed them. If they are TheStoic or TheWoobie, they probably won't make a fuss -- the Stoic because (s)he sees complaining as a sign of weakness and the Woobie because... well, it's part of that "suffering beautifully" thing. However, other characters may opt for CallingTheOldManOut.

* ''ComicBook/{{Batman}}'' comics, [[ComicBook/{{Nightwing}} Dick Grayson]] explained his reason for firing Tim Drake as ComicBook/{{Robin}} and giving the title to Damian Wayne as being because Damian needed it more and Tim was older. This damaged his relationship with Tim due to the callous way it was carried out on the heels of all the other losses and betrayals Tim had recently suffered and was compounded by Dick not believing Tim's (correct) claims that Bruce wasn't dead and trying to force Tim to remain at the manor and the fact that Damian had tried to murder Tim.

* In the ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'' comics, [[ComicBook/{{Nightwing}} Dick Grayson]] explained his reason for firing Tim Drake as ComicBook/{{Robin}} and giving the title to Damian Wayne as being because Damian needed it more and Tim was older. This damaged his relationship with Tim due to the callous way it was carried out on the heels of all the other losses and betrayals Tim had recently suffered and was compounded by Dick not believing Tim's (correct) claims that Bruce wasn't dead and trying to force Tim to remain at the manor and the fact that Damian had tried to murder Tim.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheRugratsMovie'', Tommy's parents don't pay attention to him because they're taking care of his new baby brother, Dil. Left alone at night, Tommy mournfully sings to himself the lullaby his parents are singing to Dil.
-->Baby, please, rest your head. Now it is time for bed. Please stop. Don't you see? I want mom and dad for me...

[[folder: Real Life]]
* Can happen with real siblings, though more commonly in a less vicious version. For example, if one kid is worse at school, they'll get rewarded for accomplishing what the other sibling accomplishes all the time.
** Almost anyone who has a physically and/or mentally handicapped sibling has experienced the "ongoing neglect" version of this trope.
* Sadly, this mindset can and does hide instances of child abuse, at the hands of a relative or close friend. If one ''can'' cope, then one ''should'', so there's no need to make a fuss about those bruises or that stream of insults and profanity; bruises happen all the time! -- and you know what they say about "sticks and stones..." Because peer pressure etc., can make it so hard to step outside this attitude, a common result would be for a child to be traumatized well past any sane human tolerances without considering their situation to be unjust in any manner.
* {{Sadist Teacher}}s also use this excuse to justify doling out harsh lessons or ignoring peer to peer bullying. After all, KidsAreCruel and the bullied kid needs to just learn to toughen up, right? And when they realize complaining will get them nowhere and shut up, the teacher sees this as a sign that the student is reacting the "right way" by "ignoring" the bullies.
* Can also be used to justify a DoubleStandard when it comes to interpersonal abuse. If the abuser is considered the "weaker" party (physically smaller, for example), they can unleash all kinds of physical, verbal, and emotional abuse on the other party, who is often told that because they are "bigger and stronger" in some sense, that the abuser can't ''actually'' do any real harm to them and that they should just stand there and take it or even ''agree'' with the abuser because of this trope.
* Friends can do this to each other, sometimes. Friendships devolve all the time. More in the key moments of life, but also ongoing neglect. Most people who have friends have had it happen at least once. We all remember that one nightmare year when friends stopped returning calls/stopped listening so hard.
* It's a common tactic in some after-abuse care shelters.
* This can happen in relationships where one partner has been raped or sexually abused, and ''can'' cope, but their partner cannot cope with the knowledge, so they have to comfort their partner over the thing that happened to ''them''. It is advisable for people who cannot cope with what happened to their beloved to join a self-help group to avoid this.
* Anyone who really, really likes to read books knows how unfair it feels when kids who don't want to read books are given books at every occasion and are rewarded for reading them ... and those who really like books get them as birthday presents and that's it. Rewards for reading a book? Forget it.
* Progressive tax works on this basis: People with greater income are to pay a greater share of it in tax because they're less impacted by it; while at the poorest extreme, those who need to spend ''all'' of their money on basic life expenses aren't subject to income tax at all. But in practice, the richest can afford lawyers with perfect knowledge of tax loopholes, or rely on ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney.
[[/folder]]

There is a HeroicSacrifice version of this trope, where a character volunteers to take one for the team because they are better equipped to deal with a bad situation -- for example, TheBigGuy goads an enemy into attacking them in order to protect TheChick or the SquishyWizard. Tragically, he usually overestimates his own resilience. The trope can be PlayedForLaughs but may end with DudeNotFunny. A game of MiseryPoker may be involved, especially between siblings. Occasionally, the mentor/parent will use the "Because you can cope" excuse as an excuse to cover up more sinister motives -- or just their own thoughtlessness. Related to MiseryBuildsCharacter.

[[folder: Fan Works]]
* ''Fanfic/ChildOfTheStorm'' has this happen once with Odin (regarding Harry being left at the Dursleys) and ongoing with Doctor Strange (who either puts Harry, the Avengers, and everyone around them through various twists and turns or at least does little to mitigate matters beyond keeping them alive).
** In Odin's case, it was partly down to his perception of time (10 years equals about a month on his relative time-scale), partly due to the fact that while Harry was treated badly, his mistreatment could have been much worse, and that it genuinely wasn't safe to reveal the truth. Harry forgives him but later notes that this is not by any means the same as forgetting.
** In Strange's case, he excuses it as a necessity to prepare them to face Thanos, and that he picked them (Harry especially) because they could cope with the burden. While this is very grudgingly accepted (Strange famously cannot lie - though [[ExactWords mislead]] [[ManipulativeBastard is another matter entirely]]), his actions have more than once drawn violent reactions from the Avengers, and he's generally tolerated as useful and NecessarilyEvil (or at least, amoral - his sad observation is that he became HeWhoFightsMonsters a long time ago) rather than liked.
* In ''Franchise/MassEffect's [[Fanfic/CrucibleMassEffect Crucible]]'''s companion fic, ''Inteference'', this trope is the general attitude of [[BadFuture Alt.Garrus]] to his and Shepard's son [[HalfHumanHybrid Gaius]]'s distress over his father's constant absence and breaking promises. It's not out of malice, but because of Garrus's bad habit of simply assuming what people thought without much investigation and his [[ChildrenAreInnocent misguided wish to preserve Gaius's innocence]]. It comes back to bite his ass when he realizes Gaius no longer trusts him and even thinks of himself as unloved.
* Part of Kainatrol's backstory in ''Fanfic/FutariWaPrettyCureBlueMoon''. She couldn't cope, and, after being talked out of turning her rage on herself, went on a revenge rampage.
* The Ongoing Neglect version of this trope happens to Chen during ''Fanfic/Gensokyo20XX'', as Satori notes, which is due to Ran's mental state at the time and that Reimu, Maribel, Yume Ni, and Renko being too young to take care of themselves.
* ''Fanfic/HellsisterTrilogy'': During "The Apokolips Agenda", ComicBook/TheSpectre is summoned to destroy Trigon... which he does, but he leaves straight after, even though the War against ComicBook/{{Darkseid}} isn't over yet. His friends ask him to stay, but he replies he's already breaking too many rules as it is, but he knows they'll rise victorious.
* The fact that Shaw, a sociopath, would be better able to cope with Root's death than Root would be able to cope with Shaw's is one of the arguments Root uses in ''Fanfic/HoliDaze'' to justify [[spoiler:throwing herself in the path of a car to save Shaw]]. Shaw isn't having it.
-->'''Root:''' Don’t you see? You wouldn’t be crippled by the loss, the grief. You are so strong, Sam. Unlike me, you could go on.\\
'''Shaw:''' Just because I can doesn’t mean I’d want to.
* ''Fanfic/TheKarmaOfLies'': Adrien believes that [[LiarRevealed exposing Lila]] would cause her to get akumatized; therefore, he pressures Marinette to 'take the high road' and let her continue lying, despite how the ManipulativeBitch is not only stringing their classmates along, but increasingly isolating Marinette from her friends. He presumes that Marinette is strong enough to avoid akumatization herself, not caring about the pain she's in since 'she can handle it'.
* In ''FanFic/LeaveForMendeleiev'', this is how Adrien justifies his refusal to help Marinette when he sees her being cornered by her long-time bully [[AlphaBitch Chloe]]. As he explains to Aurore, Marinette can handle whatever Chloe dishes out... but Chloe is so used to getting her way all the time that if she ''isn't'' allowed to do whatever she wants, she'll flip out -- and her tantrum will attract an akuma. Aurore is [[BrokenPedestal unimpressed]] by his reasoning, as well as his subsequent attempt to scold ''her'' for intervening -- and how he doesn't exactly acknowledge Marinette pointing out that she ''wasn't'' actually coping with Chloe's BreakingSpeech since that would require him to [[NeverMyFault admit he might have misjudged the situation]].
* A romantic version appears in the ''Franchise/LyricalNanoha'' fanfic ''Fanfic/InTheService''. Several references are made to something having happened between Nanoha and Yuuno that makes Yuuno awkward around Nanoha, while Nanoha remains oblivious. It is later revealed by Nanoha herself, that she had long ignored Yuuno's attraction to her because Nanoha had chosen to take care of the emotionally-fragile Fate instead. Ultimately, Nanoha's wilful obliviousness had hurt Yuuno, but not as much as it could have hurt Fate.
-->'''Nanoha:''' I made a choice, a long time ago, to save a life. Yuuno was a mature, capable person who could clearly deal with anything life might throw at him. Fate was a timid wreck who shivered when touched and bore incredible guilt over the death of her actual mother Precia and her emotional mother Linith. Someone who could easily be destroyed by a careless crush or an errant friend. I took responsibility. I saved a life. But that did a disservice to Yuuno. I love Fate dearly and do not regret my choice, but I am still aware that it was a choice and that I could have been happy with either of them. Yuuno suffered for this choice, not as badly as Fate might have, but he did. I am not inclined to allow him to suffer further in this manner.
* Kuwabara notices in ''[[https://m.fanfiction.net/s/3350050/8/ Of Snowballs, Cell Phones and Homicide]]'' that Yusuke would never go to the kinds of insane lengths to defend him emotionally that he had done for Kurama thus far. Unknown to him, this is because Kuwabara’s the only person in Yusuke’s group that, in regards to their emotional well-being, has their shit together, and as far Yusuke’s concerned, Kuwabara doesn’t need his help in that area (Yusuke notes this situation would be reversed if Kuwabara or Kurama needed ''physical'' backup instead).
* Chapter 16 of ''Secret Sunshine'' has Ryuuko alluding to this. Feeling hostile towards her sister, she tells Mako that, because a pregnant Satsuki is rich and has more of a support system, she'll manage, while the former has to worry about Kiko.
-->'''Ryuuko''': "Not as much as my sunshine needs me. Satsuki, I'll tell you, can manage."
* In ''Fanfic/{{Survivors}}'', [[ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} Kara]] and [[Franchise/{{Superman}} Kal]] are sent to Earth in the same rocket. Upon landing, Kara discovers her uncle didn't load any food supplies for her. When she has the chance to talk to Jor-El's A.I. and demand an explanation, she is told her parents assured her uncle that she was resourceful enough to keep her cousin and herself alive while looking for food. Jor-El's A.I. points out they were obviously right, but Kara isn't impressed.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Literature]]
* Katie, the mother in ''Literature/ATreeGrowsInBrooklyn'', pays for her son Neely's education and not her academic daughter Francie's. She justifies this by saying that Francie will fight to achieve her dreams, whereas Neely won't. Francie doesn't buy it, and it cements Neely's position as his mother's favourite (which she made no secret of earlier in the book). Francie sums it up:
-->"You fix everything for him and tell me I can find a way myself."
** Would be a SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome if Francie wasn't immediately made to feel guilty about asserting herself and promptly apologise to her mother.
* In ''Literature/DragonBones'', Ward is the PromotedToParent big brother of his siblings. When he takes his brother Tosten on a journey, Tosten quickly becomes jealous of Oreg, a travel companion, and allegedly distant cousin, about whom Ward acts even more protective than about Tosten. However, when he finds out that Oreg is magically enslaved to Ward, and TheWoobie, he pities Oreg, and calls Ward out for not having watched out for him ''more''. It helps that Ward doesn't really neglect anyone -- he's always there when needed, and never invokes this trope to excuse his actions.
* Creator/JodiPicoult uses this trope for the KnightTemplar mothers in her stories. It's not clear if Picoult herself is agreeing with this, as she shows how destructive this kind of parenting is, since it not only ruins the mother and ill child's life but destroys their family and everyone who gets too close.
** Amelia of ''Literature/HandleWithCare'' gets lectured about all the things she can do that her fragile little sister, Willow, can't do whenever the girl complains about the restrictions placed on her and the neglect she suffers.
** Anna of ''Literature/MySistersKeeper'' gets NoSympathy for all the painful operations she gets put through because her mum is too busy making sure that her cancer-stricken big sister Kate is all right.
** Theo of ''Literature/HouseRules'' is expected to put up with his brother Jacob's abuse and is held to higher standards than his sibling because Theo is capable of normal social interaction and autistic Jacob is not.
* Mrs. Everdeen in ''Literature/TheHungerGames'' abandoned her daughters in her grief following the death of her husband. She's physically present, but Katniss has been PromotedToParent and was solely responsible for keeping the family alive from the age of 11. [[spoiler: After Prim's death and Katniss's imprisonment, Mrs. Everdeen leaves District 12 forever with no effort made to stay with her surviving child.]]
* Kate Cann's ''Literature/LeavingPoppy'' uses the "sibling who fakes illness" plot -- the titular Poppy controls her mother and sister's lives through tantrums and passive-aggression. Her mother claims that Poppy is "fragile" and guilt trips her other daughter, Amber, into bowing to her younger sister's demands. For example, when Amber is due to go on holiday, Poppy throws a fit, and their mother pleads with Amber to cancel, claiming that she'll have plenty of other opportunities to go on holiday while Poppy will not -- and that while cancelling her holiday will be tough on Amber, Poppy (and their mother) will be even worse off if she doesn't, so Amber should be the one to make the sacrifice.
* Subverted in the poem "Footprints". A dead man is walking with God, looking at the footprints of his life. There's always two sets, his and God's, except when times get hard; then there's one. Man accuses God of abandoning him at those points but God says he was carrying the man.
* In the Literature/RizzoliAndIsles book series, the titular character's mother has spent years blatantly favoring her son Frankie while ignoring her daughter Jane. Her CharacterDevelopment turns this into her mother always knowing that Jane was the strong and capable one who didn't need her mother's constant attention while Frank was the weakling who needed coddling. A later book takes this even further -- when her husband leaves her for another woman and her son takes ''his'' side, she finally realizes the error she made with her bias.
* In Literature/ShadowsOfSelf, the shapeshifter Melaan uses this trope to justify some of her god Harmony's shadier actions. [[spoiler: Specifically, sending the protagonist Wax to kill the rogue shapeshifter Bleeder without informing him that Bleeder was actually Lessie, the wife he thought was dead. Or that Bleeder had originally assumed the Lessie identity on Harmony's orders.]] She points out that as Harmony isn't fully omniscient or omnipotent, sometimes shuffling trauma onto strong individuals is the kindest thing he can manage.
* The mentorship version shows up in the ''Literature/GauntsGhosts'' novel ''Straight Silver''. Two members of the newly-inducted Verghast portion of the regiment are vying for induction into the prestigious (and so far all-Tanith) Scout company: Muril and Jajjo. Scout-master Mkoll picks both of them to accompany him and his squad on an expedition into the backwoods, but chooses Jajjo to spend the whole time on point with him, practicing his scouting talents. When Muril calls him on it, he responds that Jajjo needed the extra coaching, but he'd seen her talents right from the start and offers her a scout position on the spot. [[spoiler:Tragically, they are separated during a Chaos attack, and [[TokenEvilTeammate Lijah Cuu]], who's grown paranoid about people knowing that he killed Bragg, kills her during the confusion, before the promotion can go through.]]
* Millie from ''Literature/WarriorCats'' did this to two of her children, Blossomfall and Bumblestripe, when the third, Briarlight, broke her back. This was one of the deciding factors [[spoiler:in bringing Blossomfall to the Dark Forest]].
* In ''Literature/FlipFlopGirl'', after Mason's father dies, he becomes completely mute. As a result, his mother and grandmother spend all of their time spoiling him and trying to get him to talk again, while completely neglecting Vinnie, his older sister. Vinnie is bitter because she thinks he's faking it for attention, but it's not made clear either way.
* In ''LightNovel/TheUnexploredSummonBloodSign'', this trope is one of the reasons that Kyousuke and Mary aren't together anymore. Logically, he knew that she was just reacting to the shitty stuff his family did to her...but emotionally, he needed ''some'' sort of scapegoat for all his negative feelings about [[MindRape Operation March Hare]], and he will always side with humans over [[EldritchAbomination her]] because they're weak and [[FantasticRacism his species]] and he believes that being good means supporting the "underdog" in any situation regardless of their actual choices.
* A variant in ''Literature/{{This is Not a Werewolf Story}}:'' Mary Anne is angry when Raul seemingly tells an embarrassing secret about Vincent to the school. She admits that she judges Vincent more favorably for his constant lying because he has serious self-confidence issues, while she considers Raul to be a far stronger person who shouldn't need to cut him down. In this case Raul is innocent, however, and Mary Anne's opinion of Vincent seemingly changes during the months that [[spoiler:Vincent gets Raul {{Shapeshifter Mode Lock}}ed]].

[[folder: Live-Action TV]]
* In ''Series/MalcolmInTheMiddle'', Malcolm spends an episode teaching Reese the value of hard work and studying and helps him write a passing paper for a class. When the paper gets an "F", the boys, who do not see how they can get Reese to perform any better, cheat and have Malcolm take one of Reese's tests for him. This one gets an "F" as well, and this is when they realize that [[TheCuckoolanderWasRight Reese's teacher really IS deliberately failing him out of spite]]. When Lois threatens to use this information to force the teacher to pass Reese, he points out this will get Malcolm in trouble. Lois justifies her plan using this very trope, to Malcolm's own shock:
-->"You don't think I'd sacrifice this one? Let me explain something to you. I would sell Malcolm down the river in a heartbeat to save Reese. Malcolm's gonna be fine no matter what happens. Maybe he'll have to go to junior college or start off blue-collar, but he'll work his way up to management eventually. Reese is the one who needs saving."
** Just to emphasize the point, as the teacher protests that she'd never do it, Francis conveniently shows up outside begging to be let back home after suffering off on his own throughout the episode. She gives the teacher a smug "is-that-good-enough-proof-for-you?" look that has him promptly caving.
** In the series finale, it's revealed that this is Lois' overall motivation for her treatment of Malcolm, on the grounds that this will make him a great president someday.
* In the last episode of ''Series/StargateSG1'', [[http://stargate.wikia.com/wiki/Unending "Unending"]], [[spoiler:after being trapped in a time freeze for 60 years, Teal'c stays to press the ResetButton, thus being the only one not to get those years back. He does this because he has a much longer lifespan than the rest, so the loss of six decades is less drastic for him. He is also the only one to retain the memories of what happened, which is shown to be much more difficult than getting older.]]
** It was also brought up that he's the only one still in good enough physical shape to actually perform the necessary tasks quickly enough once he's back in the past.
* Appears in ''Series/{{Firefly}}'' when Zoe can either [[SadisticChoice rescue her husband or her captain and good friend]]. She chooses her husband without an instant's hesitation, probably because he couldn't survive the torture. Mal didn't seem to mind.
** Which makes it not really a betrayal. Mal '''''could''''' cope better than Wash, and they all knew it. Zoe unapologetically (and understandably) cared more about Wash than Mal, and everybody but Wash knew it. Then there's the fact that they did come back and get Mal as soon as they could get a rescue party together. She probably acted exactly as they all expected, and Mal didn't seem to have the least problem with her decisions.
** Also, Wash is their AcePilot, the only one with the skills to get them back inside the space station to rescue Mal (which he does by pulling off an insanely awesome maneuver that gets them past the defenses). Picking him was the only way ''both'' of the men in Zoe's life could be saved.
* One episode of ''Series/{{Everwood}}'' has Andy treating a boy for various injuries. It turns out these are being caused by his severely autistic younger brother, which the older brother has been trying to keep secret from their mother. Andy gives their mother information on a special boarding school for disabled children and is surprised when she instead sends her other son away so that he can be safe while she continues to care for her autistic son. Given that the older son seemed even more self-sacrificing than she was, the traditional angst of this trope would hopefully be avoided.
* One episode of ''Series/FamilyMatters'' has Laura go out on a pity date with VillageIdiot Waldo Faldo, in favor of going on one with Urkel. When Steve confronts her about this, she basically outlines this trope: Steve's been rejected by her so much that he's used to it, but Waldo wouldn't be able to take it. Steve doesn't take ''this'' news very well, however.
* Multiple times to Buffy in ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'', but most notably and gratuitously when Giles departs for England in season 6. Giles outright says that she needs to learn to cope on her own, rather than leaning on him. This leaves her (1) parenting her 15-year-old sister alone, as their mother died recently and their father hasn't bothered to get in touch, (2) trying to find a job that will support both of them as a 20-year-old college dropout, (3) severely depressed (bordering on suicidal) after having been ripped out of heaven (by her two best friends and their partners -- and Willow's version of helping her deal with it takes the form of [[LaserGuidedAmnesia gratuitous memory wipes]], which itself constitutes a major betrayal), and (4) dealing with the constant battle which is life on the Hellmouth. Any one or two of these, she'd cope with, but all of them together? Just barely, and it was a lot worse for her than it needed to be.
** Probably still justified; Giles' point was that Buffy was just sitting back and letting him take care of everything. She was totally withdrawn, which had to stop or she'd sink deeper into her depression. YMMV on whether he could have stayed and forced her to step up while still offering at least a little help.
* A self-enforced Ongoing Neglect in one episode of ''Series/{{House}}'' with a girl whose brother was in a wheelchair. She didn't want to give her parents anything more to worry about so for months she hid the fact that she had been feeling ill until her body hit its breaking point.
* This is the reasoning behind Kyra's severe MiddleChildSyndrome on ''Series/{{Reba}}''. She's trapped in between teenage newlyweds Van and Cheyenne and younger brother Jake and Van and Cheyenne's infant daughter Elizabeth. Once, she had been saving for a field trip to England but was unable to go because the money saved had to go to Cheyenne (she had dropped so many classes in college that if she didn't enroll in summer school, she'd lose Elizabeth's spot in the school's daycare center). At this point, she decides she's had enough of it and asks to live with her father. When all of this is brought up to Reba, she mentioned she has no choice; Jake and Elizabeth are so young they can't take care of themselves, and Van and Cheyenne are such screw-ups, they can't take care of themselves either. Reba flat-out says she does it because "she's the only other adult in the house" (she was about 14 at the time).
* One episode of ''Series/TheFreshPrinceOfBelAir'' sees Will joining the high school basketball team, which Carlton has been on for years. Will's natural talent soon makes him a star player, and the whole family begins to go to the games, even though they failed to do so before. Carlton naturally gets upset and [[CallingTheOldManOut calls Phil out for this]], but Phil patiently explains that while Carlton has many achievements and earns his pride every day, Will is struggling to fit in and also gave up all of his friends and family to move to Bel-Air. As Phil puts it, "His mother is 3,000 miles away. He needs a cheering section as much as you do--maybe more."
* "Cousin Geri," an episode of ''Series/TheFactsOfLife'', [[DeconstructedTrope deconstructs]] this trope. The titular character is Blair's cousin, who has cerebral palsy. Throughout the episode, Geri hits it off with all of Blair's friends with her self-deprecating humor and general fun demeanor, but Blair herself seems oddly put off by her, until she finally confesses to Mrs. Garrett that Geri gives her an inferiority complex. Blair feels like Geri’s successes in overcoming her disability makes her own accomplishments pale in comparison, and that makes her feel small and even a little jealous. Mrs. Garrett assures her that Geri’s success does not lessen Blair’s and that it’s human to feel that way. Blair gets over her jealousy and the episode ends with her joining Geri for a talent show comedy act and expressing admiration for her strength, which moves Geri to tears.

[[folder: Video Games]]
* Meta example: The role of [[AnAdventurerIsYou a "Tank" in most RPG games]]. He's built to take damage, so the player just lets the enemies beat him up while focusing on protecting the SquishyWizard and GlassCannon characters. An important priority is to make sure he ''can'' cope by buffing/healing him to take more pain, and disrupting enemy tactics that ''would'' be too powerful for anyone to cope with.
* In ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'', the HeroicSacrifice variation appears in Leliana's Song. [[spoiler:Tug pulls a "Because I can cope", getting himself tortured rather than Sketch. Tragically, he overestimates his own toughness.]]
* The Sentinel role in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'' is this trope invoked intentionally. The designated tank provokes the enemies to attack him so that the other characters can attack or heal; as a bonus, the Sentinel gets abilities that allow him to guard, guard ''and'' heal, guard and ''counterattack''... the ideal Sentinel not only can cope but becomes much ''better'' at coping when in the role. The Sentinel also grants a bonus to everyone else's defense while active.
* In ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublicIITheSithLords'', [[CynicalMentor Kreia]] is clearly [[TrainingFromHell working under this philosophy.]]
* Marche in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTacticsAdvance'' is a great example of Ongoing Neglect: His younger brother, Doned, has an unnamed illness that requires he go to the hospital occasionally, and he is confined to a wheelchair. This becomes a plot point later in the game, as [[spoiler: Doned is revealed to have gained the ability to walk in Ivalice, and is a streetear who gives out information about Marche's location, so bounty hunters can attempt to collect the reward on Marche's head. Marche and Doned eventually have a heart-to-heart, where Marche convinces his brother that he was not left behind, and Doned accepts that Marche is given the shaft when it comes to parental care.]]
* In ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'', if you don't have enough Paragon/Renegade points to use Charm or Intimidate to resolve Miranda and Jack's argument, you will have to choose to support one of them and later pass another Charm or Intimidate check if you want to regain the loyalty of the other. If you chose to support Jack, both your options to regain Miranda's loyalty consist of telling her that she's more reasonable than Jack. A similar principle comes into play with the Renegade option to restore [[spoiler:Legion's]] loyalty. The same applies in DummiedOut dialogue for a Grunt vs. Mordin argument, except for the Renegade means of regaining Mordin's loyalty.

[[folder: Western Animation]]
* On ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'', Francine is hurt when she discovers that her parents are leaving all their money to her sister. At first, she assumes that it's because she was adopted when really it's because her sister is a [[TheDitz ditzy]] (and unmarried) AsianAirhead whom they believe needs the money a lot more than Francine does.
* As seen below in the RealLife section, in ''WesternAnimation/{{Daria}}'', Quinn gets a cash reward from her father for getting an A on an essay. Daria, the much smarter of the two, immediately calls him out on it for it being a DoubleStandard, even implying that it would demotivate her since her consistent high grades garner no such rewards. In this case, though, it's to milk him for money (which works).
** If one reads between the lines, this may be why Helen's mother showers Rita with money and gifts -- she's never held down a job for long and has an unstable love life, while Helen and their other sister, Amy, are both financially successful. It's clear that Helen, at least, gets lots of praise from Mom, so it's not a clear-cut case of ParentalFavoritism. (Rita even seems to think that ''she's'' the favorite.)
* The immediately above situation also played out on ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' with Bart getting his first-ever A grade on any school test -- after genuinely studying ("It was like a whole different kind of cheating.") -- and the restaurant treating it like a birthday; for Lisa, of course, this is a standard occurrence.
* On ''WesternAnimation/TheClevelandShow,'' Robert neglects his own son, Rollo, to spend time with Junior and help him become cool. At the end of the episode, he justifies this by noting that, being his son, Rollo is born cool, while Junior needs a ''lot'' of help.
* This is the extremely controversial ending of the infamous "Seahorse Seashell Party" episode of ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy.'' The whole Griffin family is trapped indoors during a hurricane, and begin to, as always, gang up on eldest daughter Meg, who has been TheUnfavorite and ButtMonkey for years. Their treatment of her has long passed from gentle joking to full-on physical, psychological, and emotional abuse. Meg, who can't take it any more, finally proceeds to tear them all down in a series of [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech blistering speeches]], explaining exactly why and how Chris, Lois, and Peter have mistreated her. They are stunned by her words and begin turning on each other. In the end, though, Meg realizes that the family is [[BigScrewedUpFamily so dysfunctional]] that they ''need'' a "lightning rod" to absorb all of their neuroses and problems, or the individual members will ultimately destroy themselves. She resigns herself to being that lightning rod, which Brian praises as a sign of maturity and responsibility. The audience, who saw this as an incredibly BrokenAesop about justifying and even embracing abuse because "you can take it," reacted with utter outrage, and cite that "lesson" as the reason that "Seahorse Seashell Party" is considered the absolute worst episode of the series.
* One live-action segment of an episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheSuperMarioBrosSuperShow'' dealt with this. Mario and Luigi meet a little boy who is running away from home, prompting Mario to reminisce about a time when he did the same thing as a child. He explains that he and Luigi were both fighting, but their mother only punished him because, as the older brother, he was supposed to know better.
* Deconstructed in ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'' with Lilith and Eda's mom, Gwendolyn. Because Eda was [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything afflicted with a dehabilitating curse at a young age]] and Lilith was very self-sufficient, Gwen poured all her time and resources into trying to cure her, while [[ParentalNeglect neglecting Lilith]]. It's not that she doesn't love her, it's just that she thought she didn't need her as much. But she very much ''did'', especially since she was already [[spoiler:bearing the guilt of having cursed Eda in the first place]]. Meanwhile, being the one who got all the attention wasn't a picnic for Eda, either, since her mother completely refused to listen to her wishes and kept coming to her with phony cures sold by scam artists, not wanting to accept that the curse likely ''can't'' be cured; only managed. Gwen's intentions were purely good, but she neglected one daughter and completely isolated the other for over thirty years because she was sure she knew best.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Real Life]]
* Can happen with real siblings, though more commonly in a less vicious version. For example, if one kid is worse at school, they'll get rewarded for accomplishing what the other sibling accomplishes all the time.
** Almost anyone who has a physically and/or mentally handicapped sibling has experienced the "ongoing neglect" version of this trope.
* Sadly, this mindset can and does hide instances of child abuse, at the hands of a relative or close friend. If one ''can'' cope, then one ''should'', so there's no need to make a fuss about those bruises or that stream of insults and profanity; bruises happen all the time! -- and you know what they say about "sticks and stones..." Because peer pressure etc., can make it so hard to step outside this attitude, a common result would be for a child to be traumatized well past any sane human tolerances without considering their situation to be unjust in any manner.
* {{Sadist Teacher}}s also use this excuse to justify doling out harsh lessons or ignoring peer to peer bullying. After all, KidsAreCruel and the bullied kid needs to just learn to toughen up, right? And when they realize complaining will get them nowhere and shut up, the teacher sees this as a sign that the student is reacting the "right way" by "ignoring" the bullies.
* Can also be used to justify a DoubleStandard when it comes to interpersonal abuse. If the abuser is considered the "weaker" party (physically smaller, for example), they can unleash all kinds of physical, verbal, and emotional abuse on the other party, who is often told that because they are "bigger and stronger" in some sense, that the abuser can't ''actually'' do any real harm to them and that they should just stand there and take it or even ''agree'' with the abuser because of this trope.
* Friends can do this to each other, sometimes. Friendships devolve all the time. More in the key moments of life, but also ongoing neglect. Most people who have friends have had it happen at least once. We all remember that one nightmare year when friends stopped returning calls/stopped listening so hard.
* It's a common tactic in some after-abuse care shelters.
* This can happen in relationships where one partner has been raped or sexually abused, and ''can'' cope, but their partner cannot cope with the knowledge, so they have to comfort their partner over the thing that happened to ''them''. It is advisable for people who cannot cope with what happened to their beloved to join a self-help group to avoid this.
* Anyone who really, really likes to read books knows how unfair it feels when kids who don't want to read books are given books at every occasion and are rewarded for reading them ... and those who really like books get them as birthday presents and that's it. Rewards for reading a book? Forget it.
* Progressive tax works on this basis: People with greater income are to pay a greater share of it in tax because they're less impacted by it; while at the poorest extreme, those who need to spend ''all'' of their money on basic life expenses aren't subject to income tax at all. But in practice, the richest can afford lawyers with perfect knowledge of tax loopholes, or rely on ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney.
[[/folder]]

* '''Ongoing Neglect:''' David and Emily are siblings. David is perfectly healthy, but Emily is an IllGirl. Their parents are constantly attending to Emily, bundling her up against the cold, making emergency hospital trips, taking time off work to look after her when she's ill, and generally worrying about her. In all the fuss, however, David is practically forgotten -- his mother and father expect him to look after himself since he doesn't technically need as much care as Emily does. However, should he start misbehaving or, worse, voice resentment about Emily's monopoly of his parents' time, expect a massive guilt trip of the "you don't know how lucky you are" variety.

** Most anyone who has a physically and/or mentally handicapped sibling has experienced the "ongoing neglect" version of this trope.

* Can also be used to justify {{DoubleStandard}}s when it comes to interpersonal abuse. If the abuser is considered the "weaker" party (physically smaller, for example), they can unleash all kinds of physical, verbal, and emotional abuse on the other party, who is often told that because they are "bigger and stronger" in some sense, that the abuser can't ''actually'' do any real harm to them and that they should just stand there and take it or even ''agree'' with the abuser because of this trope.

* In ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'' when Ranma, Akane, and Nabiki are all standing on the Tendo house's balcony when it collapsed, Ranma made a point to catch Nabiki, knowing an untrained girl like her would be badly hurt by a full-story fall, while trained karateka Akane would land on her feet without a bruise. This sets off a story arc where Akane angrily transferred their engagement to Nabiki, who starts ''abusing the hell'' out of Ranma's JerkWithAHeartOfGold nature.

* In the ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'' comics, [[ComicBook/{{Nightwing}} Dick Grayson]] explained his reason for firing [[ComicBook/RobinSeries Tim Drake]] as ComicBook/{{Robin}} and giving the title to Damian Wayne as being because Damian needed it more and Tim was older. This permanently damaged his relationship with Tim due to the callous way it was carried out on the heels of all the other losses and betrayals Tim had recently suffered and was compounded by Dick not believing Tim's (correct) claims that Bruce wasn't dead and trying to force Tim to remain at the manor and the fact that Damian had tried to murder Tim.

-->Baby, please, rest your head. Now it is time for bed. Please stop. Don't you see? I want mom and dad for me.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheRugratsMovie'', Tommy's parents don't pay attention to him because they're taking care of his new baby brother, Dil. Left alone, Tommy mournfully sings to himself the lullaby his parents are singing to Dil.
-->Baby, please rest your head...I want my mom and dad...

[[folder: Film]]

This trope has more capable or better-natured characters getting the short end of the stick because they are always expected to look after themselves (and, often, other people as well) while their parent/mentor/friend goes haring after their more vulnerable or stupid associates. If the target of Because You Can Cope ''can't'' cope in one particular instance (usually having to rescue themselves or be saved by a third party), others may claim it was because the victim was weak, not because they were let down.

* ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanoha'' has a relatively benign example of ParentalNeglect in Nanoha's backstory for this reason -- she spent much of her childhood alone despite having a legitimately loving family because her father nearly died when she was young, and his recovery was a painful process that took years. Her mother and older brother had to work in the family cafe to keep the family from going broke, and her older sister spent most of her time taking care of their father, which left Nanoha to see to herself more often than not. Nanoha understands the necessity and knows that her family really does love her, but combined with the fact that Nanoha is nearly ten years younger than her older siblings, it leaves her feeling like something of a third wheel in her own family even after her father is recovered and back on his feet.

* In Franchise/MassEffect's ''[[Fanfic/CrucibleMassEffect Crucible]]'''s companion fic, ''Inteference'', this trope is the general attitude of [[BadFuture Alt.Garrus]] to his and Shepard's son [[HalfHumanHybrid Gaius]]'s distress over his father's constant absence and breaking promises. It's not out of malice, but because of Garrus's bad habit of simply assuming what people thought without much investigation and his [[ChildrenAreInnocent misguided wish to preserve Gaius's innocence]]. It comes back to bite his ass when he realizes Gaius no longer trusts him and even thinks of himself as unloved.

* A romantic version appears in the ''Franchise/LyricalNanoha'' fanfic ''Fanfic/InTheService''. Several references are made to something having happened between Nanoha and Yuuno that makes Yuuno awkward around Nanoha, while Nanoha remains oblivious. It is later revealed by Nanoha herself, that she had long ignored Yuuno's attraction to her because Nanoha had chosen to take care of the emotionally-fragile Fate instead. Ultimately, Nanoha's wilful obliviousness had hurt Yuuno, but not as much as it could have hurt Fate.
-->'''Nanoha:''' I made a choice, a long time ago, to save a life. Yuuno was a mature, capable person who could clearly deal with anything life might throw at him. Fate was a timid wreck who shivered when touched and bore incredible guilt over the death of her actual mother Precia and her emotional mother Linith. Someone who could easily be destroyed by a careless crush or an errant friend. I took responsibility. I saved a life. But that did a disservice to Yuuno. I love Fate dearly and do not regret my choice, but I am still aware that it was a choice and that I could have been happy with either of them. Yuuno suffered for this choice, not as badly as Fate might have, but he did. I am not inclined to allow him to suffer further in this manner.

* The Ongoing Neglect version of this trope happens to Chen during ''Fanfic/Gensokyo20XX'', as Satori notes, which is due to Ran's mental state at the time and that Reimu, Maribel, Yume Ni, and Renko being too young to take care of themselves.
* Part of Kainatrol's backstory in ''Fanfic/FutariWaPrettyCureBlueMoon''. She couldn't cope, and, after being talked out of turning her rage on herself, went on a revenge rampage.

* ''Fanfic/HellsisterTrilogy'': During "The Apokolips Agenda", ComicBook/TheSpectre is summoned to destroy Trigon... which he does, but he leaves straight after, even though the War against ComicBook/{{Darkseid}} isn't over yet. His friends ask him to stay, but he replies he's already breaking too many rules as it is, but he knows they'll rise victorious.
* In ''FanFic/LeaveForMendeleiev'', this is how Adrien justifies his refusal to help Marinette when he sees her being cornered by her long-time bully [[AlphaBitch Chloe]]. As he explains to Aurore, Marinette can handle whatever Chloe dishes out... but Chloe is so used to getting her way all the time that if she ''isn't'' allowed to do whatever she wants, she'll flip out -- and her tantrum will attract an akuma. Aurore is [[BrokenPedestal unimpressed]] by his reasoning, as well as his subsequent attempt to scold ''her'' for intervening -- and how he doesn't exactly acknowledge Marinette pointing out that she ''wasn't'' actually coping with Chloe's BreakingSpeech since that would require him to [[NeverMyFault admit he might have misjudged the situation]].

* "Cousin Geri," an episode of ''Series/TheFactsOfLife'', [[DeconstructedTrope deconstructs]] this trope. The titular character is Blair's cousin, who has cerebral palsy. Throughout the episode, Geri hits it off with all of Blair's friends with her self-deprecating humor and general fun demeanor, but Blair herself seems oddly put off by her, until she finally confesses to Mrs. Garrett that she's [[GreenEyedMonster incredibly envious]] of Geri. Blair explains that she struggles endlessly to please her parents and relatives by being as "perfect" as possible and barely gets any recognition, whereas Geri receives heaps of praise and attention for completing simple tasks independently (Blair gives the example of a Thanksgiving dinner--she worked for hours to set everything up and received a few words of thanks, while Geri was celebrated for pouring a glass of wine without spilling it). Mrs. Garrett promptly gives Blair a WhatTheHellHero speech, telling her to consider what she's saying and how it totally ignores the challenges that Geri faces every single day because of her disease. Blair promptly [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone realizes her insensitivity]], and the episode ends with her joining Geri for a talent show comedy act and expressing admiration for her strength, which moves Geri to tears.

* In ''Literature/TheBelgariad'', there's a point when Garion is telling Ce'Nedra about the girl he grew up with, Zubrette, and says the group couldn't have brought Zubrette along on their adventures because she wouldn't have been able to deal with, for instance, sleeping on the ground. Ce'Nedra is indignant: "You never had any problem asking ''me'' to sleep on the ground!" Garion says he supposes that's because Ce'Nedra is braver than Zubrette.

* In ''Flip-Flop Girl,'' after Mason's father dies, he becomes completely mute. As a result, his mother and grandmother spend all of their time spoiling him and trying to get him to talk again, while completely neglecting Vinnie, his older sister. Vinnie is bitter because she thinks he's faking it for attention, but it's not made clear either way.

A character is abandoned, neglected, or thrown to the wolves by someone they love and trust, because said caretaker decided to look after someone else. There are two main variations of this trope:

Somehow, Alice escapes her captors and David manages to survive childhood. Unsurprisingly, however, they are less than happy with the person who failed them. If they are TheStoic or TheWoobie, they probably won't make a fuss -- the Stoic because (s)he sees complaining as a sign of weakness, the Woobie because... well, it's part of that "suffering beautifully" thing. However, other characters may opt for CallingTheOldManOut.

Sometimes the parent/mentor [[KarmaHoudini gets away with their act of abandonment with no ill consequences]]. However, Alice in particular may be prone to a FaceHeelTurn, eventually attacking those who left her to die. Even David might decide to deny help when his parents or sister need it, as payback for years of neglect. This may be an act of LaserGuidedKarma or proof of David/Alice's descent to evil, depending on the [[AnAesop lesson]] the writer is shooting for.

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
* In ''Anime/CodeGeass'', this is revealed to be the reason [[spoiler:Lelouch and Nunnally's]] parents justified abandoning them. [[spoiler:They rationalized that living in a foreign land as little more than political hostages was more sustainable than living right next to a MadScientist EvilUncle who was immortal and had an army of child soldiers with superpowers. Lelouch tells them off because DaddyHadAGoodReasonForAbandoningYou doesn't hold weight when said daddy then declares genocidal war on the specific country that they were abandoned in.]]

[[folder:Comic Books]]

[[folder:Fan Works]]

[[folder:Film]]
* Batman does this to ''himself'' in the ending of ''Film/TheDarkKnight'', after Harvey Dent goes nuts and becomes Two-Face, kills five cops and mobsters, and dies. If the truth about Harvey Dent ever comes to light, any legitimacy his indictments have also dies, and there's no chance that the charges against the criminals of Gotham city will stick. Batman takes the metaphorical bullet, and pretty much orders Commissioner Gordon to lay the blame for the killings at his feet.

[[folder:Literature]]

** Theo of ''Literature/HouseRules'' is expected to put up with his brother Jacob's abuse, and held to higher standards than his sibling, because Theo is capable of normal social interaction and autistic Jacob is not.
* Mrs. Everdeen in ''Literature/TheHungerGames'' abandoned her daughters in her grief following the death of her husband. She's physically present, but Katniss has been PromotedToParent and was solely responsible for keeping the family alive from the age of 11. [[spoiler: After Prim's death and Katniss' imprisonment, Mrs. Everdeen leaves District 12 forever, with no effort made to stay with her surviving child.]]

[[folder:Live-Action TV]]

[[folder:Video Games]]

* Marche in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTacticsAdvance'' is a great example of Ongoing Neglect: His younger brother, Doned, has an unnamed illness that requires he go to the hospital occasionally, and he is confined to a wheelchair. This becomes a plot point later in the game, as [[spoiler:Doned is revealed to have gained the ability to walk in Ivalice, and is a streetear who gives out information about Marche's location, so bounty hunters can attempt to collect the reward on Marche's head. Marche and Doned eventually have a heart-to-heart, where Marche convinces his brother that he was not left behind, and Doned accepts that Marche is given the shaft when it comes to parental care.]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]

[[folder:Real Life]]

* {{SadistTeacher}}s also use this excuse to justify doling out harsh lessons or ignoring peer to peer bullying. After all, KidsAreCruel and the bullied kid needs to just learn to toughen up, right? And when they realize complaining will get them nowhere and shut up, the teacher sees this as a sign that the student is reacting the "right way" by "ignoring" the bullies.