History Main / DefiantStoneThrow

[[caption-width-right:302: Even {{when all you have is a|Hammer}} stone, with [[HeroicResolve the will to resist]], [[HopeSpringsEternal there is hope.]][[labelnote:Source]] ''Stone as a weapon of the proletariat'' by Ivan Shadr, 1907.[[/labelnote]]]]

* The anonymous man ("Tank Man") who stood in front of a column of Chinese Type 59 tanks the morning after the Chinese military forcibly removed protestors from in and around Beijing's Tiananmen Square on June 5, 1989. The Other Wiki discusses that [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tank_Man here]].

* Balilla, the boy who started a revolt against Austrians occupying his city by throwing stones at them. [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balilla here]].

* ''LetsPlay/LifeSMP'': On Day 5 of 3rd Life, when Ren, now a bloodthirsty warlord, comes in demanding tribute from the Flower Forest faction, Jimmy is on board with hearing him out... until Ren not-so-subtly implies that said tribute would include [[HumanSacrifice one of Scott's lives]]. Jimmy responds by shutting down negotiations, burning Ren's banner, and telling him and Martyn in no uncertain terms to get lost.

* Possible to invoke by the player in ''Videogame/FinalFantasyTactics'': One of the squire job's job skills is to throw a rock as an improvised ranged attack, and this is a game where all characters can die for real and you will fight various enemies from corrupt tyrants to actual eldritch abominations. Often a squire on the verge of death will have nothing better they can do anyway.

[[folder:Webcomics]]

[[folder:Web Animation]]
* In ''WebAnimation/HomestarRunner'', the Strong Bad Email "disconnected" parodies this with Strong Bad's headless body throwing rocks from a box labeled "Riot Rocks."
[[/folder]]

[[caption-width-right:302: Even {{when all you have is a|Hammer}} stone, with [[HeroicResolve the will to resist]], [[HopeSpringsEternal there is hope.]][[note]]Source: ''Stone as a weapon of the proletariat'' by Ivan Shadr, 1907.[[/note]]]]

[[caption-width-right:302: Even {{when all you have is a|Hammer}} stone, with [[HeroicResolve the will to resist]], [[HopeSpringsEternal there is hope.]]]]

[[quoteright:302:[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Shadr-stone-proletariat.jpeg https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/IvanShadrStoneThrowWeaponOfTheProletariat_4791.png]]]]

* Happens in ''Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann'' with a side order of ValuesDissonance: Rossiu is surrounded by armed guards telling an angry crowd to calm down when a rock hits him in the head. We never see who threw it, but a shot in the next episode shows a man in a crowd with a mustache doing the BicepPolishingGesture (the page image).

* The famous UsefulNotes/AppleMacintosh "1984" commercial.

* ''Anime/{{S cry ed}}'' done by a little kid against a teenager with superpowers fits the spirit of the trope, but its also done to show the teen's HiddenDepths.

* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' has this in the first season episode "Imprisoned". Earthbenders are being kept prisoner in an ocean rig / TailorMadePrison devoid of all stone and earth to keep them from [[DishingOutDirt Earthbending]]. After the Gaang brings up a huge pile of she rig's coal for them to Earthbend, and Aang then Katara give an inspirational speech, no one acts because of their broken spirits. However, Haru tosses the first stone in defiance and soon all the Earthbenders rise up to resist. That's when [[{{Pun}} things got very dirty very fast]] for their captors.

* Taken to a more close up version in ''AnimeAndManga/HokutoNoKen'' when a child mourning for Shuu's death at Thouther charges at him with a knife in a bid to kill him. His blade manages to hit him in the knee in which he was unfazed by the injury before being shouted down by Thouther for showing a futile display of love for Falco and lecturing him on how VirtueIsWeakness.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/SupermanTheAnimatedSeries'' two-parter "Apokolips... Now!", Dan Turpin calls for resistance against ComicBook/{{Darkseid}}, after the latter defeats the Man of Steel and proclaims Earth his dominion. [[spoiler:Though it inspired the people of Earth to keep up the fight against Darkseid and eventually drive him out, [[DoNotTauntCthulhu he gets killed for it.]]]]

* Happens in ''Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann'' with a side order of ValuesDissonance: Rossiu is surrounded by armed guards telling an angry crowd to calm down when a rock hits him in the head. We never see who threw it, but a shot in the next episode shows a man in a crowd with a mustache doing the BicepPolishingGesture (the page image). The (Western) fandom thought he was giving Rossiu an "Up yours!" gesture rather than agreeing with him, named him [[FanNickname Bruce]] [[AwesomeMcCoolname Ironstaunch]], and made it {{fanon}} that he threw the rock.

* In ''ComicBook/{{Millennium}}'', a Manhunter is psyching out Franchise/GreenLantern Hal Jordan during a fight at how his cause is worthless and the people he is defending are nothing but sheep to their "superiors." This gets to Jordan as his will begins to fade and thus also his ring's power until it almost goes out. However, one of the humans he is defending blindsides the Manhunter with a thrown snowball noting that she will defy him. From that outburst, Green Lantern's faith in his cause is restored and the ring's power shifts from fading out to blazing fury, [[CurbStompBattle curb stomping]] the Manhunter.

* Happens in ''Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann'' with a side order of ValuesDissonance: Rossiu is surrounded by armed guards telling an angry crowd to calm down when a rock hits him in the head. We never see who threw it, but a shot in the next episode shows a man in a crowd with a BadassMustache doing the BicepPolishingGesture (the page image). The (Western) fandom thought he was giving Rossiu an "Up yours!" gesture rather than agreeing with him, named him [[FanNickname Bruce]] [[AwesomeMcCoolname Ironstaunch]], and made it {{fanon}} that he threw the rock.

->'''Loki:''' [[KneelBeforeZod Kneel before me. I said... KNEEL!]] ''[people in the crowd kneel]'' Is this not simpler? Is this not your natural state? It's the unspoken truth of humanity that you crave subjugation ... In the end, you will always kneel.\\

* Emil Gallo, a plumber by trade, was photographed baring his chest in front of a tank gun and daring it to shoot during the 1968 Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia. The photo can be seen [[http://worldinbetween.wordpress.com/2012/08/19/ladislav-bielik-and-the-iconic-photograph-of-1968-czechoslovakia/ here]].

->'''Loki:''' Kneel before me. I said... KNEEL! ''[people in the crowd kneel]'' Is this not simpler? Is this not your natural state? It's the unspoken truth of humanity that you crave subjugation ... In the end, you will always kneel.\\

* Possible to invoke by the player in ''Videogame//FinalFantasyTactics'': One of the squire job's job skills is to throw a rock as an improvised ranged attack, and this is a game where all characters can die for real and you will fight various enemies from corrupt tyrants to actual eldritch abominations. Often a squire on the verge of death will have nothing better they can do anyway.

* ''Anime/{{Scryed}}'' done by a little kid against a teenager with superpowers fits the spirit of the trope, but its also done to show the teen's HiddenDepths.

* In ''Anime/TheTwelveKingdoms'': A girl named Shoukei throws a rock at a guard in protest of a particularly horrific public execution, leading to her being pursued through the city streets. The event becomes significant later, as it puts her in touch with TheHeroine Yoko and [[spoiler:a group of mercenary resistance fighters.]] This is made even more significant in Shoukei's CharacterDevelopment as [[spoiler: [[FallenPrincess Shoukei's]] father, the former tyrant of a nearby kingdom, had an old woman's son executed for ''doing the exact same thing'', and when said old woman told Shoukei this, she defended her father - it probably didn't help that she was in denial and being beaten by said grieving mother.]] Via being the only one who protested against said execution, Shoukei was showing how she was outgrowing her selfish behavior ''and'' was willing to do something against such injustice.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' has this in the first season episode "Imprisoned". Earthbenders are being kept prisoner in an ocean rig / TailorMadePrison devoid of all stone and earth to keep them from [[DishingOutDirt Earthbending]]. After Aang and then Katara give an inspirational speech, no one acts because of their broken spirits. However, Haru tosses the first stone in defiance and soon all the Earthbenders rise up to resist. And since Aang and co had previously supplied a huge pile of coal for them to Earthbend, [[{{Pun}} things got very dirty very fast]] for their captors.

[[caption-width-right:302: Even {{when all you have is a|Hammer}} stone, with [[HeroicResolve the will to resist]] [[HopeSpringsEternal there is hope.]]]]

* In the dystopian future of ''Literature/{{Victoria}}'', main character John Rumford, a USMC officer, performs this when he publicly protests against the [[PoliticalCorrectnessGoneMad rampant feminism]] in the Corps at a ceremony. As a result, he's soon after an ''ex''-USMC officer.

->'''Loki:''' Kneel before me. I said... KNEEL! ''[people in the crowd kneel]'' Is this not simpler? Is this not your natural state? It's the unspoken truth of humanity that you crave subjugation. The bright lure of freedom diminishes your life's joy in a mad scramble for power. For identity. You were made to be ruled. In the end, you will always kneel.\\

* Happens in ''Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann'' with a side order of ValuesDissonance: Rossiu is surrounded by armed guards telling an angry crowd to calm down when a rock hits him in the head. We never see who threw it, but a shot in the next episode shows a man in a crowd with a BadassMustache doing the BicepPolishingGesture (the page image). The fandom thought he was giving Rossiu an "Up yours!" gesture, named him [[FanNickname Bruce]] [[AwesomeMcCoolname Ironstaunch]], and made it {{fanon}} that he threw the rock.