History Main / TroubledSympatheticBigot

* In a weird example, Vimes from ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' is ''treated'' like one, but it's a mostly informed characteristic - he never actually says anything especially racist. Of course, since he thinks equally badly of all Discworld species, he probably doesn't exactly qualify as "bigoted" anyways, and is more of a Troubled Sympathetic ''Misanthrope''. He loves the city and will fight like hell to keep it in order, but he doesn't think well of the actual people. Discworld/{{Thud}} showcases Vimes's internal conflicts best, but most of the City Watch books are driven by Vimes's fight to protect and serve a bunch of assholes he doesn't care about.

** With regards to vampires Vimes is certainly a bigot, and refuses to permit any into the watch until forced by Vetinari. He is shown in Men at Arms to hate vampires because of their stereotypical links to aristocracy. The latest book ''Snuff'' deals very heavily with the ideas of prejudice (particularly towards Goblins who are not considered citizens and ergo, have no rights even when they're the victims or murder) and shows Vimes to have grown quite philosophical about his earlier prejudices. His comments about another character finding redemption through his treating all thinking beings as equals say a lot about his CharacterDevelopment.
* HuckleberryFinn's [[RousseauWasRight fundamental goodness]] eventually wins out over his ingrained racism, and he decides to help fugitive slave Jim escape, despite doing so being entirely contrary to what he thought of as moral: ''[[YouAreWorthHell Alright then, I'll go to Hell]]''.
* In ''ThePillarsOfTheEarth'' Prior Philip, one of the main protagonists causes many trouble to the other protagonists because of this trope. The worst part is him forcing Jack to become a monk when he is really not fit to be one.

* In ''ComicBook/{{Logicomix}}'', Ferge is totally honest and devoted to truth & logic. Sadly, this devotion combined with IgnorantOfTheirOwnIgnorance leads to BlackAndWhiteInsanity in the form of a StrawVulcan despise for women and jews. On the whole, this make him a Troubled Sympathetic Bigot who is desperately trying to do the right thing.

* Nellie Forbush and Lieutenant Cable from ''SouthPacific''. Nellie is in love with Emile but tearfully leaves him when she finds out he was once married to a "colored" woman, and has two half-Polynesian children. Cable is in love with Liat, but refuses to marry a Tonkinese woman. Cable's song "You've Got To Be Carefully Taught" is a self-loathing explanation of how he and Nellie acquired such deep-seated prejudice. [[spoiler:Nellie eventually overcomes her prejudice and learns to love Emile's children, but Cable is killed before he has a chance to reconcile with Liat.]]

* This is Severus Snape's backstory in the ''Literature/HarryPotter'' books. In his youth, he resented his abusive Muggle father and, by extension, Muggles and Muggle-born wizards and witches in general. The situation got worse when Snape became an outcast at Hogwarts; the only kids who accepted him were a group of even worse bigots who would eventually grow up to join [[BigBad Lord Voldemort's]] Death Eaters (as would Snape). Snape's bigotry drove a wedge between him and his Muggle-born friend [[spoiler:Lily Evans]], but he didn't see the light until [[spoiler:his boss Voldemort murdered Lily. After this, Snape became a ReverseMole for [[BigGood Dumbledore]] and abandoned his old bigotry out of respect for the only woman he ever loved.]]

* In JohannaAndHelena, Anna is stuck with her well-meaning but very religious parents who she assume will never accept her if they find out she's a lesbian. The parents eventually find out and politely disown her and her girlfriend. There is no malice in their rejection, and no sarcasm in their politeness. Only an overwhelming sadness.

* *Mute, from ''AnalogueAHateStory'' and its sequel ''VisualNovel/HatePlus'', starts as a [[SirSwearsalot potty-mouthed]] [[{{Tsundere}} tsun-tsun]] who, [[LikeIsLikeAComma like]], sounds like a ValleyGirl. This contrasts her [[ArtificialIntelligence programmed]] role as a HeteronormativeCrusader. By the end of her CharacterArc, she becomes a Troubled Sympathetic Bigot, then [[spoiler: [[{{Seppuku}} deletes most of her memories]] when she realizes that she's [[MyGreatestFailure failed everyone close to her]] and [[DrivenToSuicide can't cope]] with a [[FishOutOfWater very different outside world]] ]].

* In ''AtFiveInTheAfternoon'', the protagonist's father is a Taliban who wants women to be passive illiterates dressed in burqas. However, he doesn't really have any time oppressing his daughter, because he's busy trying to keep her and the rest of his family alive. [[spoiler:He fails. The movie ends with his grandson and only male heir dying in his arms from starvation.]] He's heartbroken over the few small liberties she takes in his face, and because she loves him and doesn't want to break his heart further she keeps it secret from him that she's actually learning to read.

* Archie Bunker from ''AllInTheFamily'' has shades of this (as well as most tropes related to bigotry), as one of the main themes of the series is how lost he feels in a modern world that constantly challenges his prejudices. This is most notable in "Stretch Cunningham Goodbye", one of the series' best episodes, where Archie is invited to give the eulogy at a close friend's funeral, not knowing that the man was Jewish.
* When [[Series/TheSopranos Tony Soprano]] finds out one of his top lieutenants is gay, he spews a lot of homophobic slurs but, when pressed, admits he's actually a lot more ambivalent about it than he lets on, and struggles to find a way to keep him in the fold when so many of his subordinates are ''far'' more homophobic. (He ultimately caves on this point, but Phil Leotardo makes the point moot before Tony can carry out his decision anyway.)

* In ''GranTorino'', Walt is clearly annoyed that his neighborhood has been largely taken over by Hmong families, and isn't shy about throwing out stereotypes and racial slurs. He is further annoyed, after chasing away some gang-bangers who were harassing a boy in the Hmong family (he claims the only reason they did this was because [[IWasJustPassingThrough they were on his lawn]]), when his new neighbors send him gifts of thanks and invite him over. In the end, he realizes [[NotSoDifferent how much he has in common with his neighbors]] and becomes genuinely close to them (except for the matriarch, who doesn't like white people). [[spoiler:He ends up willing his classic Gran Torino to the boy after his HeroicSacrifice.]]

* Matt Dillion's character in ''Film/{{Crash}}''. He's shown having a racist attitude towards blacks [[spoiler:and even sexually molests a black woman.]] Yet we see that he really cares about his father who is dying and lost his business. It's hard to know if we should feel sorry for him or not. In fact, this trope is kinda the whole point of ''Film/{{Crash}}'', really.

* Ethan Edwards in ''TheSearchers''. He hates Indians, but will only kill those he sees as [[AssholeVictim Asshole Victims]]. He comes to grudgingly respect his adopted nephew, who is one-eighth Cherokee. And he doesn't know whether he wants to kill his own niece because of his anger at her having "become an Indian" or because [[StakingTheLovedOne he fervently believes that "living with [Indians] ain't being alive."]]

* {{Magneto}} of the MarvelUniverse has been very different characters under different authors. In some versions he was this trope, both as a villain and as a reluctant hero.
* In ''{{Logicomix}}'', Ferge is totally honest and devoted to truth & logic. Sadly, this devotion combined with IgnorantOfTheirOwnIgnorance leads to BlackAndWhiteInsanity in the form of a StrawVulcan despise for women and jews. On the whole, this make him a Troubled Sympathetic Bigot who is desperately trying to do the right thing.

* When [[Series/TheSopranos Tony Soprano]] finds out one of his top lieutenants is gay, he spews a lot of homophobic slurs but, when pressed, admits he's actually a lot more ambivalent about it than he lets on, and struggles to find a way to keep him in the fold. (He ultimately caves on this point, but Phil Leotardo makes the point moot before Tony can carry out his decision anyway.)

* In ''GranTorino'', Walt is annoyed to find a Hmong family has moved in next door to him, calling them "gooks" and "zipperheads" (likely a combination of his own status as a Korea vet, old-fashioned values, and a heavy dose of GrumpyOldMan), he is further annoyed, after chasing away some gang-bangers who were harassing a boy in the Hmong family (he claims the only reason they did this was because [[IWasJustPassingThrough they were on his lawn]]), when his new neighbors send him gifts of thanks and invite him over. In the end, he is forced to confront his own notions of his neighbors being lazy, no-good dog-eaters, and genuinely makes friends among them (except for the matriarch, who is apparently bigoted against white people). [[spoiler:He ends up willing his classic Gran Torino to the boy after his HeroicSacrifice.]]
** It also becomes clear that most of his racism is for show: he intentionally refers to Thao as "Toad" and the Hmong as "Hamongs" or "gooks" to disguise his affection for them, even from himself

* ComicBook/BitchyButch is often portrayed this way, unlike her more genuinely unsympathetic counterpart [[BitchyBitch Midge]].

* BitchyButch is often portrayed this way, unlike her more genuinely unsympathetic counterpart [[BitchyBitch Midge]].

While a very different kind of character, CerebusSyndrome may lead a NobleBigot or an InnocentBigot to become a TroubledSympatheticBigot. A TroubledSympatheticBigot tends to be neither heroic nor villainous -- he's only a little human, struggling with his life.

Sometimes a KnightTemplar, HeteronormativeCrusader or WindmillCrusader can be a TroubledSympatheticBigot at heart. A HeManWomanHater is rarely this, while it's far more common in a woman who DoesNotLikeMen -- sometimes with a cheesy justification. Nearly all [[TragicBigot Tragic Bigots]] are likely to also be this, but the same does not apply in reverse. All of these characters are likely to suffer from InternalizedCategorism or be recovering from BlackAndWhiteInsanity. A PoliticallyIncorrectVillain who makes a HeelFaceTurn may have a transition period as a TroubledSympatheticBigot.

* In ''{{Logicomix}}'', Ferge is totally honest and devoted to truth & logic. Sadly, this devotion combined with IgnorantOfTheirOwnIgnorance leads to BlackAndWhiteInsanity in the form of a StrawVulcan despise for women and jews. On the whole, this make him a TroubledSympatheticBigot who is desperately trying to do the right thing.

* *Mute, from ''AnalogueAHateStory'' and its sequel ''VisualNovel/HatePlus'', starts as a [[SirSwearsalot potty-mouthed]] [[{{Tsundere}} tsun-tsun]] who, [[LikeIsLikeAComma like]], sounds like a ValleyGirl. This contrasts her [[ArtificialIntelligence programmed]] role as a HeteronormativeCrusader. By the end of her CharacterArc, she becomes a TroubledSympatheticBigot, then [[spoiler: [[{{Seppuku}} deletes most of her memories]] when she realizes that she's [[MyGreatestFailure failed everyone close to her]] and [[DrivenToSuicide can't cope]] with a [[FishOutOfWater very different outside world]] ]].

* In ''Film/AmericanHistoryX'', the two main characters joined a skinhead gang after their father was killed by an African American.

Sometimes a KnightTemplar, HeteronormativeCrusader or WindmillCrusader can be a TroubledSympatheticBigot at heart. A HeManWomanHater is rarely this, while it's far more common in a woman who DoesNotLikeMen -- sometimes with a cheesy justification. Nearly all [[TroubledBigot Troubled Bigots]] are likely to also be this, but the same does not apply in reverse. All of these characters are likely to suffer from InternalizedCategorism or be recovering from BlackAndWhiteInsanity. A PoliticallyIncorrectVillain who makes a HeelFaceTurn may have a transition period as a TroubledSympatheticBigot.

Sometimes a KnightTemplar, HeteronormativeCrusader or WindmillCrusader can be a TroubledSympatheticBigot at heart. A HeManWomanHater is rarely this, while it's far more common in a woman who DoesNotLikeMen -- sometimes with a cheesy justification. All of these characters are likely to suffer from InternalizedCategorism or be recovering from BlackAndWhiteInsanity. A PoliticallyIncorrectVillain who makes a HeelFaceTurn may have a transition period as a TroubledSympatheticBigot.

* In ''Webcomics/TheSpecialists'', [[http://thespecialistscomic.com/comic/page-79/ Henry is a nasty bigot and snob]]. Sympathy is roused, however, when [[http://thespecialistscomic.com/page-85/ he calls home -- and gets to talk to the butler]], who tries to assure him that his father, who won't take the call, is SoProudOfYou.

* In ''Webcomics/TheSpecialist'', [[http://thespecialistscomic.com/comic/page-79/ Henry is a nasty bigot and snob]]. Sympathy is roused, however, when [[http://thespecialistscomic.com/page-85/ he calls home -- and gets to talk to the butler]], who tries to assure him that his father, who won't take the call, is SoProudOfYou.

* At the end of ''Film/DoTheRightThing'', the Itallian characters express hatred toward blacks when [[spoiler: they burn down their restaurant in a riot]]. Made all the more tragic when they were friends with many of the African Americans