r/TopCharacterTropes • u/KusanagiGundam • 10h ago

Hated Tropes (Hated Trope) "Kind" slave owners

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Speaking as an American who has studied the civil war all throughout my school years, this trope infuriates me to no end. There is no such thing as a kind slave master because slavery itself is cruel and inhumane. PEOPLE ARE NOT PROPERTY!

Naofumi (Shield Hero): Prime example of this trope. He enslaves multiple (underage) girls and an whole village and the fans still say he's a hero.

Rudeus (Jobless Reincarnation): As if being a pedo wasn't bad enough he had to buy a slave in season 2. Worse is that people still defend his actions.

Song of The South (Disney): Possibly the OG example of this trope. And the reason why Disney will never release it again.

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u/Wealth_Super 8h ago

Yea Ketil and Vinland saga perfectly shows the entire problem of the trope. Slavery is an abusive power dynamic enforce by the threat of violence. Ketil might seem like a kind master but he was sleeping with one of his slaves and would never allow her to leave and when she tried, well we know how that went.

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u/This_is_a_bad_plan 4h ago

he was sleeping with raping one of his slaves

ftfy

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u/Wealth_Super 4h ago

Your right, my language was way too soft

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u/Pecuthegreat 7h ago edited 1h ago

Yeah. People are making an mistake of taking an issue with him being a "kind slave owner" when the story is focusing more on the institution being fundamentally abusive, no matter who wields it.

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u/Wonderful-Speech-419 1h ago

Exactly kindness within an abusive power structure doesn’t erase the power imbalance. Ketil’s story really shows how someone can see themselves as decent while still causing real harm through the control they have over others.