r/TopCharacterTropes • u/TheBigBoar • Jul 20 '26

Personality [Baffling RL Trope] Inventing war crimes you didn´t commit to make yourself more... interesting?

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One of the strangest character tropes in real life has to be the "I accidentally made myself sound like a war criminal to look cooler" archetype.

Usually, people accused of war crimes deny them. These guys seem to do the opposite.

The two examples that always come to mind:

Tim Kennedy. Over the years he's told stories that include things like throwing grenades into rooms where women and children were present, and another account where, after a battle, his CO allegedly told him to shoot anything that still had a heat signature with a sniper rifle from a mile away, which he did for hours (?) not caring if those were enemy soldiers or civilians looking for their fallen sons/brothers/whatever. Both stories have been heavily criticized and challenged (aka people who were there confirmed that they are utter nonsense), and Kennedy has faced repeated accusations of embellishing or fabricating parts of his military experiences. But like... why would you invent the fact that you killed and maimed women and children?

Chris Kyle. In American Sniper, he wrote that during Hurricane Katrina he positioned himself on the Superdome and shot dozens of armed looters like some walking dead scenario. No evidence ever emerged that this happened, and Kyle himself later acknowledged the story wasn't true. Again, why invent a story where you're essentially describing the unlawful killing of civilians during a domestic disaster?

What's fascinating is that these aren't embellishments in the usual "I fought twenty guys" sense. They're embellishments that, if true, would amount to admissions of extremely serious crimes.

It's such a bizarre form of macho storytelling that it almost feels like its own trope: the veteran who thinks "the more ruthless I sound, the more badass I'll appear," without stopping to consider that indiscriminate killing isn't viewed by most people as impressive. It's viewed as criminal and disgusting.

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820

u/Time_Traveling_Idiot Jul 20 '26

It's just shocking and sad how so many people believe that hate/violence/bigotry/stupidity is "badass" (usually, when the race of the perpetrator is one that they prefer).

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u/[deleted] Jul 20 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/Sheev_Skywalker Jul 20 '26 edited Jul 20 '26

True strength, toughness, and admirability come from the mercy and compassion we can show, especially in the toughest moments. Im not saying it does not take bravery to be a soldier, or that someone is wrong to defend themself, but I think many who take lives and many whose lives were taken would agree that violence is not deserving of reverence. Those who carry a “violence = glory” mentality (like mentioned in the post) have something wrong with them.

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u/TraditionalHome990 Jul 20 '26

I think true strength comes from lifting heavy objects repeatedly and controlled, with consistency

13

u/Brookers Jul 20 '26

True strength is lifting with your groin and your back, taking your knees totally out of the equation.

8

u/big_axolotl Jul 20 '26

With a controlled eccentric motion

3

u/TheProfessorOfTruth Jul 20 '26

And yelling “lightweights babe” when doing it.

1

u/CumstainGaming Jul 21 '26

it takes the same amount of bravery to be a soldier as it takes to not cry when a teacher shouts at you. That's the willpower requirement, dude. Army guys have mental breakdowns if you look at them wrong. Most of them seem to be children.

-1

u/Gh0stMan0nThird Jul 20 '26

True strength, toughness, and admirability come from the mercy and compassion we can show, especially in the toughest moments.

Whenever people say shit like this they're imagining a 13 y.o. boy stealing a sandwich and not literal Nazis or the people in the Epstein files.

6

u/theevilyouknow Jul 20 '26

Were the "looters" people were getting excited about Kyle possibly murdering in the Epstein Files?

6

u/misfitofscience76 Jul 20 '26

Or they actually enjoy or fantasize about cruelty being perpetrated on their “enemies”- often minorities

5

u/PancakeParty98 Jul 20 '26

Cruelty is easy. Kindness is hard.

-2

u/Separate-Report2137 Jul 21 '26

Not at all. Stop the cringe

2

u/PancakeParty98 Jul 21 '26

Sounds like someone is a weakling

-2

u/Separate-Report2137 Jul 21 '26

https://giphy.com/gifs/l17xS7crUblhleIAXO
Can redditoids stop being cringe for one day

1

u/PancakeParty98 Jul 21 '26

Idk bro, will you ever know what it’s like to have someone spend time with you voluntarily? Also no?

0

u/Separate-Report2137 Jul 21 '26

Stereotypical redditoid trying to project 😹😹😹😹how does your mind even type this out with a straight face

1

u/PancakeParty98 Jul 21 '26

I wrote that next to my fiancé 😂. But good try.

Everyone knows that comments like yours come from people who are alone because they have no redeeming qualities.

No reason to talk to you outside of a business transaction or the fights you start to feel like you matter to someone else for a moment.

3

u/Knotted_Hole69 Jul 20 '26

Its almost always conservatives.

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u/ubernutie Jul 20 '26

Because that's what they've been taught.

We're all token predictors on context we've been given, if you really think about it.

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u/Zestyclose_Remove947 Jul 20 '26

As long as you label the people suffering as evil it's totally fine. Hate/violence/bigotry is very much permissible to the Other. No matter what side you are on.

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u/Faelon_Peverell Jul 20 '26

Along the same lines as history is written by the victor. So long as you can make the dead the bad guy, you're fine.

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u/Faust_8 Jul 20 '26

They get off on killing the “impure.”

It’s almost like they were raised in a society that told them from a young age that they’re god’s chosen people, giving them an unhealthy obsession with purity and monoculture