History Main / ActivistFundamentalistAntics

!!Examples

[[folder: Comic Books ]]

* In TheVerse of the ''ComicBook/ChickTracts'', a [[TheFundamentalist real Christian]] would never resort to this kind of behavior. (They sometimes do stuff that ''would'' be this trope if it wasn't for the convenient power of EasyEvangelism - such as using people's personal tragedies as a good time to tell them that they are going to hell unless they join the one true religion. But never mind that.)

* ComicBook/CartoonHistoryOfTheUniverse has a minor running gag of groups the early Muslims failed to convert dealing with missionaries making ''exactly'' the wrong pitch. Examples include trying to present monotheism as novel to Jews, pushing their own idea of modest dress in Ghana where it's extremely impractical, and promoting male dominance to a female ruler.

[[folder: FanFiction ]]

[[folder: Film ]]

* ''Film/EasyA'': Marianne's group is shown doing this. First against the basketball team, then against Olive. Picketing ''fellow students'' with hateful slogans, Westboro Baptist Church Style, yay...
** Interestingly, Marianne and her [[TheLancer lancer]], Nina, are shown to be really loving and caring people. This strongly indicates that the reason they are such [[JerkAss jerks]] with their antics is that they believe they don't have a choice - that it's somehow their holy duty to act as if they were psychopaths.
** It's shown Marianne's father is also a pastor, and a real JerkAss one who treats his faith as fact and refuses to let Olive agree to disagree. So, its likely her behavior isn't her fault, its largely he result of her strict religious upbringing that she is trying to protect.

[[folder: Literature ]]

[[folder:Live Action TV]]

[[folder:Professional Wrestling]]
* The Age Of The Fall in Wrestling/RingOfHonor, Full Impact Pro and others. The American Healthcare system is ''wrong'' and you're going to hear about it, even though you came to watch a wrestling show. When they actually got around to talking about everything they(or rather, Wrestling/JimmyJacobs) thought was corroding society, fans actually agreed with them. That still didn't stop Age Of The Fall from being [[ProducePelting pelted with garbage]] when they one matches though.[[/folder]]

[[folder: Roleplay]]
* Pharisee in Roleplay/DinoAttackRPG has some elements of this. Basically, he believes that he has a divine right to impart justice on people he considers morally wrong, and makes sure that those "wrongdoers" understand.
** Averted by Dr. Noomi Shaw, who keeps the spiritual aspects of her character to herself and respects the opinions of others. She was deliberately written to avoid falling into this trope.

[[folder: Video Games ]]

* ''SlaveMaker'': As a result of their constant AbuseMistake, the would-be rescuers end up "freeing" slaves against their will, resulting in slaves escaping from "freedom" and running back to their master or mistress.

[[folder: Web Comics ]]

* Seymour of ''Webcomic/{{Sinfest}}'' often fall into this territory. See the trope illustration, where even God dismisses him as a "loony fanboy".
** Sinfest is actually an interesting example, because it is a series where the main characters can often see God make signs in the sky, where the Devil runs a MegaCorp, where Jesus and Buddha occasionally drop by for chilling, and where one main character is in a relationship with with a [[HornyDevils reformed demon girl]]. Seymour's problem is not that he is trying to push the existence of his god onto characters because everyone ''knows'' that various deities exist... but that he refuses to see that there are gray areas between blind and obsessive worshiping and (for example) being genuine friends with a cute girl from hell.
* Kankri of ''WebComic/{{Homestuck}}'' from the Pre-Scratch universe is obsessed with social justice, but, lacking a real cause (and personal issues causing him to automatically reject the validity of one of the only actual causes presented to him), he ends up preaching verbosely for little reason and less benefit. In the Post-Scratch universe, he became MessianicArchetype for real because the CrapsackWorld of Alternia and the lingering memories of life in the Pre-Scratch universe gave him an actual cause to champion.

[[folder: Web Original ]]

* ''TheOnion'' reports on [[http://www.theonion.com/articles/christ-converts-to-islam,754/ "Christ Converts to Islam"]]: "Millions more, however, have decried the recalcitrant Christ's apostasy, breaking ties with Him and calling His conversion "a heathen act" of "utmost blasphemy before Himself"."

* ''ZinniaJones'' has at least two episodes on this. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWOQGhhrIpE One about MassResistance]] and [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-EwlT5KzeRE one about the Westboro Baptist Church]].

[[folder: Western Animation ]]

-->'''Group Member''': Are you really going to burn TheBible?
-->'''Ms. Censordoll''': Only the Jewish parts.

Compare StrawLoser, LordErrorProne and BlackAndWhiteInsanity. Contrast AgainstMyReligion, where the character personally refuses to do things that he considers to be against his religion, rather than trying to bully everyone else into behaving the same way. Also contrast TheSoulsaver and SoulsavingCrusader, which can contain behavior that would be this trope if it weren't justified within the narrative. A particularly over-the-top SoapboxSadie might act this way for every new cause that pops into her head.

* ''GodBlessAmerica'': Not only Westboro Baptist Church and the other groups featured, but also Frank himself.

[[folder: Live Action TV ]]

* On ''DrawnTogether'', Princess Clara is prone to this. At one point, she wishes Xandir and his new boyfriend live happily ever after... until God throws them both in the fiery pits of Hell, of course.

* In ''ComicBook/{{X-Men}}'', Reverend William Stryker's entire deal is basically one big example of this. He started as a TV [[EasyEvangelism Evangelist]] that blamed mutants for the world's problems, and claiming they were the children of the devil. He started off as a protester, before becoming leader of a para-military hate-cult known as 'The Purifiers' who did this to the extreme: Outright hunting and killing mutants, and trying to 'do god's work' via mass-genocide, but was stopped before he could make an example by shooting Kitty Pryde on TV.

* One ''BostonLegal'' episode had two religious groups suing each other for blasphemy-related charges.
* On ''TrueBlood'', we have the Fellowship of the Sun, a cult running on a quite scary flavor of silliness.

* The Equalists from WesternAnimation/LegendOfKorra are an anti-bending group. The enemy includes: The Avatar, every last bender in existence because, you know, they're inherently evil, and possibly all non-benders who are not Equalists themselves.
** And for extra fun, they're dupes [[spoiler:of one of the more powerful and frightening benders in the world.]]

* [[ComicBook/{{X-Men}} Reverend William Stryker]]'s entire deal is basically one big example of this. He started as a TV [[EasyEvangelism Evangelist]] that blamed mutants for the world's problems, and claiming they were the children of the devil. He started off as a protester, before becoming leader of a para-military hate-cult known as 'The Purifiers' who did this to the extreme: Outright hunting and killing mutants, and trying to 'do god's work' via mass-genocide, but was stopped before he could make an example by shooting Kitty Pryde on TV.

* [[{{Deryni}} Archbishop Loris]] is very much given to this. His interactions with the Mearan Pretender, Caitrin, and her husband, Sicard, are frequently punctuated with streams of invective against Deryni generally and Kelson and Duncan in particular, along with darkly dismissive assessments of the fates of Caitrin's daughter and younger son after they are taken to Kelson's court. Unfortunately for Henry Istelyn and Duncan [=McLain=], Loris goes far beyond verbal pyrotechnics.

* Averted for the most part in Warhammer40K: any public deviance from the norm is rewarded with being shot if you're in the Imperial Guard, burned alive by the Sisters of Battle or sujected to the Inquisition's attention. However, there are those Literature/CiaphasCain deems Emperor-botherers who get in the way of the real soldiering, such as the Redemptionists.

** Likewise averted by Chaos worshippers in non-Imperial space: the four Chaos gods are opposed in pairs, so any cultists trying to proselytize on another's turf gets chainaxed/raped/burned from inside/decomposed in seconds very quickly.

* In ''WorldOfWarcraft'', the OmnicidalManiac cult Twilight's Hammer took on this role as they did their recruitment drive just before the release of Cataclysm. Oh, and [insert your own character's name here] got to run around shouting silly slogans as s/he infiltrated the cult.

Silly, scary, or both, while the person doing ActivistFundamentalistAntics is often genuinely unsympathetic, it is not always so. They can [[NobleBigot have other redeeming qualities]], or [[WellIntentionedExtremist be on the right track but are taking it too far]]. They might also be [[TroubledSympatheticBigot wrestling with their life, conscience, and/or world-view]]. It can even lead to a CrisisOfFaith if things don't turn out the way their indoctrination led them to expect.

A character doing Activist Fundamentalist Antics is likely to scream all the wrong slogans at all the wrong places: religious gatherings, comedy festivals, family holiday dinners, even funerals. They may well make botched attempts at EasyEvangelism or EpiphanyTherapy, only to come across as a general {{Jerkass}}. They are likely to step on all sorts of metaphorical toes, including their own as they trip over their own feet. One hallmark of this mentality is [[FeelingOppressedByTheirExistence the desire to somehow exile and/or exterminate certain types of people]]. Maybe said people [[YourNormalIsOurTaboo break taboos]] and/or [[MoralGuardians are 'immoral']], but the ''real'' issue is what they 'are' and not what they do e.g. they are the SINFUL HELL-SPAWN/children of parents who ate egg-salad sandwiches on a Tuesday IN DIRECT DEFIANCE OF GOD'S WILL. This desire to exclude or eliminate said people stems from the fact that 'their kind' is fundamentally incompatible with the Activist Fundamentalist's vision of a righteous and SmallSecludedWorld. Some psychologists have argued that the reason why some cultists behaving this way - so militantly, and with so much hostility - is that they are desperately trying to convince ''themselves'' of the righteousness of their cause.

Silly, scary, or both, while the person doing ActivistFundamentalistAntics is often genuinely unsympathetic, it is not always so. They can [[NobleBigot have other redeeming qualities]], or [[WellIntentionedExtremist be on the right track but are taking it too far]]. They might also be [[TroubledSympatheticBigot wrestling with their life, conscience, and/or world-view]].

Note that a character doesn't have to be an organized activist to be this trope, taking an activist attitude is enough.

* Kankri of ''WebComic/{{Homestuck}}'' from the Pre-Scratch universe is obsessed with social justice, but, lacking a real cause (and personal issues causing him to automatically reject the validity of one of the only actual causes presented to him), he ends up preaching verbosely for little reason and less benefit. In the Post-Scratch universe, he became MessianiacArchetype for real because the CrapsackWorld of Alternia and the lingering memories of life in the Pre-Scratch universe gave him an actual cause to champion.

* Seymour of ''{{Sinfest}}'' often fall into this territory. See the trope illustration, where even God dismisses him as a "loony fanboy".

* Averted for the most part in Warhammer40K: any public deviance from the norm is rewarded with being shot if you're in the Imperial Guard, burned alive by the Sisters of Battle or sujected to the Inquisition's attention. However, there are those CiaphasCain deems Emperor-botherers who get in the way of the real soldiering, such as the Redemptionists.

* Estrella Partleigh and the ''Campaign For Equal Heights'' are another good Discworld example: where human beings take it upon themselves to agitate for the civil rights of Dwarfs, despite the fact Dwarfs are incredibly successful in their own right and do not need humans to advocate for them...

* ''Film/{{Saved}}''. The entire movie. They're all religious fundamentalists, but some are more [[TitleDrop saved]] than others.

* The Equalists from LegendOfKorra are an anti-bending group. The enemy includes: The Avatar, every last bender in existence because, you know, they're inherently evil, and possibly all non-benders who are not Equalists themselves.

* In the ''{{Discworld}}'' fic ''Fanfic/SlippingBetweenWorlds'', the activities of the Campaign for Equal Heights are elaborated upon, and an even more anorak grouping, the Ankh-Morpork Unidentified Flying Object Research Group, is introduced.

Let's say that you are right and everyone else is wrong, but everyone outside your little group of like-minded righteous people is simply too dumb to understand that you are superior. Surely, you would be tempted to try to reach their hearts by methods that might seem a little [[PlayedForLaughs silly]] and counterproductive?

A character doing Activist Fundamentalist Antics is likely to shout all the wrong slogans at all the wrong places: religious gatherings, family holiday dinners, even funerals. They might make botched attempts at EasyEvangelism or EpiphanyTherapy, coming across as a general {{Jerkass}}. They are likely to step on all toes, including their own, and trip over their own feet in all sorts of ways. One hallmark of this mentality is the desire to forbid other people from living their lives — not because they involve the character in the violation of [[YourNormalIsOurTaboo some taboo]] and not because they disobey [[MoralGuardians some "universal" morality derived from the faith]], but simply because they exist and isn't a part of the character's SmallSecludedWorld. Some psychologists have argued that the reason why some cultists are behaving like this is that they are desperately trying to convince ''themselves'' of the righteousness of their cause.

** It's shown Marianne's father is also a pastor, and a real JerkAss one who treats his faith as fact and refuses to let Olive agree to disagree. So, its likely her behaviour isn't her fault, its largely he result of her strict religious upbringing that she is trying to protect.
* Inverted in ''Film/NeverLetMeGo'': no matter how horrible things get, no one ever show any outrage against the system. Two of the three protagonists have emotional outbursts of dissaproval and almost hate, but always [[InternalizedCategorism aimed at themselves]].

* ''Film/TheLedge'' takes this to a very deadly level as the Atheist Gavin is about to "die for his beliefs".

* An example with a ThinkOfTheChildren MoralGuardian: An excerpt from ''"How I Found the Superman"'' by GKChesterton, [[OlderThanTelevision Daily News 1909]]
-->''The name of Lady Hypatia Smythe-Brown (now Lady Hypatia Hagg) will never be forgotten in the East End, where she did such splendid social work. Her constant cry of'' '''"Save the children!"''' ''referred to the cruel neglect of children's eyesight involved in allowing them to play with crudely painted toys. She quoted unanswerable statistics to prove that children allowed to look at violet and vermillion often suffered from failing eyesight in their extreme old age; and it was owing to her ceaseless crusade that the pestilence of the Monkey-on-the-Stick was almost swept from Hoxton.''

* Reg Shoe (before he was a zombie) in Discworld/NightWatch is the classic useful idiot: he shouts lots of slogans, insists that the revolution happen according to his great plans, and is otherwise an insufferable RuleAbidingRebel. When Vimes shows up and lays out just how little anyone (including the real revolutionaries) cares about what he has to say, Reg's brain "rejected the information as contrary to whatever total fantasy was going on inside". After zombification, his antics are slightly more subdued, in that he's always going on about unfair treatment of undead, while the other undead wish he'd shut up about it.

** What makes that second example even funnier was that another group also denounced the Twilight books for the ''opposite'' reason: they found the books ''too'' Christian (presumably because they were [[WriterOnBoard written by a]] Brigham Young University graduate).
* In one ''LawAndOrderSVU'' episode, a guy has tried for eight years to get his kidnapped brother back. The police and everyone else stopped caring many years ago, so he resorted to kidnapping and raping a woman just to get the police's attention. [[spoiler:Oh, and the woman is, of course, in on it, pulling off a little RomanticizedAbuse show to the audience as her "rape" gets broadcasted on the web.]]

[[Folder: Films]]