History Main / CategoryTraitor

** The [[ANaziByAnyOtherName Death-Eaters]] consider wizardry to be in the blood.[[note]]Blood clearly isn't the whole story considering that Muggles can have magical children and wizards and witches can, more rarely, have children born without magic.[[/note]] They also feel that [[NoTrueScotsman all "real" wizards are obliged to be "loyal" to "their own kind,"]] and thus despise Muggles, as well as wizards with direct Muggle ancestry (who are derisively termed "mudbloods"). Wizards who are from pureblood backgrounds but don't hate Muggles and Muggle-born wizards, they refer to as "Blood Traitors." By the standards of particularly supremacist families like the Blacks, Blood Traitors are considered just as disgraceful as Muggles and Muggle-borns; Arthur Weasley's mother, Cedrella Black, had her name burned off the family tapestry because she dared to marry Septimus Weasley, even though he was a pure-blood.

** The [[ANaziByAnyOtherName Death-Eaters]] consider wizardry to be in the blood.[[note]]Blood clearly isn't the whole story considering that Muggles can have magical children and wizards and witches can, more rarely, have children born without magic.[[/note]] They also feel that [[NoTrueScotsman all "real" wizards are obliged to be "loyal" to "their own kind,"]] and thus despise Muggles, as well as wizards with direct Muggle ancestry (who are derisively termed "mudbloods"). Wizards who are from pureblood backgrounds but don't hate Muggles and Muggle-born wizards, they refer to as "Blood Traitors." By the standards of the particularly supremacist family like the Blacks, Blood Traitors are considered just as disgraceful as Muggles and Muggle-borns; Arthur Weasley's mother, Cedrella Black, had her name burned off the family tapestry because she dared to marry Septimus Weasley, even though he was a pure-blood.

** The [[ANaziByAnyOtherName Death-Eaters]] consider wizardry to be in the blood.[[note]]Blood clearly isn't the whole story considering that Muggles can have magical children and wizards and witches can, more rarely, have children born without magic.[[/note]] They also feel that [[NoTrueScotsman all "real" wizards are obliged to be "loyal" to "their own kind,"]] and thus despise Muggles, as well as wizards with direct Muggle ancestry (who are derisively termed "mudbloods"). Wizards who are from pureblood backgrounds but don't hate Muggles and Muggle-born wizards, they refer to as "Blood Traitors."

Usually overlaps with WithUsOrAgainstUs, when Alice gives Bob an ultimatum regarding whatever activities he may be doing that Alice considers traitorous. May overlap with EntitledToHaveYou, if "loyal to the group" means "having sex with/marrying me". Often includes the use of an OutsideInsideSlur. Compare BoomerangBigot, BlackRepublican, TheWhitestBlackGuy, GayConservative, and MySpeciesDothProtestTooMuch. Can sometimes lead to DefendsAgainstTheirOwnKind. Contrast StopBeingStereotypical, when a character is criticized for the opposite behavior.

** According to Django, there is no form of life lower than a black slaver. In the same breath, he makes it clear he has considerable contempt for the head house slave as well.
** Stephen (Candie's head house slave) is also portrayed as one of these; treating the other slaves with cruelty while enjoying a (relatively) comfortable life.

** "Second Skin". Major Kira is captured by the [[StateSec all-powerful]] and [[SecretPolice much feared]] [[GovernmentAgencyOfFiction Obsidian Order]] as part of a convoluted plan by top-level agent Entek to destroy the [[LaResistance Dissident Movement]] which is seeking to free Cardassia from the grip of the Order and the military. The only way the crew locate and rescue her is via [[TheExile Garak's]] help. When Entek realises Garak is helping Starfleet and the Bajoran Government to rescue Kira (and the Dissident leader he was trying to expose), he's absolutely baffled. Even though Garak's in exile for an unspecified crime, Entek still finds it incomprehensible that Garak would betray the Obisidian Order to save a Bajoran and a Dissident and warns Garak the Order will end his exile by killing him for this. It doesn't end well. For Entek, that is.

** In ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim'', you can join the Stormcloaks, who want to kick all non-Nords out of Skyrim, even if you aren't a Nord, and can tell an NPC that yes, you genuinely believe Skyrim should be for Nords only and your people deserve to be kicked out and don't have the right to be there. He's understandably confused by this.

* ''Series/{{Condor}}'': Joubert is a Palestinian Israeli who served in Mossad. As such, she's viewed as a traitor by other Palestianians.

* ''Film/July22'': When Breivik attempts to call up a far-right thinker in his defense, [[EveryoneHasStandards the man is clear that he wants nothing to do with him for being a murderous lunatic]]. Breivik dismisses him as a coward for this.

* In ‘’ComicBook/ContestOfChampions'' Vol. 3, Jake Gallows, ComicBook/{{Punisher 2099}}, despises fellow skull-bearer Outlaw due to the latter retiring from the mission.

* In both the original ''Manga/{{Devilman}}'' and ''Anime/DevilmanCrybaby'', Akira Fudo's seen as a traitor by the other demons, who keep on assuming that he's Amon and had simply lost his memories.

* During ''ComicBook/{{Shadowland}}'', the new Power Man insinuated that ComicBook/{{Luke Cage|HeroForHire}} was a race traitor because he joined ComicBook/TheAvengers and married a [[MalignedMixedMarriage white]] [[ComicBook/{{Alias}} woman]].

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[[quoteright:350:[[ComicBook/{{Superman}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/race_traitors_9.png]]]]

* ''Manga/RosarioPlusVampire'': In the first season finale, Kuyou, after listing off multiple reasons why HumansAreTheRealMonsters, declares outright that Moka, one of his fellow monsters, deserves to die for fraternizing with humans like Tsukune.

* ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamSeed'':
** Of course, ZAFT considers Kira a traitor because he fights for Earth while being a genetically modified Coordinator, but even his friends question his engagement sometimes. This mostly comes from the genocidal Patrick Zala, who also considers Lacus and other Coordinators that don't want the genocide of all Naturals this. Athrun thinks Kira is being manipulated instead, and nobody else in ZAFT knows Kira is actually a Coordinator. They think he's just a very good Natural that can pilot a mobile suit.
** On the flip side, the leadership of [[AlwaysChaoticEvil Blue Cosmos]] and LOGOS consider Naturals who have anything to do with Coordinators to be traitors. [[AxCrazy Lord]] [[Anime/MobileSuitGundamSeedDestiny Djibril]] epitomizes this, employing weapons of mass destruction against Naturals who even accept protection from ZAFT.

* In ''Manga/PandoraHearts Retrace LXXIX'', [[spoiler:Glen]] deems [[spoiler:Gilbert]] as one of these to the Baskerville family when the latter defies the former by [[spoiler:using Raven to burn off his arm with the seal that controls him and then declaring his loyalty to Oz before escaping with him]].

* In ''Manga/TokyoGhoul'', the Ghoul Countermeasures Law codifies this with Article 119. Humans that aid a ghoul in ''any'' manner are subject to arrest, and face the Death Penalty for their crimes. When [[spoiler: Akira Mado]] protects a former comrade-turned-ghoul, they are immediately and brutally attacked by their subordinate and left mortally wounded. Treating their injuries proves to be difficult since their "betrayal" of humanity means they cannot seek traditional help from a doctor or hospital.
* In ''Manga/TheSevenDeadlySins'', the goddess and demon races reserve their most lasting and emotionally painful punishments for traitors to their own kind. Although they had been at war since forever, the leaders of both sides immediately agreed that [[spoiler:Meliodas and Liz's]] coupling could not be tolerated and combined powers to make them ''cut that shit out''.

* In both the original ''Manga/{{Devilman}}'' and ''Anime/DevilmanCrybaby'', Akira Fudo's seen as a traitor by the other demons, who keep on assuming that he's Amon and had simply lost his memories.

* ''ComicBook/WhateverLoveMeans'' rants quite a bit about how men are expected and indoctrinated to be loyal to men in general, at the expense of women. Mostly at a more structural level than BrosBeforeHoes.
* During ''ComicBook/{{Shadowland}}'', the new Power Man insinuated that ComicBook/{{Luke Cage|HeroForHire}} was a race traitor because he joined ComicBook/TheAvengers and married a [[MalignedMixedMarriage white]] [[ComicBook/{{Alias}} woman]].

* Subverted in ''ComicBook/{{Manhunter}}''. Kate, who's white, tries this on Director Bones when he refuses to send back-up to help Kate rescue a group of Mexican women from superhuman organ-thieves. She insinuates that he has forgotten what color his skin would be since, despite the fact that he literally looks like a skeleton, Bones is in fact a black man. He [[http://28.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lx6vfqUDqu1qeenqto1_500.jpg immediately tears into Kate]] and essentially tells her "Shut up, you don’t know shit about being black, so don’t you dare patronize me and act like you understand what it means to be a minority."
* After the Apache mutant John Proudstar joins the ComicBook/XMen as the costumed hero Thunderbird, he is killed during a mission trying to capture the villainous [[BigBad Count Nefaria]]. His younger brother James, also a mutant, takes up the Thunderbird codename and joins the [[EvilCounterpart Hellions]] as part of a plan to kill Professor X, who he blames for John's death. When he finally has Professor X at his mercy, he finds that he can't bring himself to kill the Professor and ends up applying this trope to ''himself'', thinking that he's a disgrace to his Apache roots. The X-Men help him realize that this isn't the case and that John actually died a hero. James declines their initial offer to join the team, although he would later join the ComicBook/NewMutants and take on his own costumed identity as Warpath.

* Speaking of the ComicBook/XMen, during ''ComicBook/AvengersVsXMen'', mutants who sided with the Avengers, such as {{Wolverine}} and Beast, got harassed for this. Let alone the fact that ''Schism'' has recently caused a BreakingTheFellowship among the X-Men, with those two on the side opposing Comicbook/{{Cyclops}}.

* In ''Comicbook/UncannyAvengers'', Banshee from the X-Men chastises ComicBook/CaptainAmerica for not doing more to help the country of Ireland and its citizens during UsefulNotes/TheTroubles despite being the child of Irish immigrants.
* In the X-Men graphic novel ''ComicBook/GodLovesManKills'', Kitty and Illyana's dance instructor, Stevie Hunter, is labeled this by the anti-mutant Purifiers.
-->'''Purifier:''' Once we deal with the mutie scum, there'll be plenty of time for [punishing] traitors like her.
* In ''ComicBook/TheTransformersRobotsInDisguise'': After the disbanding of the Decepticons, many still choose to cling to the badge and what it represents. Those interested in associating with the Autobots or the Camiens are looked down on. Sparkstalker sticking up for a bunch of Religious Camiens earns him the ire of Needlenose and the Decepticon recruiters, and Acid Storm even giving them the time of day leads to further derision.
* Robot cop Joe Pi in ''Comicbook/TopTen'' is considered a traitor by some Ferro-Americans, who call him "Spambo" (metal outside, meat inside).
* ''ComicBook/NemesisTheWarlock'': Torquemada and his AbsoluteXenophobe followers happily execute any human who associates themselves with aliens, or even merely object to his xenocidal crusades on alien worlds. In fact, his final plot is to trigger a device that will wipe out every alien and any human who has ever been in contact with one.
* Budroxifinicus of ''ComicBook/{{Copperhead}}'' is called such by Brexinfoyle due to their species' recent war against human civilization and Boo's employment by humans.
* ''ComicBook/AstroCity'': In a flashback, Hispanic superhero El Hombre takes down a group of thugs who also happen to be Hispanic. One of them accuses Hombre of being a race traitor for always taking down Hispanic criminals (because he operated in a Chicano-heavy community) and Hombre is surprised by how much the insult stings; he knows it’s a baseless accusation and that the thug is, at best, just trying to weasel out of being arrested. Yet it stays in his head and causes him to feel doubt, kickstarting the events that led to [[FallenHero his fall from grace]].
* In ''ComicBook/BatmanHolyTerror'', Batman is dumbfounded to discover that the man managing the secret governmental lab conducting hideous, inhuman experiments to produce {{Super Soldier}}s is Dr. Erdel, a Jew; in the twisted Christian theocracy of this world, Jews are oppressed and restricted to the point that the government places strict limits on their population, refusing to let them have more than a certain amount of children -- which is even more amazing given that, in this world, abortion and contraception are both crimes.
* In ''ComicBook/IlEtaitUneFoisEnFrance'', Eva accuses her husband Joseph of being a traitor to the Jews, having acquired his wealth by selling their possessions and indirectly contributing to Nazi industry.
* ''ComicBook/CaptainCarrotAndHisAmazingZooCrew'': A major plot element of ''The Final Ark'' was a species war brewing between land and water animals, in which ducks and turtles were distrusted as traitors to their kins.
* In ‘’ComicBook/ContestOfChampions'' vol. 3, Jake Gallows, ComicBook/{{Punisher 2099}}, despises fellow skull-bearer Outlaw due to the latter retiring from the mission.
* ''[[ComicBook/VampireTheMasqueradeVault Vampire: The Masquerade: Winter's Teeth]]'' stars a Brujah GothicPunk named Cecily Bain who betrayed the Anarchs to join the Camarilla. This was because she needed to find a safe place for her sister but she still feels awful about it.
* Nighthawk from ''ComicBook/SupremePower'' is a [[AngryBlackMan virulent black supremacist]] who accuses ''any'' black person who shows even the bare minimum of politeness to white people of being a race traitor. Because of this, he repeatedly hurls horribly racist insults like "house negro" at fellow black superhero Blur, who remarks at one point that he grew up in the DeepSouth yet ''never'' experienced racial discrimination firsthand [[{{Irony}} until he met his "fellow black man" Nighthawk]].

* In ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheTempleOfDoom'', Indy accuses Mola Ram of betraying Shiva -- a deity that ''neither'' of them worshiped. Mola Ram was a priest of Kali, [[HijackedByJesus who in this particular setting seems to be the evil half of a black and white dualism, locked in eternal battle with the good deity Shiva]]. [[InvokedTrope However]], Indy is actually saying the phrase in order to activate a defense mechanism in the stones that will cause them to turn against Mola Ram, so it's more a case of IndyPloy here if nothing else.

* In the Holocaust docudrama ''Film/Conspiracy2001'', some of the Nazi officials are concerned with the plight of German spouses of the German Jews they want to murder when those people's husbands and wives are taken away. Others counter that they feel they're "race traitors" anyway and should be treated as such. SS General Heinrich Mueller goes so far as to say that he'd happily throw them all on the same transport if it were up to him.
* There's a clear example of this in ''Film/ChasingAmy'' when, after a conversation where she's joking around with her friends, Alyssa tells them she's dating a man.
-->''[after the room goes silent]''\\
'''Friend:''' Well, we lost another one.
* In ''Film/KongSkullIsland'', Lt. Colonel Packard has an antagonistic relationship with anti-war photojournalist Mason Weaver because he blames people in the media like her for the negative portrayal of the soldiers in Vietnam through their coverage, and causing America to pull out of the war. Packard never explicitly accuses Weaver of being a traitor to their country but his attitude toward her heavily implies this.

* In ''Film/TheLearningTree'', Marcus the AngryBlackMan has been thrown in jail in 1920s Kansas for assaulting a white man. When a black preacher comes to his cell mouthing platitudes about Jesus, Marcus reacts scornfully, calling the preacher an Uncle Tom.
* Aunt 13 and Buck Teeth-Soo in ''Film/OnceUponATimeInChina'' adopted many Western customs and are regularly accused of being this by their fellow Chinese, including the main protagonist Wong Fei Hung in a MomentOfWeakness. However, Buck Teeth's ability to speak perfect, unaccented English has saved the day twice in the first film, and Aunt 13's love of photography is ultimately treated as a reflection to create art.
* In ''Film/{{Pixels}}'', the Max Headroom alien accuses the Q*Bert alien of this, as Q*Bert decides to help the protagonists stop his species' destruction of Earth.
* In ''Film/TheLastWitchHunter'', Belial seems to consider all witches that don't support his plans to resurrect their queen to be this, despite the fact that when she was alive, she almost wiped out the human race and civilization, both of which the witches are part of in present day.
* In ''Film/TheHandmaiden'', Kouzuki is Korean but idolizes English and Japanese people and culture. He despises Korea and being Korean, earned money and power by accommodating himself to the Japanese when they occupied Korea and now denounces his nationality, aiming for full naturalization as Japanese. This serves to establish him as particularly vile to Korean audiences, even before the extent of his depravity is revealed; the equivalent for a Western audience would be something like a French Jew trying to become a German Nazi aristocrat during the occupation of Paris.
* ''Film/TheEagle2011'': Esca is clearly considered this by the Seal Prince when he helps Marcus escape with the Eagle. Later the Prince significantly kills his son for not waking him (at Esca's request) in front of them, saying it's the punishment for traitors.
* ''{{Film/Thunderheart}}'': The Lakota dislike Ray as a man with a quarter Lakota ancestry who's an FBI agent, unsurprisingly, mocking him as the "Washington Redskin". Ray for his part returns the antipathy, disliking them at first as well and disclaiming that heritage.
* ''Film/{{War For The Planet Of The Apes}}'': Any ape who betrays the tribe and joins the humans is called "donkey".
* One of the central themes/conflicts of ''Film/{{BlacKkKlansman}}'' is whether Ron Stallworth, an African-American police officer in the early 1970s, is a race-traitor for joining the police force.
* Nick Jakoby from ''Film/{{Bright}}'' has to put up with other many other orcs calling him a race traitor for being a cop. [[spoiler:In the end, after fulfilling an ancient prophecy and performing an act of true bravery, he gains acceptance from the orc community.]]
* ''Film/TalesFromTheHood2'': Councilman Henry Bradley, a Republican who is pushing for [[RippedFromTheHeadlines closing down polling stations in largely black (Democratic) neighborhoods]] in exchange for the returned endorsement of the Republican running for Governor, as he has aspirations to become Mayor. This leads to [[spoiler: Emmett Till deciding that his martyrdom was a SenselessSacrifice, so he'd simply apologize to the white men for flirting with a white woman, rather than suffer his fatal beating at their hands for refusing to do so]].
* ''Film/July22'': When Breivik attempts to call up a far-right thinker in his defense, [[EveryoneHasStandards the man is clear that he wants nothing to do with him for being a murderous lunatic]]. Breivik dismisses him as a coward for this.
* ''{{Film/Loving}}'': The white authorities clearly see Richard as this for marrying outside the race, to the point where one repeatedly calls him "boy", a slur frequently used against African-American men. In fact too, the entire white community who he's from are deemed this, as they live and work with black people amicably (i.e. rejecting the racist social mores demanded).
* ''Film/AHiddenLife'': Franz is accused of being a "traitor to his race" by a staunch believer in Nazism from his village.

* ''Literature/DoraWilkSeries'':
** Joshua is considered this by his peers, as he's an angel who keeps company of devil and witch. While his grandfather (his only family) seems only a little distressed by the fact, ArchangelRaphael's faction tries to murder him a few times, as Raphael is a [[FantasticRacism Fantastic Racist]].
** Dora gets her share of it as well, being a witch who keeps company of devil and angel (magicals and Christians have a long history of wars, the latest of which was barely three hundred years ago -- not a long time for such a [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld long-living]] folk). It's weaker than in Joshua's case, though.
** Subverted in the case of Miron, the devil part of the Trio. Hellians find his choice of company a bit weird, but generally don't mind.

* John Grammaticus and Damon Prytanis, two human Perpetuals in the ''Literature/HorusHeresy'' series of ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'' novels, act as undercover agents for the sinister alien Cabal and are under no illusions that they are traitors to their own species for doing so. The Cabal's agenda appears to be the complete destruction of the human species as a way of saving the galaxy from the encroachment of Chaos. Damon is somewhat amoral and accepts his lot quite peacefully, but John has severe doubts about his species treachery and constantly seeks ways to get out of the situation he has found himself in.
* In ''Literature/SurvivorDogs'', Axe calls Lick a "traitor to her own kind" because she's siding with dogs who aren't Dobermans.

* ''Literature/MarketOfMonsters'' takes place in a world occupied by regular humans and "unnaturals" (vampires, kelpies, ghouls, UnscaledMerfolk, and the like). There's a booming illegal trade in unnaturals and their flesh, blood, and body parts and plenty of the ones doing the kidnapping, murdering, and selling are unnaturals themselves, such as the heroine's mother and her buyer Boulder.
* UsefulNotes/FrederickDouglass's first autobiography, ''Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass'', recalls an incident he witnessed in the North after his escape from slavery where a freeborn black man got in a fight with an escaped slave and threatened to sell his whereabouts to slave catchers. The rest of the local black community ran the freeborn man out of town for this; Douglass is sure he would be lynched if he ever returned.
* An EvilPoacher (who has [[WouldHurtAChild kidnapped]] several gorgon children) accuses Alex Price of this in the ''Literature/InCryptid'' novella ''The Measure of a Monster''.
-->'''Poacher:''' Wait, Alex? Alex ''Price''. What the fuck man? I thought your people were on humanity's side.
-->'''Alex:''' We're conservationists. The human race is currently of least concern. [[PreMortemOneLiner Now give me the keys, before I make you extinct]].

* [[spoiler:Michael]] in ''Series/TheGoodPlace'' after he decides to help the humans and betray the Bad Place and the other demons.

* In an earlier episode of ''Series/SixFeetUnder'', Keith accuses the then-closeted David of acting in a way that betrays other gay people, and David retorts that a lot of African Americans would say the same of him for being in the LAPD. Keith responds badly to that comment.

** Merlin's mentor Gaius is a more straight example; a former sorcerer who renounced magic to get into Uther's good graces and was rewarded with the position of the Court Physician. He did manage to save a few friends from being killed, but for the most part as the Great Dragon and Nimueh pointed out he turned a blind eye to all the witches and wizards who were killed --- and that includes scores of innocent children who inherited magic from their parents. Gaius tries to assuage his guilt by claiming that magic was throwing the natural order of things into chaos and that Uther did what was necessary, but it comes off as nothing more than a hollow attempt to justify his cowardice. He becomes Merlin's mentor to atone for his mistakes.
* The team in ''Series/{{Alphas}}'' has been accused of this by other alphas for helping track them down and hand them over to the Department of Defense, where they face indefinite imprisonment. Some members of the team clearly worry about this themselves.

* ''Series/BabylonFive'' uses this trope over and over again.
** The evil dictatorship that takes over the Earth argues that anyone who is pro-human should support them, and therefore that anyone who opposes them is anti-human.
** The Psi Corps does the same for telepaths.
** The Minbari have a civil war, with the Warrior Caste and the Religious Caste each accusing the other of being category traitors to the Minbari, and anyone who tried to de-escalate the civil war of being a category traitor to their caste. [[spoiler:Delenn takes over the religious caste, wins, but then hands power over to the [[HufflepuffHouse Worker Caste]], the ones who actually represent the base of the Minbari people and keep getting caught up in the middle when the Religious and Warrior castes quarrel with each other.]]

* In ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit'', we have [[ThoseWackyNazis disgusting white supremacists]] whose entire dialogue makes one want to puke. [[spoiler:This includes the undercover agent in their ranks; she personally apologizes to Fin and Munch after she's revealed, saying she finds the language repulsive but she needed to keep her cover.]] When one member of the group cuts a deal to testify against the leader, [[spoiler:the leader's son shoots him while he's on the witness stand for being a "Race Traitor" before going on a shooting rampage with another member of the group, killing the judge and a guard and injuring another guard, Munch, and Elliot, the latter of whom would have been killed if the undercover agent didn't intervene.]]
** The episode "Limitations" focuses on the detectives trying to identify a SerialRapist who raped three women three days in a row 5 years ago and trying to arrest him before the statute of limitations runs out. It turns the third woman learned her rapist's identity and forgave him, and now refuses to name him. The other two women tear into her for this, one of them outright calling her "a betrayer of women".
* ''Series/LawAndOrderUK'': The defense attorney for Matt Devlin's killer, a black man, insinuates that he was a bigot and that Crown Prosecutor Alesha Philips, herself a black woman, is this for prosecuting the man, who is also black. Alesha angrily and tearfully declares, "This man was no racist!" and denies she's a sellout for wanting to see his murderer punished.
** Ironically, in an earlier episode, Alesha was on the other side of this when she implied that a black journalist was this for printing unflattering information about a victim, a Pakistani boy who had supposedly been killed in self-defense after raping a girl, only to receive the same sort of angry rebuttal from the reporter.
* This pops up frequently on ''Series/TheFreshPrinceOfBelAir'' where its shown that many black people consider the Banks family this because of their wealth:
** In the first episode, Will tries to pull this on Uncle Phil by claiming that since becoming rich, he's forgotten what it's like to live in the hood. This backfires on Will when Phil angrily informs him that growing up, he faced bigotry and challenges far worse than anything Will ever faced in the Post-Civil Rights era, and that it was those memories that drove him to become a successful lawyer in the first place. "You have Malcolm X posters in your room. I heard the brother speak."
** A later episode has Phil's mother calling him out on the same issue, this time for betraying his roots as a country farm boy by acting as though his youth was an adversity he'd had to overcome, rather than the source of his moral fiber and strong work ethic that informed his success.
** In another episode, Will and Carlton try to join a black fraternity on campus. The latter is especially treated hard throughout Pledge Week. Top Dog, the leader of the fraternity, eventually reveals that he had no intention of taking Carlton in because of how preppy and rich he is, though they still offer Will a spot (which, obviously, he declines). When Carlton finds out the truth, he calls Top Dog out for his ignorance. After they return home and tell Uncle Phil and Aunt Vivian what happened, Phil laments: "You know, this... this really irritates me. I have worked very hard to give my family a good life and suddenly somebody tells me there's a penalty for success? I'm sorry you had to go through this, son. When are we going to stop doing this to each other?"
** Will isn't the only person who's tried to call Phil out for this. When an old activist friend implies that he's somehow less black because of his comfortable lifestyle, Phil bluntly reminds her that he was there with her when they faced police dogs and fire hoses in Birmingham and when Harlem was burned, that he's repeatedly used his legal practice to fight for civil rights and affirmative action, and that he uses his fortune to help sponsor activist causes for the black community.
** In another episode, Phil himself thinks that he is this to his old neighborhood after revisiting the small apartment he and his family once lived in back when he was a fiery idealistic young lawyer working for peanuts while offering legal aid. He wonders if becoming a judge who lives in a mansion in Bel-Air made him lose that fire.
* On ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'', little people who wear lifts in their shoes to seem taller are treated this way by other little people, which causes Mickey a great deal of trouble in "The Stand-In" when he is forced to get lifts so that he can keep his job as a stand-in for a child actor who had just hit a growth spurt.
-->'''Mickey:''' You don't understand. There's an unwritten code about this kind of thing. I could be ostracized. I remember when I was a kid, some guy tried to heighten. He lost his job, lost his friends, everything. Oh, I knew I was crazy to try this kind of thing, but I was so desperate!
* In ''Series/TheExpanse'', some [[AsteroidMiners Belters]] call Detective Miller "welwala", which means something like "traitor to your people" in their creole, because he works for Earth's LawEnforcementInc. "Wel-" possibly referring to "gravity well."
* In the third series of ''Series/HoratioHornblower'', Irish midshipman Orrock gets this from both ends when he overhears (and corrects) the normally reasonable Matthews commenting that Hornblower might rather have a Frenchman in front of him than an Irishman behind him. Then, the Irish rebels who have allied with Napoleon call him a traitor to his own people for sticking with Hornblower rather than joining them.
* Various monsters, demons, angels and some hunters get accused of being this in ''Series/{{Supernatural}}''. Lucifer especially is seen as the first Category Traitor by nearly everyone and regards his brothers siding with humans as just the same ("For a girl?").
* ''{{Series/Guerrilla}}'': Anyone who informs or otherwise cooperates with police is viewed this way by the black radicals.
* In ''Series/{{Snowfall}}'', Franklin's mother Cissy is a black woman who collects rent from black tenants at an apartment complex owned by a white man, which means that she's also often required to kick tenants out of their apartments when they fail to pay rent. This has earned her the enmity of a lot of other black women.
* In Brazilian soap-opera ''A Regra do Jogo'' when a [[GoldDigger gold digger's]] mark learns she's just faking her pregnancy, she simulates an aggression and accuses him of making her lose their unborn child, destroying his reputation. Two women who are his friends are accused by another woman of betraying their gender by believing him.
* Season 4 of ''Series/Supergirl2015'' is all about this, since it attempts to [[RippedFromTheHeadlines apply the current state of American politics to the show's setting]]. Anti-alien hatred is rampant across the nation. Anyone arguing for peaceful coexistence is labeled an "Earth traitor" by the other side. Even aliens are being called traitors, which makes zero sense (then again, hatred doesn't have to). In a few cases, the word "traitor" is also thrown back, such as when Nia Nal defends Brainy, whose true nature is revealed to a pizzeria owner, who immediately grabs his bat. When President Marsden is revealed to be an alien, many are also calling her a traitor, and it can be argued that it's true, since she violated Article 2 of the Constitution the swore to uphold (she's not a natural-born citizen). She does, however, immediately resign in order to avoid a constitutional crisis.
** A villain in season 5 is J'onn's brother Malefic. J'onn doesn't immediately recognize him and didn't even know he had a brother. Then he is able to overcome a mental block and learns that Malefic betrayed the Green Martians during the civil war and helped the White Martians kill his own kind. For that, he was cast into the Phantom Zone and all memory of him was erased.
* ''Series/TheOuterLimits1995'': In "[[Recap/TheOuterLimits1995S3E7TheCamp The Camp]]", Prisoner 98843 is deemed a traitor when she starts working with the camp staff. It doesn't help that she can't tell them why, and also is given one of their uniforms. They also view the staff in general this way, believing they're humans (not androids).

* In ''Series/ChicagoPD'': Atawater, as an African-American police officer, is a frequent target of this. When the Chicago Police Department gets into conflicts with African-Americans (typically over an officer-involved shooting), each side expects him to side with them. He typically follows his heart, which depending on the specifics of the situation can be either supporting his fellow officers, or revealing the police acted incorrectly. Inevitably his choice angers the side he didn't take.
* ''Series/ThePlotAgainstAmerica''
** Rabbi Bengelsdorf is an outspoken supporter of Charles Lindbergh, who has a history of antisemitic remarks, sympathy towards Nazism, and strong opposition toward intervening in World War 2. He faces heavy criticism within the Jewish community, but the Lindbergh administration uses him to make gentiles feel better about supporting antisemitic policies.
** Evelyn joins Bengelsdorf in his campaign and even dances with the Nazi Foreign Minister at a gala.
* In the fourth season of ''Series/TheManInTheHighCastle'', which involves a Nazi-controlled United States, Amy Smith calls her sister Jennifer a "race traitor" for listening to music sung by a black person.
* ''{{Series/Underground}}'': Cato is loathed by the other slaves for becoming an overseer, even having a whip like the white men. After he helps seven escape, initially this changed. However, he proves himself willing to betray anybody else for his own benefit.
* ''Series/NoughtsAndCrosses'': Callum is viewed as a traitor by many fellow Noughts after he joins the military academy (which only one other Nought cadet attends), feeling he's serving the ruling Crosses in doing so.
* ''Series/BraveNewWorld'': The "savage" rebels/terrorists view people who entertain New Londoners as being traitors and ruthlessly gun them down along with the tourists.
* ''Series/AFrenchVillage'': All collaborators, naturally, are viewed as traitors by French Resistance groups. Many are punished for treason as the war ends, whether after trials or with summary execution.
* ''Series/ForLife'': Veronica Marshall, a Black female defense lawyer, is accused of being this after she defends White police officer Edgar Lindsley for shooting Black man Andy Josiah in the back. She vehemently defends herself in an exchange with Aaron from the charge, but gets hate mail claiming this.
* ''Series/{{Condor}}'': Joubert is a Palestinian Israeli who served in Mossad. As such, she's viewed as a traitor by other Palestianians.

* In ''Theatre/FiddlerOnTheRoof'', the protagonist Tevye (a good Jew in a really conservative society, who is struggling with [[TroubledSympatheticBigot his prejudices and social pressure versus the emancipation of his daughters]]) considers his beloved daughter Chava to be past the MoralEventHorizon simply for wanting to marry a guy who isn't Jewish. Of course, {{it makes sense|InContext}} [[ValuesDissonance in the historical context]] of pre-revolutionary Russia, given the tension in that time and place between Jewish and Christian communities (who often violently harassed Jews or forced them out of their homes, and we see both in the musical). And considering that Chava had to [[ConvertingForLove convert]] to marry a Christian man, it makes sense for the devoutly Jewish Tevye to see it as a [[BetrayalByOffspring personal betrayal]] as well.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Ib}}'' "The Liar's Room" has several paintings that try and lead Ib astray, except for one that tells her the truth. The other paintings murder him while Ib is in the other room.

* In ''VideoGame/StarTrekOnline'''s post-Season 11 version of the mirror universe, a Bajoran member of the Terran Imperial Starfleet comments to the player character that her plan in joining the occupying military was to restrain its excesses to protect her people. It backfired: the Terrans view her as a possible spy on top of the existing FantasticRacism and extreme sexism, while other Bajorans consider her a traitor.

* Played with in ''Webcomic/TheWotch''. At the beginning of the feminist arc, Anne gets mad with [[GenderBender at-the-moment Sonja]] because she reminds her that he IS a man, and not "a woman that sometimes is a guy" as Anne was saying.
* ''Webcomic/SlightlyDamned'': Kieri, an angel, is considered a traitor for her companionship with Buwaro, a demon.[[note]]Buwaro was adopted by an angel, but nobody outside the group knows that.[[/note]] One particular KnightTemplar angel attempted to kill her after she merely protected Buwaro. Her brother Kazai tries to write the relationship off as 'not your fault, you've been through a lot', but freaks out when she starts questioning the motives of Kazai's superior officer because of her new outlook on angels and demons; angels have indoctrinated themselves into following all orders and arbitrary customs at all times. Soon after, [[spoiler:the superior officer reveals she turned ''actual'' traitor because following orders prevented her from deciding who she could love]].

* ''WesternAnimation/ThunderCats2011'':
** Young prince Lion-O, already known among his people as a {{Cloudcuckoolander}}, defends some {{stock|Punishment}}aded {{Lizard|Folk}} slaves from a PowderKegCrowd of his fellow {{Catfolk}}. This backfires spectacularly, stirring them up into an AngryMob demanding a full-blown VigilanteExecution, calling him "[[FantasticSlur Lizard lover]]" and threatening to put him in the stocks themselves.
** [[spoiler:Also one of the reasons why Pumyra hates Lion-O.]]
** [[spoiler:Ironically, the Cats were allies with the other animals, including the Lizards, when they overthrew Mumm-Ra centuries ago.]]
* The ''WesternAnimation/KingOfTheHill'' episode "Orange You Sad I Did Say Banana?" revolves around Kahn's reaction to being accused of being a "[[OutsideInsideSlur banana]]" by one of his fellow Laotian-Americans, including his idol Ted Wassonasong. After they push him around most of the episode, he tells them to shove off when they try to get him to participate in a coup d'etat that will most likely fail and result in his death.
-->'''Kahn:''' You want to play a round of golf at Nine Rivers? Give me a call. You want someone to feel guilty about the way they live their life? Call someone else!

* Slimer on ''WesternAnimation/TheRealGhostbusters'' and later ''WesternAnimation/ExtremeGhostbusters''. He's the team mascot, lives in the firehouse, and often helps out on cases. So, of course, Slimer is positively hated by the kind of malicious ghosts that the Ghostbusters regularly deal with. Samhain personally denounced him as a traitor and threatened to destroy him if he didn't submit to his rule. Even worse, Surt wanted to perform eternal torture on the spud as retribution for helping the Ghostbusters trap him.
* ''WesternAnimation/ReadyJetGo'': In "Whole Lotta Shakin'", it's revealed that Zerk believes that Jet is a sell-out for associating with humans. He denies Jet's clearly alien traits and has the audacity to call him an "Earthie".

* ''Manga/RosarioToVampire'': In the first season finale, Kuyou, after listing off multiple reasons why HumansAreTheRealMonsters, declares outright that Moka, one of his fellow monsters, deserves to die for fraternizing with humans like Tsukune.

** Of course, ZAFT considers Kira a traitor because he fights for Earth while being a genetically modified Coordinator, but even his friends question his engagement sometimes. This mostly comes from the genocidal Patrick Zala, who also considers Lacus and other Coordinators that don't want the genocide of all Naturals this. Athrun thinks Kira is being manipulated instead, and nobody else in ZAFT knows Kira is actually a Coordinator. They think he's just a very good natural that can pilot a mobile suit.

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--->'''Purifier:''' Once we deal with the mutie scum, there'll be plenty of time for [punishing] traitors like her.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/some_of_us_were_only_here_for_finn_1200x711.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350: Who is the real traitor?]]

*** Elf-human matches are frowned upon for practical reasons as well; thanks to a quirk in biology any children born will be fully human. As Dalish clans are already relatively tiny groups, this can be a significant hit to elven numbers.
** In ''VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition'', Sera is practically built on this trope. She's an elf, but does not consider that to have any impact on who she is as a person, and is very hostile to "[[StopBeingStereotypical elfy elves]]," especially ones who berate her for being "the wrong sort of elf." In a meta sense, it's probably also [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything no coincidence]] that she's homosexual [[note]]which is no big deal to anyone within the game, but does make her stand out a bit as a video game character[[/note]] and considers "[[UsefulNotes/PrideParade pride]]" to be her least favourite [[{{Pride}} sin]]. A lot of players sensitive to either racial or LGBT issues absolutely ''[[TheScrappy despise]]'' Sera as a result.

* ''Series/AFrenchVillage'': All collaborators, naturally, are viewed as traitors by French Resistance. Many are punished for treason as the war ends.

* ''Series/LawAndOrderUK'': The defense attorney for Matt Devlin's killer, a black man, insinuates that he was a racist and that Crown Prosecutor Alesha Philips, herself a black woman, is this for prosecuting the man, who is also black. Alesha angrily and tearfully denies that Matt was a racist or that she's a sellout for wanting to see his murderer punished.

Branding someone a Category Traitor is usually SeriousBusiness... at least for the character who does it, even if the narrative doesn't agree -- the accuser can be portrayed as justified or at least as a good kind of bigot, but can also be portrayed as a StrawmanPolitical or someone doing ActivistFundamentalistAntics. In either case, being branded as a Category Traitor might cause InternalizedCategorism. In [[Administrivia/InternalSubtrope cases where the accusation itself is an obvious strawman]], this trope can be called StrawTraitor. A CulturalRebel is especially prone to being branded as a Category Traitor. Can bring up accusations of being a {{Hypocrite}} ([[StrawHypocrite Straw]] or otherwise) on Alice's part, especially if Alice's category normally stresses the importance of things such as freedom and individuality (the obvious implication being that Alice hypocritically only pays lip service to these values). If Alice is prejudiced enough, she may label Bob a traitor ''even if she hates the things that non-traitorous members of the group supposedly do'' -- because how can you justify hating someone if he doesn't have the good taste to conform to a hate-worthy stereotype?