History Main / ProtagonistCenteredMorality

Can lead to a BrokenAesop. Often enabled by PsychologicalProjection. Compare AMillionIsAStatistic, where a million deaths can be excused, but a single death of someone with [[NominalImportance a name]] and [[MauveShirt screentime]] cannot. Also compare AlwaysSaveTheGirl, in which the protagonist puts the well-being of their love interest above everything else. Subtrope of SelectiveEnforcement and supertrope for WhatMeasureIsAMook. See also RuleOfEmpathy. Contrast WhatTheHellHero, where another character ''does'' call the protagonist out on their questionable behavior, MoralMyopia, where a character tries to invoke this but the narrative disagrees, and HypocriticalHumor, where a character's double standards are PlayedForLaughs.

[[folder:Films -- Animated]]

* ''Literature/{{Victoria|ANovelOf4thGenerationWar}}'' tells the story of brave patriots seceding from the United States in the face of PoliticalOvercorrectness, to preserve traditional Christian values. In the course of this, they seize federal land to sell to foreign developers, kidnap, torture, make liberal use of hostages and human shields, threaten the families of servicemen who fight against them, execute captured soldiers ''en masse'', assist a foreign invasion of the US, bomb their own allies, nuke an ally's city, threaten nuclear war with China, violently purge ideologically unreliable academics, and more. These are, at worst, the [[IDidWhatIHadToDo strictly necessary]] actions of a reasonable figure, more often, outright celebrated, unlike the federal opposition. When the heroes take pilots and their families hostage to deter bombing, it's a clever outside-the-box tactic, when the Feds assassinate a Confederate leader, it's a vile crime. When good Christians are sold into slavery in the Middle East, no effort or expense can be spared in securing their return home; when defeated feminists are sold into sexual slavery in the Middle East, it's only their just comeuppance and a chance to show them what ''real'' patriarchal oppression looks like.

* ''Animation/VukTheLittleFox'': Since the story focuses on Vuk, he is treated as a good guy, despite killing a lot of (apparently sentient) animals for food and systematically destroying a man's property. At the same time, the hunter is treated as the BigBad, even though he just kills foxes to protect his livestock. Justified, since Vuk would not survive otherwise.

* In ''Film/TheLostWorldJurassicPark'', Sarah and Nick sabotage some mercenaries hired by the company who owns the dinosaurs. Granted, the team of mercenaries sent to capture the dinosaurs weren't using kid gloves, but the sabotage that the two of them did is directly or indirectly responsible for ''every human death in the film''. Even after the mercenaries save the two of them from death, Nick uses it as an opportunity to sabotage Roland's gun. Apparently, killing a dinosaur is wrong even if it is rampaging through your camp ''and killing your men''. And it wasn't as if nature was at stake. The dinosaurs were created in a lab and introduced in a time period that was unsuitable for them. The fact that they exist at all could be disastrous to the ecosystem. This was the entire point of the first movie and pounded home more in the ''Lost World'' book yet somehow, the filmmakers forgot all about that.

* Readers of ''Literature/TheCaskOfAmontillado'' are moved to side with Montresor when he murders Fortunato for some unspecified reason. Adaptations invent reasons for Fortunato's behavior in order to justify his murder.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Wish 2023}}'': The protagonist Asha opposes King Magnifico's taking wishes from people and only granting the few he deems worthy, saying everyone deserves the right to their wish being a possibility. At the end of the film, [[spoiler:Asha is gifted magic which she will use to become a FairyGodmother, thereby becoming someone like Magnifico who will have to make decisions as to whose wishes come true thanks to her supernatural assistance]]. This one is noticeable because it ''also'' contradicts the Aesop that [[spoiler: people should actualize their wishes themselves and not rely on others to do it for them]]. She also had no problems with Magnifico only granting one wish per month (even though basic math would tell her most wishes would go ungranted) until he refused to grant '''her''' grandfather's wish. For that matter, her not taking the concerns of others (not even her family) into account when deciding what's best for Rosas and acting accordingly - almost bringing the land to destruction in the process - isn't ''that'' different from Magnifico's thinking and actions.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Wish 2023}}'': The protagonist Asha opposes King Magnifico's taking wishes from people and only granting the few he deems worthy, saying everyone deserves the right to their wish being a possibility. At the end of the film, [[spoiler:Asha is gifted magic which she will use to become a FairyGodmother, thereby becoming someone like Magnifico who will have to make decisions as to whose wishes come true thanks to her supernatural assistance]]. This one is noticeable because it ''also'' contradicts the Aesop that [[spoiler: people should actualize their wishes themselves and not rely on others to do it for them]].

* Matt, in Webcomic/GoGetARoomie is derided in-universe as a terrible friend at best and a rapist at worst for talking the comic's deuterogamist Lilian into bed when they were both younger. This ignores the fact that Roomie, Lilian's eventual girlfriend, has a history of getting women drunk and trying to have sex with them (potentially committing date rape), including towards Lilian herself. Roomie's inappropriate actions are noted in a few strips, but she's quickly forgiven and her actions are considered petty indiscretions, whereas Matt has to undergo therapy from guilt and made into a pariah by the rest of the cast.

* ''Webcomic/EightBitTheater'' spoofs this [[http://www.nuklearpower.com/2005/05/10/episode-551-so-close-and-yet-so-far/ here,]] where Fighters spells out to Garland that "murdering our way to the top" is okay for the Light Warriors to do, because the Light Warriors are [[NominalHero heroes.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/TheAntBully'': The main character Lucas is a nerdy child who gets bullied by bigger kid Steve and he takes his frustrations out onto by an anthill in his backyard to feel stronger. Thus in retaliation the ants magically shrink Lucas down to their size and make him go through an adventure in which he learns how human the ants are and redeems himself by saving the anthill from SmugSnake exterminator Beals. However, multiple reviewers took issue with Beals' fate of being [[DisproportionateRetribution turned into a crippled freak]] because in his defense unlike Lucas he ''did not know'' that ants have humanlike sentience, and Steve is simply bullied back when Lucas makes the other kids stand up to him, leaving the impression that only Lucas can be informed of his wrongdoings and be allowed another chance for being the protagonist.

* This trope runs so rampantly in the Website/GoAnimate "X Gets Grounded" videos, it would probably be easier to list grounded videos where this trope ''isn't'' in effect in some way. Generally speaking, though, if the main character of a grounded video is a designated troublemaker or a "baby show character" (i.e. WesternAnimation/{{Caillou}}) and does something horrible or stupid, this is portrayed as wrong and the troublemaker will get grounded. However, if a main character of a grounded video who ''isn't'' a troublemaker/baby show character does the same exact thing to a troublemaker/baby show character (whether in retaliation to a troublemaker's wrong-doings, as part of a [[TraumaCongaLine Punishment Day]], or even just because they don't like the troublemaker/baby show character), this is portrayed as justified or as a winning moment for the "good" character, who will subsequently be rewarded for stooping down to the troublemaker's level.

** Dumbledore engages in petty bullying of Muggles. In the sixth book, for example, he visits the Dursleys and ''forces'' them to drink an unknown substance while chiding them for their so-called poor manners.

** For the most part, the Unforgivable Curses are treated as utterly evil magic that only utterly evil people would use. In the seventh book, Harry uses Crucificatus (the torture curse) on a Death Eater merely for insulting [=McGonagall=]. Who then praises him on his gallantry!

* ''Literature/TheHouseOfNight'' series is seen and judged through Zoey's sense of Morality. Even in ''Tempted'' and ''Burned'' (when different POVS and many new characters are introduced) and someone has a different opinion than Zoey's, they're considered to be having an [[OutOfCharacterMoment OOC moment]] at best or they're automatically considered to be a horrible bitch and/or in cahoots with the BigBad.

** Luke forgiving Vader (and him getting to be a Force Ghost along with the not-evil Obi-Wan and Yoda) is something of a sore spot with a lot of writers. The original films had the luxury of Darth Vader's on-screen evil often being on a lesser scale than other villains (like Tarkin) or directed toward other bad guys. The expanded universe (and later the prequels), made this a lot more awkward by actually showing what gave Darth Vader his reputation. Some authors note that the rest of the galaxy still views Vader as nothing more than a mass-murdering monster, and Leia (who was ''tortured'' by Vader when she was ''nineteen'') is portrayed as hating Vader for years afterwards and furious at Luke that he was so presumptuous as to forgive Vader on behalf of his ''millions'' of victims. Yet [[DependingOnTheWriter other writers]] still present this as unnecessarily holding onto hatred rather than a reasonable reaction to the top enforcer of a totalitarian dictatorship. Supposedly, the metaphysics of the Force are at play; a regular person can afford to hate, but a Force sensitive who indulges in hatred, no matter how justified, will fall to the dark side. Leia eventually makes peace with the idea that there was an Anakin Skywalker before there was a Vader.

** All the so-called good characters think of those without magic as lesser: Hermione mind-wiped her own parents instead of explaining the situation and giving them a choice of how to proceed. Ron has a squib cousin nobody in his family ever talks about. Arthur Weasley, who works with Muggle inventions on a daily basis, does not know the least thing about Muggles and talks about them as if they were animals in a zoo. This is the same mindset everyone accuses the Death Eaters and Slytherin House of. And Muggle-born or Muggle-raised students like Hermione and Harry (and Lily) seem to have no problem with it whatsoever, instead leaving the Muggle world (and all related skills) behind as quickly as possible.
** Snape has spent roughly the last two decades as a spy for the good guys at both great personal risk and great personal cost, and has personally saved Harry's life a couple of times. Harry is perfectly aware of all of this. Yet Harry seems hung up on the fact that Snape doesn't like him and is an unfair and vindictive teacher, as if these facts cancelled out all the rest. He still named one of his children after him in the epilogue, so at the very least, Harry seems to acknowledge what Snape did for him and his mother.

** Lily Evans watched her Housemates bully her childhood friend for seven years while he was outnumbered four to one - including at least one incident where they outright tried to murder him. She later ended up marrying one of the two worst bullies and making the other the godfather of her child. Yet the books act as if Snape were solely at fault for their falling-out, and the only one who should have made amends. In fairness, the narrative at least briefly aknowledges that what the Marauders did to Snape was bad, and shows that Lily did berate James for her treatment of Snape. And despite his dislike of Snape, Harry seemingly thinks that the Marauders went too far with their bullying too, although he doesn’t really dwell on it much. It’s also heavily implied that the Marauders later grew up, became more mature and stopped being bullies, so at least there’s that too.

** Dumbledore engages in petty bullying of Muggles. In the sixth book, for example, he visits the Dursleys aund ''forces'' them to drink an unknown substance while chiding them for their so-called poor manners.

** An authority figure's open favoritism of the protagonists' rivals is used to characterize that character as a {{Jerkass}}. [=McGonagall=] (the Head of Gryffindor House, and the Deputy Headmistress), on the other hand, is portrayed as strict but fair despite the fact that she breaks the rules to put Harry on the team as a first year.

** Snape has spent roughly the last two decades as a spy for the good guys at both great personal risk and great personal cost, and has personally saved Harry's life a couple of times. Harry is perfectly aware of all of this. Yet Harry seems hung up on the fact that Snape doesn't like him and is an unfair and vindictive teacher, as if these facts cancelled out all the rest. He even lets Snape die in front of his eyes without even attempting to rescue him, and doesn't seem in the least remorseful about that. Nor, apparently, are the readers supposed to feel bad about it. To be fair, there’s not much Harry could’ve done to save Snape anyway, and he still named one of his children after him in the epilogue, so at the very least, Harry seems to acknowledge what Snape did for him and his mother.