History Main / SelectiveEnforcement

** In [[SuckySchool South Park Elementary]], refusing to vote will get you exiled from town, whereas bullying numerous students [[DrivenToSuicide to suicide]] or infecting another student with [=HIV=] will just warrant a small lecturing from the ([[ArtisticLicenseEducation severely incompetent]]) school staff.

** In [[SuckySchool South Park Elementary]], refusing to vote will get you exiled from town, while bullying numerous students [[DrivenToSuicide to suicide]] or infecting another student with [=HIV=] will just warrant a small lecturing from the ([[ArtisticLicenseEducation severely incompetent]]) school staff.

* ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'': [[PoliceAreUseless Blubs and Durland]] will ignore a man snatching an old lady's purse right in front of them, but are quick to respond to reports of excessive giggling.

* Midway through ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger'' Steve Rogers, Peggy Carter, and Howard Stark go against orders and fly a plane deep behind enemies lines so Cap can rescue some P.O.W.s, only for the mission to apparently go wrong and result in the deaths of the captain and all the prisoners. Stark, naturally, has [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections a suit of solid gold armor to shield him from the consequences]] but Colonel Phillips is ''very'' quick to inform Peggy that she and even himself will enjoy no such protections or lenience. Thankfully, however, it turns out Captain America survived and brought every single P.O.W. back to camp with him.

* Snape from the ''Literature/HarryPotter'' series is biased and unfair towards the Gryffindors -- deducting points from the protagonists and giving them detentions for no cause or for minor infractions -- while typically ignoring wrong-doing by Slytherins.

* The late political cartoonist Herbert Block's 1972 book "State of the Union" featured cartoons he did during the first four years of the Nixon Administration. In a chapter about law and order, one cartoon had a federal agent having left his car after seeing smoke from rising from behind a fence. He sees it's a young thug who has gunned down an innocent victim. The Fed wipes his brow in relief and says "Whew! At first I thought it was marijuana smoke!"

* ''Fanfic/InfinityTrainBlossomingTrail'' has Chloe, after going through a horrible day at school, getting her ass kicked by Ash in a battle, her father not noticing her dislike on Pokémon and Mr. Mime making curry on Ash and Goh's request -- as they're nothing more than a reminder that she and Goh are drifting apart -- lashing out by slamming a plate of hot curry in Goh's face and splashing water Ash's face in fury. But Professor Cerise chews his daughter out for being angry, making Chloe believe that Ash and Goh will '''always''' have his support but she will never have his love or support in the slightest. It's one of the few things that gets her on the Infinity Train, that this DoubleStandard is just a part of her life and no one cares for her.

* ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'': Blubs and Durland will ignore a man snatching an old lady's purse right in front of them, but are quick to respond to reports of excessive giggling.

** A darker comedic version is played out with Homer and Frank Grimes. When Frank Grimes tries to live and work like Homer does, he quickly discovers that [[PlotArmor only Homer]] can [[RealityEnsues grab high-voltage wires without safety gloves and live.]]

* ''Series/{{Pyramid}}'': Some clues got by in the upfront game and the Winner's Circle and others got cuckooed or buzzed. A bad example is the Winner's Circle clue "Mulberries" for "Things on a Bush", both on the 80s versions. One time, it led to a $25,000-win and another, it was buzzed. The kick in the pants? On the latter, the contestant had to match $10,000 to come back the next day.

* ''Series/MatchGame'' has always been notorious for their judging of matching answers. Synonyms are obviously fine, but if a contestant says an answer that covers a general area and the celebrities give a specific answer using the same word (and vice versa), no points are awarded. This is what led to the infamous "School Riot" episode where "school" and "finishing school" was disallowed as a match.

* ''Film/AngerManagement'' centers on this trope. An excessively passive man is sentenced to anger management classes for allegedly (but not really) starting a commotion on an airplane. And it happens again, each time with him accidentally insulting or harming a [[MistakenForRacist woman/ disabled person/ ethnic minority]] that would ensure that no jury would pity him. [[spoiler:It was all a MassiveMultiplayerScam, with these manipulative folk being presented as the good guys.]] Except the guy with the tazer. He was just having a bad day.

* ''ComicBook/UltimateSpiderMan'': Peter breaks the chair, and the teacher wants to make sure he's alright, and tells him to get another one. Flash laughs about it, and gets detention. Peter attacks Flash with the basket ball for trying to flirt with Mary Jane, and the gym teacher praises him for finally having some aim, and tells Flash to hit the showers. To be fair, Flash is a JerkJock who has been bullying Peter for years, while Peter is a well-behaved and good-natured student who has been subject to bullying for his entire life, so you can see where the teachers are coming from.

* ''ComicBook/UltimateSpiderMan'': Peter breaks the chair, and the teacher wants to make sure he's right, and tells him to get another one. Flash laughs about it, and gets detention. Peter attacks Flash with the basket ball for trying to flirt with Mary Jane, and the gym teacher praises him for finally having some aim, and tells Flash to hit the showers. To be fair, Flash is a JerkJock who has been bullying Peter for years, while Peter is a well-behaved and good-natured student who has been subject to bullying for his entire life, so you can see where the teachers are coming from.

* A ''lot'' of ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'' fanfics include this plot device.
** In fights between Ranma and Akane, nobody will take Ranma's side in any argument no matter what, with everybody siding with Akane no matter what.
** During fights between Ranma and Ryoga, Ryoga will use his curse to pose as P-chan, Akane's favorite pet. So when Ranma and Ryoga get into disagreements, all Ryoga has to do is turn into P-chan, and Akane will ''always'' side against Ranma for "picking on a poor defenseless pig".
* ''Fanfic/InfinityTrainBlossomingTrail'' has Chloe, after going through a horrible day at school, getting her ass kicked by Ash in a battle, her father not noticing her dislike on Pokémon and Mr. Mime making curry on Ash and Goh's request -- as they're nothing more than a reminder that she and Goh are drifting apart -- lashing out by slamming a plate of hot curry in Goh's face and splashing water Ash's face in fury. But Professor Cerise chews his daughter out for being angry, making Chloe believe that Ash and Goh will '''always''' have his support but she will never have his love or support in the slightest. It's one of the few things that gets her on the Infinity Train, that this DoubleStandard is just a part of her life and no one cares for her.
* ''[[Fanfic/OrDidItEatTheLittleGirl let's go out with a bang!]]'': While both [[InsufferableGenius Miu]] and [[TheGadfly Kokichi]] have retained the most provacative aspects of their personalities from ''[[VisualNovel/DanganronpaV3KillingHarmony Danganronpa V3]]'', Kokichi is given ''significantly'' more leeway. He ''constantly'' baits and berates Miu, but whenever she responds in kind, the others act as though ''she's'' more at fault for biting back. PlayedWith in that, while there's a definite imbalance, it's not quite as severe as Miu [[UnreliableNarrator perceives it]] -- Kokichi ''is'' scolded and chided for his behavior; it just doesn't ''stop him''. This also feeds her paranoia and [[NeverMyFault refusal to accept]] ''[[NeverMyFault her]]'' [[NeverMyFault amount of the blame]], with increasingly dramatic -- and tragic -- results.

* ''[[Fanfic/OrDidItEatTheLittleGirl let's go out with a bang!]]'': While both [[InsufferableGenius Miu]] and [[TheGadfly Kokichi]] have retained the most provacative aspects of their personalities from ''[[VisualNovel/DanganronpaV3KillingHarmony Danganronpa V3]]'', Kokichi is given ''significantly'' more leeway. He ''constantly'' baits and berates Miu, but whenever she responds in kind, the others act as though ''she's'' more at fault for biting back. PlayedWith in that, while there's a definite imbalance, it's not quite as severe as Miu perceives it -- Kokichi ''is'' scolded and chided for his behavior; it just doesn't ''stop him''. This also feeds her paranoia and [[NeverMyFault refusal to accept]] ''[[NeverMyFault her]]'' [[NeverMyFault amount of the blame]], with increasingly dramatic -- and tragic -- results.

** Butters could have his entire life summarized as the CantGetAwayWithNuthin side of this trope. It reaches DudeNotFunny levels.

** In the episode, "Fingerbang", the mall security guard allows a [[ObviouslyEvil mad scientist with a jar full of anthrax to pass by]], but will immediately attack anyone else with pepper spray for even a minor rule breach, if even that.

* ''Fanfic/InfinityTrainBlossomingTrail'' has Chloe, going through a horrible day at school, got her ass kicked by Ash in a battle, her father not noticing her dislike on Pokémon and Mr. Mime making curry on Ash and Goh's request -- as they're nothing more than a reminder that she and Goh are drifting apart -- lashing out by slamming a plate of hot curry in Goh's face and splashing water Ash's face in fury. But Professor Cerise chews his daughter out for being angry, making Chloe believe that Ash and Goh will '''always''' have his support but she will never have his love or support in the slighest. It's one of the few things that gets her on the Infinity Train, that this DoubleStandard is just a part of her life and no one cares for her.

* During the Davy Beck arc of ''Manga/OnePiece'', the Straw Hat pirates have to play games against the Foxy pirates. One of their biggest disadvantages is that the referee is a member of the Foxy pirates who ignores any and all fouls committed by his side while making sure the Straw Hats can't get away with the same things.

* ''FanFic/RosarioVampireBrightestDarkness'':

* ''WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddy'': In "Smile for the Ed", the Cul-De-Sac kids ruthlessly torture Eddy into a nervous breakdown in the cafeteria, yet the school staff never punish them. When Eddy is accused of impersonating the principal ([[MisplacedRetribution which was]] ''[[MisplacedRetribution Edd's]]'' [[MisplacedRetribution wrongdoing]]), however, the school staff end up punishing ''him''.

** A darker comedic version is played out with Homer and Frank Grimes. When Frank Grimes tries to live and work like Homer does, but quickly discovers that [[PlotArmor only Homer]] can [[RealityEnsues grab high-voltage wires without safety gloves and live.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddy'': In "Smile for the Ed", the Cul-De-Sac kids ruthlessly torture Eddy into a nervous breakdown, yet the school staff never punish them. When Eddy is accused of impersonating the principal (which was ''Edd's'' wrongdoing), however, the school staff end up punishing ''him''.

* ''Fanfic/InfinityTrainBlossomingTrail'' has Chloe, going through a horrible day at school, got her ass kicked by Ash in a battle, her father not noticing her dislike on Pokémon and Mr. Mime making curry on Ash and Goh's request -- as they're nothing more than a reminder that she and Goh are drifting apart -- lashing out by slamming a plate of hot curry in Goh's face and splashing water Ash's face in fury. But Professor Cerise chews his daughter out for being angry, making Chloe believe that Ash and Goh will '''always''' have his support but she will never do. It's one of the few things that gets her on the Infinity Train, that this DoubleStandard is just a part of her life and no one cares for her.

[[folder:Fan Fic]]

* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/{{Arthur}}'', Arthur punches [[AnnoyingYoungerSibling D.W.]] for messing with his model plane without his consent and destroying it in the process. His parents don't punish D.W. for messing with his model plane, and only punish Arthur for retaliating. They even show no sympathy towards him after he gets punched by Binky unprovoked, telling him he deserved it for punching D.W.

One character sees another getting away with something that is against the rules. If he speaks up everyone ignores him. So he decides to join in, and commits some very minor violation. He is immediately caught and has the book thrown at him.

* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/{{Arthur}}'', Arthur punches [[AnnoyingYoungerSibling D.W.]] for messing with his model plane without his consent and destroying it in the process. His parents don't punish D.W. for messing with his model plane, and only punish Arthur for retaliating. They even show no sympathy towards him after he gets punched by Binky unprovoked, viewing it as LaserGuidedKarma instead of bullying.