History Main / SelectiveEnforcement

* In the ''Literature/WaysideSchool'' books, Todd always gets in trouble three times over the course of the day and is always sent home early on the kindergarten bus. On multiple occasions, this is due to a selective enforcement plot when the rest of the class gets away with things, but he gets caught for a minor infraction. For example, the whole classroom will be misbehaving with the teacher not paying attention, but the second Todd opens his mouth, [[SevenMinuteLull the entire class is silent]] and he's caught talking in class. Similarly, one scene has Joy bugging him over what page he's on in the math book, and mocking him for being so far behind her. Her mocking gets very, very loud. But when he finally loses his cool, he's the one who gets in trouble. Immediately after he saved the lives of everyone in the class. At least he got a hero’s goodbye. What a JerkAss Mrs. Jewls and Joy were.
** To be fair, in ''A Bad Day'', Mrs. Jewls does show concern for him when he is late for school. She does often punish him when he has not even done anything, but [[ForYourOwnGood she genuinely thinks it will help him along the way]]. Mrs. Jewls has been nice to him on occasions, for instance in ''The Best Part'', she lets Todd erase his name from the discipline list and gives him a Tootsie Roll Pop when he brings in his toy dog. In ''Blame It on the Cloud'', Todd is the only student Mrs. Jewls does not punish claiming he has been on his good behavior lately.

** "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS7E11MargeBeNotProud Marge Be Not Proud]]", Nelson, Jimbo, and Bart all steal from Try 'N Save, but only Bart gets caught by Detective Brodka and [[CantGetAwayWithNuthin faces severe punishment for his actions]]. For some reason, he either massively FailedASpotCheck and didn't notice their attempts at shoplifting (despite them being, if anything, ''more'' obvious than Bart's), or didn't feel the need to also punish Nelson and Jimbo and so he [[KarmaHoudini lets them get away with their crimes]].

* This happens in ''Webcomic/OzyAndMillie'', due to the author's bad experiences in school. A specific example is when the local bully Jeremy keeps pushing Millie into the mud and the nearby teacher doesn't lift a finger. But when [[TheDogBitesBack Millie finally has had enough and hits the bully in retaliation]], the teacher is immediately there to drag her to the principal's office.

* This happens in ''Webcomic/OzyAndMillie'', due to the author's bad experiences in school.

** Nowadays, it seems that in Bikini Bottom, harassing your business rival to [[DrivenToSuicide near-suicide]], destroying stuff because you've got the IQ of a turnip, or being an all-around annoying {{Jerkass}} with NoIndoorVoice is perfectly acceptable. Littering, reading somebody else’s diary, etc., however, can get you an orange jumpsuit or stock. Just ask Squidward or Mrs. Puff.

** In [[SuckySchool South Park Elementary]], refusing to vote will not only get you expelled from school but ''from the entire town'', whereas bullying numerous students [[DrivenToSuicide to suicide]], intentionally infecting another student with [=HIV=] or any other criminal-level offense will simply warrant a small lecturing from the ([[ArtisticLicenseEducation severely incompetent]]) school staff.

** In [[SuckySchool South Park Elementary]], refusing to vote will not only get you expelled from school but ''from the entire town'', whereas bullying numerous students [[DrivenToSuicide to suicide]], infecting another student with [=HIV=] or any other criminal-level offense will simply warrant a small lecturing from the ([[ArtisticLicenseEducation severely incompetent]]) school staff.

** In [[SuckySchool South Park Elementary]], refusing to vote will not only get you expelled from school but ''from the entire town'', whereas bullying numerous students [[DrivenToSuicide to suicide]] or any other criminal-level offense will simply warrant a small lecturing from the ([[ArtisticLicenseEducation severely incompetent]]) school staff.

** A darker comedic version is played out with Homer and Frank Grimes in "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS8E23HomersEnemy Homer's Enemy]]". When Frank Grimes tries to live and work like Homer does, he quickly discovers that [[PlotArmor only Homer]] can [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome grab high-voltage wires without safety gloves and live.]]

** Lampshaded in "[[Recap/SpongeBobSquarePantsS2E13ShanghaiedGaryTakesABath Shanghaied]]". Squidward ends up the Flying Dutchman's punching bag just for talking, Spongebob and Patrick's antics and attempts to escape get only very light snark. Squidward angrily demands why they get off so easy, only to get struck by a punishment bolt again. Deconstructed afterwards, when Squidward won't stop babbling the Flying Dutchman loses patience and kicks him out of his ship, while the other two are kept his prisoners and [[PityTheKidnapper drive him crazy due to lack of punishment.]]

** "[[Recap/SouthParkS4E8SomethingYouCanDoWithYourFinger Something You Can Do with Your Finger]]", 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.

** In [[SuckySchool South Park Elementary]], refusing to vote will not only get you expelled from school but ''from the entire town'', whereas bullying numerous students [[DrivenToSuicide to suicide]], infecting another student with [=HIV=] or any other criminal-level offense will simply warrant a small lecturing from the ([[ArtisticLicenseEducation severely incompetent]]) school staff.

Almost always played as comedy trope, this trope can range from a single scene to a whole plotline. It is is rarely done as drama, despite the dramatic potential. It is a fairly subversive trope, showing a poor fit between actions and consequence.

* In the ''Literature/WaysideSchool'' books, Todd always gets in trouble three times over the course of the day and is always sent home early on the kindergarten bus. On multiple occasions, this is due to a selective enforcement plot when the rest of the class gets away with things, but he gets caught for a minor infraction. For example, the whole classroom will be misbehaving with the teacher not paying attention, but the second Todd opens his mouth, [[SevenMinuteLull the entire class is silent]] and he's caught talking in class. Similarly, one scene has Joy bugging him over what page he's on in the math book, and mocking him for being so far behind her. Her mocking gets very, very loud. But when he finally loses his cool, he's the one who gets in trouble. Immediately after he saved the lives of everyone in the class.
** At least he got a hero’s goodbye. What a JerkAss Mrs. Jewls and Joy were.

* ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'': Marshall talked his way out of a ticket by offering to bring the cop to his barbecue. Robin, being a pretty girl, can get out of a ticket easily. Barney? No way.
** It doesn't help that he takes getting out of a ticket as a challenge and proceeds to get a dozen tickets as a means of proving that he can get out of one.

* An early ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoSanAndreas'' mission has you fleeing on bicycles from gangsters shooting at you with machine guns from a car. The police won't respond even as they stand in the gangster's line of fire, but so help you if your bike bumps into them.
** This is pretty much the standard for virtually anything in GTA. Although it's common to see officers chasing after other people, the cops will never bust the psycho with the SMG shooting at you from a pimpmobile. Oh, and you'll get stars for shooting back.

* In sharp contrast to GTA tradition, the police in ''VideoGame/SaintsRow2'' will help you in firefights with rival gangs if they see the other gang firing first and if you don't hit any police or civilians.

** In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS12E5HomerVsDignity Homer vs. Dignity]]", Burns also laughs his butt off when Homer throws pudding at Lenny. But the moment he throws one at Carl, Burns snarls at him and goes to help Carl.

*** Homer and Marge usually do this to Bart. For example in "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS15E6TodayIAmAClown Today I Am A Clown]]", Lisa gets Homer to use his newfound fame to talk about the important issues. This causes his fan base to turn against him and his star plummets. Yet he is never shown to be angry at Lisa but strangles Bart when he calls him out for listening to her even though Lisa shows no guilt about what she did. This is also inverted as Homer and Marge would often go to great lengths to help Lisa while ignoring Bart. In [[Recap/TheSimpsonsS9E17LisaTheSimpson Lisa the Simpson]], Homer immediately stopped caring about the Simpson Gene when it's discovered that it only affects Bart. Marge will also chastise Lisa for trying to sabotage Maggie, but when Lisa accidentally cripples Bart, Marge tells him that he should feel sorry for her.

** In "[[Recap/EdEddNEddyS5E2SmileForTheEd Smile for the Ed]]", the [[KidsAreCruel Cul-De-Sac kids]] harass Eddy into a nervous breakdown in the cafeteria, yet the school staff never punish them. When Eddy is accused of [[FelonyMisdemeanor impersonating the principal]] ([[MisplacedRetribution which was actually Edd's wrongdoing]]), however, the school staff end up punishing ''him''.

** In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS16E2AllsFairInOvenWar All's Fair in Oven War]]", despite witnessing the other contestants sabotaging Marge's entries, Lisa does nothing about it. But when Marge decides to get even with them, [[DoubleStandard Lisa calls her out on it and forces her to confess what she did]].

** Ed gets [[DisproportionateRetribution severely punished]] for every small thing he does by [[AbusiveParents his parents]] (to the point of ''[[RefugeInAudacity removing the stairs to the basement since he's grounded]]''), while Sarah gets away with ''every'' bad deed she commits. ParentalFavoritism is on full display here.

** In "[[Recap/EdEddNEddyS5E2SmileForTheEd Smile for the Ed]]", the Cul-De-Sac kids harass Eddy into a nervous breakdown in the cafeteria, yet the school staff never punish them. When Eddy is accused of [[FelonyMisdemeanor impersonating the principal]] ([[MisplacedRetribution which was actually Edd's wrongdoing]]), however, the school staff end up punishing ''him''.

** In the episode "[[Recap/FamilyGuyS7E12Episode420 420]]," after Peter accidentally kills Quagmire's pet cat in [[DeadlyPrank a prank gone wrong]], he and Brian go to bury the body and get pulled over by the police. The cops blatantly ignore the fact that Peter has a small body bag in the backseat and is not only covered head-to-toe in blood and has a hand drawn map that explicitly says "this is where we'll hide the body", but [[DrunkDriver driving drunk]], but when they discover Brian in possession of [[DrugsAreBad a quarter-ounce of pot]], [[PoliceBrutality they arrest him on the spot and throw him in jail]].
** In the episode "[[Recap/FamilyGuyS4E10ModelMisbehavior Model Misbehavior]]," while voicing his support for Lois' modeling career, Peter states that he'll "[[ADateWithRosiePalms pleasure himself]]" to Lois' photos, to which [[ParentalIncest both Chris and Meg]] say "Me too!" In response, Peter calls out Meg, and ''only'' Meg, for saying such things about her mother, and when Meg says she was just trying to fit in, Peter responds by [[PunchAWall punching a hole in the wall]] and screaming at her to get out of the house.

*** Homer and Marge usually do this to Bart. For example in [[Recap/TheSimpsonsS15E6TodayIAmAClown Today I Am A Clown]], Lisa gets Homer to use his newfound fame to talk about the important issues. This causes his fan base to turn against him and his star plummets. Yet he is never shown to be angry at Lisa but strangles Bart when he calls him out for listening to her even though Lisa shows no guilt about what she did. This is also inverted as Homer and Marge would often go to great lengths to help Lisa while ignoring Bart. In [[Recap/TheSimpsonsS9E17LisaTheSimpson Lisa the Simpson]], Homer immediately stopped caring about the Simpson Gene when it's discovered that it only affects Bart. Marge will also chastise Lisa for trying to sabotage Maggie, but when Lisa accidentally cripples Bart, Marge tells him that he should feel sorry for her.

** In [[SuckySchool South Park Elementary]], refusing to vote will not only get you expelled from school but ''from the entire town'', whereas bullying numerous students [[DrivenToSuicide to suicide]], infecting another student with [=HIV=] or any other criminal-level activity will simply warrant a small lecturing from the ([[ArtisticLicenseEducation severely incompetent]]) school staff.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheAmazingWorldOfGumball'': In the episode "The Prank," Nicole calls out Gumball and Darwin for pranking Richard, while ignoring the fact that Richard pranked ''them'' first. When Gumball [[LampshadeHanging calls her out on it]], Nicole justifies herself by saying, "You know it's [[IdiotHoudini too late for your father]]."

** Lampshaded in "Shanghaied". Squidward ends up the Flying Dutchman's punching bag just for talking, Spongebob and Patrick's antics and attempts to escape get only very light snark. Squidward angrily demands why they get off so easy, only to get struck by a punishment bolt again. Deconstructed afterwards, when Squidward won't stop babbling the Flying Dutchman loses patience and kicks him out of his ship, while the other two are kept his prisoners and [[PityTheKidnapper drive him crazy due to lack of punishment.]]
** In "Slide Whistle Stooges," Squidward, after being complemented by [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick, performs random antics around town with a slide whistle, and the Bikini Bottomites are so annoyed with it that they [[FelonyMisdemeanor form an angry mob]] and chase after him, going so far as to ''cheer'' when Squidward unwittingly drives a gas truck off of a cliff. At the end of the episode, Sponge and Pat perform very similar antics with slide whistles around the hospital... and everyone finds it funny.

** 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 [[FelonyMisdemeanor impersonating the principal]] ([[MisplacedRetribution which was actually Edd's wrongdoing]]), however, the school staff end up punishing ''him''.

** In the episode "420," after Peter accidentally kills Quagmire's pet cat in [[DeadlyPrank a prank gone wrong]], he and Brian go to bury the body and get pulled over by the police. The cops blatantly ignore the fact that Peter has a small body bag in the backseat and is not only covered head-to-toe in blood and has a hand drawn map that explicitly says "this is where we'll hide the body", but [[DrunkDriver driving drunk]], but when they discover Brian in possession of [[DrugsAreBad a quarter-ounce of pot]], [[PoliceBrutality they arrest him on the spot and throw him in jail]].
** In the episode "Model Misbehavior," while voicing his support for Lois' modeling career, Peter states that he'll "[[ADateWithRosiePalms pleasure himself]]" to Lois' photos, to which [[ParentalIncest both Chris and Meg]] say "Me too!" In response, Peter calls out Meg, and ''only'' Meg, for saying such things about her mother, and when Meg says she was just trying to fit in, Peter responds by [[PunchAWall punching a hole in the wall]] and screaming at her to get out of the house.
** In "Screams of Silence", Joe does absolutely nothing as he witnesses Jeff beat up Brenda in the open, yet he still threatens to arrest Quagmire for saying they should kill Jeff.

** In "[[Reacp/TheSimpsonsS5E18BurnsHeir Burns' Heir]]", Homer will allow Bart flinging peas at Lisa, but he grounds him for feeding his meatloaf to the dog (especially because it was an endpiece).

*** Homer and Marge usually do this to Bart for example in [[Recap/TheSimpsonsS15E6TodayIAmAClown Today I Am A Clown]] gets Homer to use his newfound fame to talk about the important issues. This causes his fan base to turn against him and his star plummets. Yet he is never shown to be angry at Lisa but strangles Bart when he calls him out for listening to her even though Lisa shows no guilt about what she did. This is also inverted as Homer and Marge would often go to great lengths to help Lisa while ignoring Bart. In [[Recap/TheSimpsonsS9E17LisaTheSimpsons Lisa the Simpson]] Homer immediately stopped caring about the Simpson Gene when it's discovered that it only affects Bart. Marge will also chastise Lisa for trying to sabotage Maggie but when Lisa accidentally cripples Bart Marge tells him that he should feel sorry for her.

** In one episode, Lenny and Barney play pranks on Moe which involve setting him on fire and setting a cobra on him. Homer, in an attempt to join in the "harmless" fun, loosens the lid on a sugar cellar, resulting in what Moe angrily calls "the old sugar-me-do". This gets Homer banned from the bar.
** 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 [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome grab high-voltage wires without safety gloves and live.]]
** In "The Monkey Suit," Chief Wiggum arrests Lisa for teaching her classmates about evolution (which got outlawed and she was rebelling against that rule). She protests that there are much worse crimes, pointing to Snake, who is shooting people from atop the Kwik-E-Mart. Wiggum explains that it's because they only have enough funding to enforce the most recently created law (thus literally "selective enforcement"), although Wiggum does admit it is "not the best system -- in fact, it's pretty much the worst."
** In "Burns' Heir", Homer will allow Bart flinging peas at Lisa, but he grounds him for feeding his meatloaf to the dog (especially because it was an endpiece).
** Burns also laughs his butt off when Homer throws pudding at Lenny. But the moment he throws one at Carl, Burns snarls at him and goes to help Carl.

** In the Tracey Ullman shorts and early series episodes, Lisa was just as bratty and dysfunctional as Bart, though Homer tended to only target Bart for discipline. This was excused by the creative team, they were apparently a lot more uneasy when offered gags with Homer strangling Lisa compared to Bart.
*** Homer and Marge usually do this to Bart for example in [[Recap/TheSimpsonsS15E6TodayIAmAClown Today I Am A Clown]] gets Homer to use his newfound fame to talk about the important issues. This causes his fan base to turn against him and his star plummets. Yet he is never shown to be angry at Lisa but strangles Bart when he calls him out for listening to her even though Lisa shows no guilt about what she did. This is also inverted as Homer and Marge would often go to great lengths to help Lisa while ignoring Bart. In [[Recap/TheSimpsonsS9E17LisaTheSimpsons Lisa the Simpson]] Homer immediately stopped caring about the Simpson Gene when it’s discovered that it only affects Bart. Marge will also chastise Lisa for trying to sabotage Maggie but when Lisa accidentally cripples Bart Marge tells him that he should feel sorry for her.

** In the episode, "Something You Can Do with Your Finger", 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.

** In [[SuckySchool South Park Elementary]], refusing to vote will not only get you expelled from school but ''from the entire town'', whereas bullying numerous students [[DrivenToSuicide to suicide]] or infecting another student with [=HIV=] will simply warrant a small lecturing from the ([[ArtisticLicenseEducation severely incompetent]]) school staff.

** In [[SuckySchool South Park Elementary]], refusing to vote will not only get you expelled from school but ''from the entire 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.

-->'''Danny''': Dash started it! He threw-\\

** Ed gets severely punished for every small thing he does by [[AbusiveParents his parents]] (to the point of ''[[DisproportionateRetribution removing the stairs to the basement since he's grounded]]''), while Sarah gets away with ''every'' bad deed she commits. ParentalFavoritism is on full display here.

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