Captain Bligh might as well be an entry in literature http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mutiny_on_the_Bounty_(novel)
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Captain Pedant
My sympathy for Khaaaaaaann! is always slightly muted in that he voluntarily chose to strike a noble pose and proclaim that it was better to rule in Hell than serve in Heaven. Take that stand, and you don't really have grounds for complaint if the exile planet you wind up on turns out to be Hell after all rather than the Garden of Eden you were secretly hoping for — still less should you nurse a grievance against the man you tried to murder in the first place and who rewarded you with freedom. A peaceful and long life in the Federation awaited Khan if he'd only been able to humble himself enough to accept it.
Never criticize a man until you've walked a mile in his shoes. That way, when you criticize him, you're a mile away and you've got his shoes.
I don't think people got that Mark Twain quote. It's from his autobiography, and it was his mother who said it, to show what a kind-hearted person she was. But more importantly he was dissing Christians for their hypocrisy about extending love and forgiveness to all people, but making exceptions, like for Satan. It's like "Love thy neighbor - except for that guy".
Edited by bbmofo
I was surprised this wasn't called "Sympathy for the Devil." Since there's another trope with that name, and yet it's still the phrase that comes to mind when this trope is described...maybe "Empathy for the Devil?" Or maybe call the other trope Empathy and this one Sympathy. I think that would fit them a lot better.