This is one part of the central conceit of Hannah Arendt's nonfiction book about the Nuremberg trials, The Banality of Evil.
I think the Westboro Baptist Church entry doesn't belong here. Unless I'm misunderstanding, this trope is basically for people who don't care about the cause they're fighting for as much as they do about getting a paycheck, which is definitely not true of the WBC. They'd probably fit better under Affably Evil.
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I think most Westboro members are punch clock villains because they've been brainwashed since day one. You really can't blame the individual members for what they do. Blame Fred or those who joined the cult as adults.
That still doesn't describe a punch clock villain. Even if you're 100% right, they still believe in their cause even if it's because they're Brainwashed and Crazy.
Besides it's irrelevant as no real life examples are allowed.
Found a Youtube Channel with political stances you want to share? Hop on over to this page and add them.
I'm aware that real life examples are forbidden for this trope. I just wanted to express my opinion about them since it was already mentioned and that this is a discussion entry.
I don't think Tarquin from The Order Of The Stick counts. While he doesn't really hate the heroes, he is a clear-cut villain of the story, especially since he joined the race for the MacGuffin.
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Plus, the description that he isn't a sadist is untrue.
Either that, or while Tarquin might not get joy out of horribly tormenting people, neither does he see it as wrong.
Just want to comment without nattering the main article.
- They also would have been shot if they didnt follow orders.
A common myth, but it's actually not true at all. In fact, there was one case of a guy drafted to serve in the Police Battalions (which were basically the ragtag civilian Jew-hunting squads) who was so morally outraged at the work he was assigned to do that he spent months doing nothing but curse at everyone in sight and write angry letters to Berlin. Eventually, the official response from the top was to apologize to him and transfer him to some other less murderous job. Don't remember what it was exactly, but it apparently actually amounted to a promotion for him since it was a better paid or more respected position or something.
The slavery portion of this article is way too...wishy-washy. On one hand, it's basically saying "slavery and slavers aren't all that bad...", while at the same time, staying true to the article. That particular section should be cleaned up a tad, yet I am not sure how.
Linking to a past Trope Repair Shop thread that dealt with this page: Slavery Section
, started by sims796 on Nov 5th 2010 at 3:18:16 AM
"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman