Oh, my poor bleeding heart!
A: “The Chinese are coming! The Chinese are coming!” Oh I really feel for the poor ass-kicked students of Singapore with all my gibbering mind and bleeding heart. :(
A: “Chinese lessons to be tailored to ability” What’re they gonna do next, sew metal buttons onto the ACS uniform?
OH YEAH, look at me crying — it’s despair event horizon. Dude, where’s my respect? Great big tears! Great big tears! Break the Cutie!
*
The Ballad of the Bleeding Heart Liberal
My life has been a horror,
since I took up the liberal’s art.
But now I don’t feel so guilty
(It’s great to be a “bleeding heart”).
The secret of this art is easy:
just be nice to everyone.
Even to murderers and molesters
(It doesn’t matter what they’ve done).
Every guilt was on my shoulders;
now listen to my tale:
I’m responsible for all evil
(I’m white, middle-class, and male).
Villains robbed my house once,
and my family they did assault.
But this was due to society’s ills
(I knew it was not their fault).
My daughter tried to stop them;
they beat her with boot and fist.
I did not try to save her
(I’m a “born-again” pacifist).
Their actions I could not judge;
other people, I cannot condemn.
Even though my wife was “graped”
(there was a “bunch” of them).
It was the same some years before,
fighting Japs in jungle mud.
I never shot a-one of them
(couldn’t stand to see yellow blood).
In the future, when the Asian hordes
follow their brothers’ call:
They’ll outnumber Aussies ten to one
(”We’re all human”, after all).
My eldest son now condemns me,
and tells me I’m a “nong”,
because I sold my country to the Japs
(now, how could that be wrong?).
My son thinks I’m an idiot,
and he says I’ve got no hope.
But I call myself a “liberal”
(perhaps it should be “dope”?).
The Ballad of the Bleeding-Heart Liberal, 1995
*
Hah.
Trouble rather the tiger in his lair than the sage amongst his books. For to you kingdoms and armies are things mighty and enduring, but to him they are but toys of the moment, to be overturned by the flicking of a finger …
— Anonymous
Vegeta: Hold on… You went to college?
Nappa: Yeah.
Vegeta: What the hell could someone like you possibly major in?
Nappa: Child Psychology…
Gohan: Wow! That sounds really interesti-
Nappa: WITH A MINOR IN PAIN! *chops of Tien’s arm*
— Dragon Ball Z Abridged (though Abridged Nappa doesn’t quite fit the trope…)
The Big Guy isn’t just tough, but has a tough time of things due to The Worf Effect, being used as a punching bag to prove how dangerous the Monster Of The Week or Villain Of The Week really is. There are some characters who can avoid that trap though. This is a guy who, after displaying his prowess in combat, goes back to being the unassuming Scholar, to the point where we almost forget he’s stronger than the Lightning Bruiser.
A Smart Guy who Minored In Ass Kicking is a characters who, like targets of The Worf Effect, is among the strongest in the cast. The difference being that not only do they rarely get beat up, most anyone challenging them gets their ass handed to them.
Despite this, they probably aren’t a Boring Invincible Hero because they prefer to use their brains and/or diplomacy to solve a problem, and will gladly let the rest of the cast flex their own muscles, only intervening directly when the situation is dire. It’s this emphasis on non-combat that saves the from The Worf Barrage, by keeping their combat skills as a hidden depth they pull out maybe every fourth episode.
Despite their lifesaving combat skills, they may pose a danger to their friends when they aren’t fully in control of themselves. When mind controlled they are unbeatable because they are unrestrained, if angered they are unstoppable, and all this usually comes wrapped up in a Nice Guy package. Beware The Nice Ones, indeed.
(Sometimes, trying to Break The Cutie can have consequences. Sometimes, the nicest person in the story gets pushed to the limit of what they can take and the results… are not pretty.
The sweeter, gentler, more polite, and overall nicer a character is, especially if they’re female, the worse it will be for the planet when they’re subjected to one too many rounds of Break The Cutie, or Dude Wheres My Respect, Rant Inducing Slight, or hitting their Berserk Button. What was once a sweet and nice individual suddenly snaps and becomes something far worse then the Big Bad could have expected.
It’s called Unstoppable Rage for a reason, you know.
Things get even worse if they’re a Technical Pacifist, and worse still if they’re an Actual Pacifist, since outright villains will only kill you. If a sweet, gentle soul snaps, all you can do is pray for a quick death. )
Compare Badass Bookworm. Contrast Dumbass No More. See also Martial Pacifist.