: Re: How do you keep a villainous character from being offensive to a particular group? If the villain of your story is a member of a certain group, how do you keep the story from being offensive

@Pierce369

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Deal with the implied stereotype

I think the fear here is that a negative portrayal of a person from a particular group implies a stereotype of that group. The simple way to avoid that is to portray the villain as an individual that is different from, and possibly even rejected by, that group. This obliterates the stereotype and also opens up interesting dramatic possibilities, as you can now illustrate his villainy through contrast with others, and you have a more detailed backstory that almost writes itself.

For example, perhaps your villain served in a unit whose other members are distinguished and decorated. Maybe part of his villainy is partly wrapped up with jealously of the other surviving members. Or perhaps you can write a scene where his former colleagues have a chance to state their opinions, fears, sympathies, or hatred of this individual. Or if you want to be a bit more subtle, you can focus on the ambiguous feelings that can result when an individual strays from the good path followed by his peers.

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