Things I do not like in fiction #2: Losing your humanity through tragic circumstance

[sqbr]

I've been trying to articulate a particular trope I absolutely can't stand for a while, and talking with Cam about the demons in Supernatural(*) crystalized it: when something horrible and unfair happens to someone, and as a result they "lose their humanity" and become a Bad Guy. The main context I'm thinking of is when your main characters' job is to hunt down bad guys, and this type of bad guy is used to create a little pathos before the inevitable thrilling showdown.

This trope is particularly odious when the "unfair thing" is some sort of real world injustice, and this bad guy is the only victim of it we meet. Thus implying that everyone who suffers this injustice becomes a crazy bad guy. Sexual assault (especially of children) is popular right now, but you also get female/non-white/GLBT characters who've cracked under the pressure of sexism/racism etc, or disabled/mutated/GLBT characters who've cracked under the strain of their own "freakishness". (See for example The X-Files, the Other, and the Mutant Enemy)

It's like writers want to play around with hot-button/emotionally affecting issues, but they can't bring their minds to accepting that the victims of these injustices are actual people, instead seeing them as an incomprehensibly broken Other.

As with lovable bastards, the other option is to have them die tragically/redemptively. This elevates them from bad guy to victim, but they still don't get to be an active, effective character choosing their own destiny. I think stories which introduce an unfair situation and then have everyone die can be very emotionally effective, but imo they're also somewhat lazy, because they give that catharsis of the problem being "resolved" without really looking at how it might actually be resolved.

I may stop there, I hope these posts don't leave me with a bunch of narky comments in the morning :)

EDIT (since penchaft complained): I can't find any tv tropes which are quite right, but here's Redemption=death, Bring Out Your Gay Dead, Freudian Excuse and In The Blood.

(*)which from the sound of things don't actually fulfill it since the demons literally stop being human. But they inspired me nonetheless :)