In defense of the bad guy

I have this reputation of being the good guy. In pro wrestling terms they call that the face. In literature, they call it the hero.

I call it lucky.

Being the face, I tend to get away with things that others who aren't perceived as “good guys” can't. When I crack a joke, it's me being silly and funny. When a bad guy does it, it's mean and malicious.

I didn't realize this until high school when I saw it first hand.

I remember having a conversation in high school with a friend, let's call her Becky. Becky didn't appreciate that my friend Billy (in wrestling terms, a “heel” or bad guy) was teasing her. Except the same jokes he said, I said similar earlier in the day.

“But you're nice. So it's different.”

I mean, I'll take it, but that's not the right reaction for Billy. He shouldn't be vilified for something I also did but didn't get in trouble for. That's not how it should work.

I get it. Intent is important. If he was being mean then sure. But if not, then why should said action be treated differently person by person?

I went through this the other day when someone was trying to tell me a bad guy was doing bad things. Except those “bad things” involves stuff I did. So naturally I reminded them, “well, I do that too. So what's the issue?”

“It’s not, because you're good.”

That's a problem.

I'm not saying I need to start being vilified but how about we give these heels a bit of credit. They are bad guys for a reason - just not the reason you are suggesting.