[annie_muss]

This article really makes sense.

I think back on my past and all the evil actions I have taken have all been fed by very low self-worth and insecurity.

When you think of yourself as below everyone else, trying to bring them down to your level with malicious acts can feel like quite reasonable. You're "punching up" so you can feel a sense of righteous justification.

It's only looking back that I realize I wasn't nearly as weak as I thought.

[mablopoule]

Another TV show that played with this concept well is "30 Rocks", with the main protagonist dreading to go to her high school reunion because she was a nerdy girl mocked by the high-school bully, As the episode go on, she realize that she was the bully, everyone was terrified of her and her extremely cruel remarks, including her friend who was afraid of her, turning the whole 'underdog nerd' trope on it's head.

On a more serious note, this is also why I'm wary of the "punching up" or "punching down" rethoric, because it's often easy to downplay any form of violence as justified retribution.

[stavros]

I wish the show were called "30 Rocks" now, and was about gemstones.

[xg15]

Finally the series that we've been waiting for in which the protagonists are 30-somethings and actually happy?

[pavlov]

Or a romantic comedy where the protagonist gets proposed thirty times with different rings.

[stavros]

Oh that's even better, it could be about relationships and letdowns.

[totetsu]

you might like Steven Universe

[Terr_]

"30 Rocks from the Sun."

[UltraSane]

30 Rock is one of the funniest and smartest TV shows of all time.

[colpabar]

It's a perfect show. There are so many hilarious lines. My favorite has to be when tracy says "don't make me show you the back of my hand" and then on his hand is written "please be nice to me".

[redhale]

My second favorite show of all time (second only to Arrested Development). Many shows have memorable/quotable lines, but 30 Rock has more memorable lines per season than many shows do in their entire run. It is rapid fire on another level.

My favorite that I use on a regular basis, from Tracy: "I can't change! I'm like a chameleon -- always a lizard."

[spease]

Reminds me of “The Bully and the Beast” by Orson Scott Card.

[xg15]

This. You don't even need the "punching up" justification, sometimes low self worth itself can be enough to rationalize behavior. Something like "I'm a loser anyway, so of course I do things that losers do". This is bad!