Things baked into Terry Pratchett books that I didn't realise at first but very much needed and benefited from:
Being unpleasant, weird, socially difficult, off-putting, uncomfortable to be around, annoying, obnoxious, etc does not equal being a bad person
And it definitely doesn't mean others don't have a duty of baseline care about you
They don't have to like you but there is a baseline "we live in a society and I care about what happens to the people around me" type of duty that you are owed
They can think you're unpleasant to be around and even stupid and cringe in your presence but there is a duty of care to your existence
And if you are doing bad things you can stop
There are always chances to think about your actions and why you're doing them and if you really believe it's the right thing
There is always an option to stop
And some people do
And some people don't
But if people do that doesn't mean they aren't still maybe unpleasant to be around or awkward or uncomfortable
The "bad guys" in Terry Pratchett tend to
1. Believe they are in the right
2. Never question that belief
3. Have multiple opportunities to not be doing what they are doing but fully commit
4. May have points that at least feel reasonable on a surface level if you don't think about them too deeply
5. Face consequences of their own actions. Which includes the protagonist having to slap them down. If they didn't put the stuff in motion and refuse to back down they wouldn't be getting slapped
They aren't cartoon baddies they are really realised characters with convictions that they believe in and truly tend to believe their actions are the best thing to be doing. That they are doing what others should have already done
But in Terry Pratchett what makes you on the wrong side of the narrative is not your personality or your looks or how sociable you are
It's your continuing actions that define you AND your unwillingness to change
And I think I very much needed that reinforced in my life
Discworld Heritage Post
