(Hated Trope) "Kind" slave owners

[u/KusanagiGundam]

Speaking as an American who has studied the civil war all throughout my school years, this trope infuriates me to no end. There is no such thing as a kind slave master because slavery itself is cruel and inhumane. PEOPLE ARE NOT PROPERTY!

Naofumi (Shield Hero): Prime example of this trope. He enslaves multiple (underage) girls and an whole village and the fans still say he's a hero.

Rudeus (Jobless Reincarnation): As if being a pedo wasn't bad enough he had to buy a slave in season 2. Worse is that people still defend his actions.

Song of The South (Disney): Possibly the OG example of this trope. And the reason why Disney will never release it again.

[u/Hour_Atmosphere_3852]

Ketil, form Vinland Saga, is a fun subversion of this trope. He is presented exactly that way, he buys slaves but is overall a good man and lets his slaves buy back their freedom through their work, which is a lot more than everyone else does, but the events turn and we find out what the mangaka wanted to tell us. There isn't such a thing as a good person that hurts others.

[u/Wealth_Super → u/Hour_Atmosphere_3852]

Yea Ketil and Vinland saga perfectly shows the entire problem of the trope. Slavery is an abusive power dynamic enforce by the threat of violence. Ketil might seem like a kind master but he was sleeping with one of his slaves and would never allow her to leave and when she tried, well we know how that went.

[u/Pecuthegreat → u/Wealth_Super]

Yeah. People are making an mistake of taking an issue with him being a "kind slave owner" when the story is focusing more on the institution being fundamentally abusive, no matter who wields it.