Is Soun really a better person than Genma?

[SpaceKnight of Chaos]

In various topics scattered around the forums, I've seen people speak up in ones and twos againstthe general belief that Soun Tendo is the better of the two when compared to his sidekick, Genma. So, I thought I'd ask it out in the open: is Soun Tendo really a better person than Genma Saotome?

Off the top of my head, these are the canonical negative things that the two have done, specifying anime & manga-exclusive acts.

Genma Saotome
-Taught Ranma the Nekoken
-Stole Ukyo's dowry
-Tried to steal the Dragon's Whisker, and continued to do so after hearing he'd make Ranma go bald
-Traded Ranma for a fish, bowl of rice, & 2 pickles (anime)
-Claimed he was going to disown Ranma for eating his sweets & tricked Ryoga into studying under him so that he could get him to beat Ranma up (anime)
-Stole the cask of Nanniichuan (manga)
-Repeatedly gets physically violent with Nodoka prior to their true reunion (manga)
-Gets into a big fight with Ranma, which he "wins" through psycological warfare, even going so far as to say they're no longer family, because he is no longer strong enough to steal Ranma's food
-Jealously tried to expose Ranma's curse to Nodoka when they first met

Soun Tendo
-Attacked Ranma, whose code won't permit him to fight back, after hearing about Genma's 'arrangement' to wed him to Ukyo
-And again when Ukyo, after having been invited to his home by Akane, tries to use that to get closer to Ranma
-Kicks Ranma out of the dojo after hearing that he lost it to the Gambling King, without asking how he lost it first
-Knows that P-chan is Ryoga, yet won't tell Akane
-Kept the cask of Nanniichuan to himself in an attempt to use it to blackmail Ranma into wedding Akane
-Throws Ranma out of the dojo after Akane drives the phoenix on Kuno's head berserk with her attempt at concocting the growth pills (anime?)
-Alongside Genma, attacked Ranma in the middle of the race for the Phoenix Pill, nearly costing Ranma a cure for the Full-Body Cat's Tongue
-Upon daydreaming about Kasumi being abducted, tries to thwart the kidnapper... by offering him Ranma-chan as his bride instead (anime)

[PCHeintz72]

Forgot Soun making and not informing his daughters of multiple engagements (Saotome & Chardin, possibly more we never heard about).

EDIT: Oh, and I can't remember off hand, was it not Soun that stated if Ranma did not get a cure for his lock when battling Herb that Ranma would need to marry Soun.

[Spokavriel]

Soun is only slightly better because as far as the series shows there is no evidence of him stealing from or exploiting his children for his own gain without Genma being a party to it as in the Chardin situation.

It may only be a gender thing but Soun never assaulted his children or subjected them to torture such as the Neko-ken. He is guilty of neglect not abuse. That doesn't make him good but it makes him clearly better than Genma in my book.

[Ezvir]

I don't have much time right now, but...

EDIT: Oh, and I can't remember off hand, was it not Soun that stated if Ranma did not get a cure for his lock when battling Herb that Ranma would need to marry Soun.

What??! Is that the Ranma project translation again?
Checking... Yes. Again. Seems like half the time they are guessing based on the pictures and a word here and there and make up their own dialogue.
He is offering to marry her off to someone else (presumably Ranma's choice) as a daughter of the Tendou familiy.

[PCHeintz72]

What??! Is that the Ranma project translation again?
Checking... Yes. Again. Seems like half the time they are guessing based on the pictures and a word here and there and make up their own dialogue.
He is offering to marry her off to someone else (presumably Ranma's choice) as a daughter of the Tendou familiy.

Sigh... there is no need to be that snide about it.

In any case, I just checked my VIZ volume 22 copy, and Soun really is not portriad all that much better in it either, though you are right it is not the same. Soun says (while speaking into a microphone):

Ranma, if by chance you cannot become a man again... ... I'll be sure to arrange a fine marriage for you.

Pretty heartless and crass if you ask me seeing how it was said in front of Akane. Given Akane and Ranma's reactions, plus the wording, it is implied it is *a* man, just not specifically him. Also presumptuous, since Soun should have no say or power whatsoever on that seeing as Soun is not a legal guardian yet.

[Spokavriel]

The biggest thing that makes Soun better than Genma is that Ranma is the one all this falls out on so Soun is never doing the BS to his own child. Now if he had a son instead of just daughters who knows.

[windstorm]

For both Genma and Soun when they tried to keep Ranma from getting the phoenix pill when he was locked in girl form simply because Shampoo's kiss was a prize in the race.

You could also say for Soun that he never tries to discipline Akane or reign her in for her behavior towards Ranma. It is his responsibility as a parent, but also important if he wants the engagement between the two to work.

[lwf58]

It's the difference between passive and active abuse. Genma went out of his way to abuse his kid. Soun mostly did so by neglecting them. To his credit, actually actively abusing any of them sends him into hysterics. To his discredit, that includes normal discipline.

[Southern Cross]

And worse yet,he feels the need to control Ranma,even though he is not Ranma's legal guardian yet.