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We see many times that Darth Vader does not tolerate insubordination or disrespect through his chokes.

Sometimes he follows through, other times he is told to back off,

Why doesn't Kylo Ren do the same to General Hux when he disrespects/belittles him in front of Snoke?

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  • Same reason Vader doesn't continue to choke Motti until he's dead - even bad guys have bosses. – Wad Cheber May 12 '16 at 5:26
  • @WadCheber, yeah , but you would think a hot head like Ren would at least show him some of his power. – KyloRen May 12 '16 at 8:08
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    But Hux isn't a lowly Governor like Motti - he's more like Tarkin. Vader would NEVER have choked Tarkin. – Wad Cheber May 12 '16 at 11:36
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There are multiple times in the film where Snoke takes a report directly from Hux, or gives Hux direct orders-- this implies that Snoke finds Hux to be useful. In that situation, Kylo Ren would probably not want to harm Hux, for fear of angering Snoke.

Another issue to consider is that, in the original trilogy, Vader had fallen almost fully to the dark side. Conversely, Kylo Ren hasn't fallen fully because he still "feels the pull to the light"; he has to actively will himself to remain in the dark.

The end result is that, when Vader is angry, he casually kills high-ranking members of the Imperial military. When Ren is angry, he smashes inanimate objects.

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    And it's clear that Hux outranks Ren. In the original trilogy, Darth Vader considered himself above everyone (except of course the Emperor). – Mr Lister May 4 '16 at 13:27
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    Vader may have considered himself above everyone, but it's implied he answered to Tarkin. At least in my interpretation. – PiousVenom May 4 '16 at 14:31
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    @Liesmith When I saw Kylo Ren go ballistic and slash every computer in sight with his lightsaber, I saw him as having far less emotional discipline than his grandfather. That's very different from smashing things because he "feels the pull of the light side". – RichS Jan 1 '17 at 3:51
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    @RichS I agree that he's less emotionally disciplined. However, Vader had no qualms about calmly killing subordinates when angered. You'd think someone who had fallen to the dark side, but had less emotional control, would kill subordinates even more indiscriminately--but that's not what Ren does. He takes out his anger on objects not people, even though those computers were probably worth much more than an individual stormtrooper's life. – Liesmith Jan 1 '17 at 6:43
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    @Liesmith Vader killed incompetent subordinates as an example to others. Slashing computers with a lightsaber doesn't make all the other computers think "Uh oh! I better not make any mistakes." When I see Vader kill subordinates, I assume the subordinates are incompetent. When I see Kylo Ren destroy computers, I assume Kylo Ren is incompetent. – RichS Jan 2 '17 at 8:38
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This is answered in The Force Awakens Visual Dictionary:

  1. He is outside the command structure. He doesn't stand above Hux (nor vice versa), he's outside the chain of command.

    Kylo Ren exists outside the formal command structure of the First Order, and has a direct link to the shadowy Supreme Leader who is ultimately in charge of these forces of darkness. It is with palpable tension that the upper command of the First Order contends with Kylo, as his agenda always trumps military objectives. In this way, Kylo's placement within the hierarchy resembles that of Darth Vader in the old Galactic Empire. This is entirely by design. (Page 25)

  2. They are equal in position:

    Phasma serves as the third partner in the unofficial command triumvirate of the Starkiller operation, alongside Kylo and Hux

  3. As alluded to in the first quote (and is quite obvious form the film), Hux is an equivalent to Moff Tarkin in Episode VI. And as we recall, Vader didn't directly confront Tarkin either, the way he did lower level officers.

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  • To add to this: Vader also got reprimanded a few times and disbelieved and ordered areound by tarkin a few times in episode 4 without......wanting an apology for that. – Thomas Jan 1 '17 at 0:53

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