I’ve forgotten where I’d heard it exactly, the quote that says that there are no bad people, just good people who do bad things, I did ponder on it a lot. I tried to imagine a dozen scenarios to decide on the validity of that statement. At the end of my pondering, I concluded that the statement was true in a way but not completely.
I first sighted a serial paedophile, and said to myself, he/she has no way of convincing anyone that he’s a good person that just does bad things. Because I know these days that everyone ties the evil deeds of others to some childhood, psychological problem, and while that may be true for the most part, some people don’t have any background problems and just decide to be….bad.
And then I thought of a serial killer. Possibly put that way because he watched his parents butchered by some people and so grows up and goes on a revenge spree, killing everyone that was even remotely tied to the death of his parents. Then he sees a child, dying of hunger and takes care of that child and even finds a way to drop the child anonymously in a place where he’s sure the child will be taken care of. Granted, he’s a killer, but can we call him a bad person?
And then, finally, I narrow home to everyday situations. You and I. The man who beats his wife and children like animals at home, even targeting places he knows wouldn’t show once clothes are worn but then helps the old lady cross the road, stands up for the pregnant woman to sit in the bus, helps a child to pick up his groceries after spilling it on the floor. He’s still a bad person, given, but he does good things. So does that make him bad or good?
Or the president of the women's choir that donates to dozens of charities, the shoulder to lean or cry on for every emotional person within a fifty-mile radius, pecks the little children that come to visit her and kisses the boo-boos of the wailing child, but then has quick fingers. Swipes everything within range and sometimes goes to the gardener’s room when the husband leaves for work. A good person in most cases, but she does bad things, yeah.
I credit all of these to the imperfection of humans. For the most part, there are bad people, terrible people even. But then, unconsciously, they do some good deeds and there are the people we know as good people but they know the bad things they do. Little things. They might not even do it a lot, but it’s there.
No one would want to consider themselves a bad person no matter what. They might even say, “I’m not bad. I just do bad things.” and that could be valid in some sense and some situations. But we can all admit to having done something bad even though in the overall sense, we still see ourselves as good.
I’ve done things I’m not proud of. Things that people would very much say, “You’re good but this is a bad thing.” And I take responsibility for it because doing those bad things doesn’t make me a bad person. To be honest, I don’t think we can conveniently rule out someone as a bad person or a good person because we don’t know and we can never be sure of what actually goes on.
So, what makes a person either bad or good. Is it by the things the person does? Or what contradicts the values we uphold as a person. But no matter what the answer is, I do subscribe to the statement that bad people are capable of doing good things and good people, do bad things. But then, in that case, who would be considered a good person?
This is my response to this week’s weekend topic Good bad by @galenkp. I’d love to hear your opinions though on the concept of good and bad people. Feel free to speak your mind in the comments.
All images are mine.
This is deep yet a general happening all around us. I never thought of it this way though, I just felt the activities of good that the people who do bad carry on is just to cover up their tracks making it quite difficult for them to be captured (a smart move from a smart bad person) like in the movies both reality and fictional where serial killers can be the nicest of individuals in the neighborhood yet carry out heinous acts with no iota of remorse or regret. Hence, terming them sick in the head (psychopath).
What do I know?
For me, though we are weak and we fall sometimes, what counts one as good is by their effort. You fall and feel remorseful about it then make the effort to not fall in that way again - you are good enough. No one can really be good.
That's a nice angle. Maybe they are using it to cover up their deeds but we'll never truly know now, will we?
You are most definitely right. it's not about perfection but that when you fall or make mistakes, you do your but to ensure it doesn't happen again.
I share the same opinion as you on this. I believe that there is goodness in everyone of us just as there is some badness too.
Sorry for the late reply.
I understand that too. No one can claim to be perfectly good since we all act on our selfish interests sometimes.
I have similar views to you. We aren't infallible so we're bound to make mistakes, but it doesn't necessarily define us as people, unless we consciously do bad things all the time - and enjoy it.
Good people tend to try to remain that way.
Unless that indeed. So glad that you made it here. Thanks for this thoughtful comment.
Its all a natural struggle to me...
Its not good versus evil, the line isn't as clear as that...
Its just an everlasting dance between the two sides, each trying to be the more recognized of the pair...
And it depends on the judge (you) to choose who wins in each situation.
That's true and rather insightful of you. Everything is not in black and white. There are a lot of shades of gray to it. And it's left for you to use your discretion to discern them in the most case. Nice @seki1
Yes we can still call him a bad person I think. One small good deed can't bring back the lives he killed. A serial killer would've destroyed families and relationships along with a life. I think there's enough justification here to label him as a bad guy but of course this is open to everyone's unique perspective and interpretation.
This is hard to say for those on the borderline but I think if there is a fair amount of people that lean towards one side then we can consider that person being good or bad but of course this is subject to change based on future actions :D. Like Ted Bundy everyone thought he was a good and chill guy and worked at a suicide hotline but little did people now he was a serial killer until it got exposed. Of course at this turning point we can consider him a bad guy lol.
Yeah, that's true. So sorry for the late reply. I understand what you mean though. Saving a kid's life doesn't exonerate the serial killer but you're right that if a person leans too much to a particular attribute then you can discern whether he is good or bad.
Thanks Shawn.
exactly o.o and your welcome haha no worries. means you got a lot of replies to do :)
Ohhh dear Lord when I thought she was gonna answer the question she threw it to the house, ohh @jhymi!!!
This was so deep and nice to read my !LUV
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This is a very deep question, because for one we all hold different values and beliefs. Carry those out can be considered bad by some, say for example not following a certain law or ruling.
Of course some things are a lot easier to judge as being bad or good, but it can be a thin line between the two. Great answer xxxxx
I enjoyed reading this one. It made me think deep haha.
In the end, we have a different morality which is the reason why some may considered that this one is good but some may considered it as bad. However, we have ethics which serves as a guideline which is good or bad on a larger group of people.
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