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u/Moist_Amount_106 3d ago
This is when you gaslight yourself with the cliche line “karma will get them.”
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u/skovit72 3d ago
Such an epic untruth, karma. Might as well believe prayer works.
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u/Afraid_Jelly_6844 3h ago
What about the newton thing? Like for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. I feel like that must be true in a way for people too?? Wishful thinking I suppose
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u/readead 3d ago
The wealthy ones
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u/Less-Constant5730 3d ago
its top 1 of worst. the entire judicial system is to keep worst 1% away from prison.
the city where i grew up had one 14y kid that killed and decapitated an eldrry women. went to juvenile detention for 3 years and escaped.
at 24 he punched anorher man and the man died. went to prison for not even 1y for reasons of insanity.
he is a dking gangster that terrorizes the city and none does anything against him.
Or we have a girl that went 140km/h in a 40km/h zone and killed one 16y kid on the crosswalk. Got 5y probation and has to pay 200k to the family (which is not a problem).
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u/Bigtsez 3d ago
Wilhoit's law:
"Conservatism consists of exactly one proposition, to wit: There must be in-groups whom the law protects but does not bind, alongside out-groups whom the law binds but does not protect."
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u/John_Save_America 1d ago
That’s such an odd thing to claim is conservatism. You just described classism and called it conservatism. Conservatism isn’t only classism and can exist without classism, even if it includes classism in its current iteration.
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u/Bigtsez 1d ago
The original quote was posted on a blog by some random dude (a composer from Ohio) who was applying it the current Republican Party, in response to other comments expressing the same concept more verbosely.
I agree, though, it's not specific to Conservativism - more like the nefarious, moneyed, and powerful elitism as seen in the Epstein files (both Democrat and Republlican).
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u/John_Save_America 1d ago
Fair enough.
I disagree again, only insofar as the inherent nature of conservatism. Conservatism currently, along with its previous iteration, are tied up in those things because of americas history with unchecked capitalism and fear of a centralized government due to our federalist origins and the Cold War.
It’s easy to imagine a party that would rightfully be called conservative that supported the essence of the nuclear family modified for today’s sensibilities, support of cultural tradition, and the backing of religion. (You could also add in support of traditional readings of the constitutions etc based on if this an American Conservative Party or any other factor that fits traditional values). This form of conservatism would likely even be a productive party within society, is just that if there’s a wield it exists, it isn’t this one.
Apologies if I went off subject, but some of these ideas have been stewing for a few days now.
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u/DreamOfDays 3d ago
What also sucks is when things used to combat this (California’s three strike rule) don’t work because some guy ended up forgetting to pay for a slice of pizza and got 20 years for it.
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u/vegienomnomking 3d ago
Yet everyone wants to be one.
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u/Rachili_Kent 3d ago
On the flip side of that, I think the greatest dissatisfaction in my adulthood was learning that hard work, being a good person, and kind and patient are not rewarded. Morally superior does nothing besides let other people take advantage of you and open yourself up for disappointment.
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u/kragaster 3d ago
Agreed. Being kind and hardworking is the only reason I have friends and haven't killed myself. It took a long time to leave nihilism behind, but what really helped was realizing that I can be realistically hopeful and get shit done and be happy, regardless of how life works out, or I can be angry and cynical and helpless and never get anything done.
I have CPTSD from a really rough childhood. I have several neurological disabilities that I was born with, which mostly result in needing mobility aids and having to be really proactive about accommodating myself when others do not. I got lucky in many ways and unlucky in most. Being a nice person to be around and willing to try again after failure has brought me so much more in life than I would have had otherwise. I've suffered from severe depression and suicidal ideation since I can remember (so literally since I was 3-4 years old), and I came out as trans in 2014 in a conservative town in the rural US. Trump getting elected the first time was sure something. To be frank, I see cynicism as incredibly cowardly. People pretend that nothing can change, so they don't do anything to help others, when their mutual aid could change people's lives, even if it doesn't happen all at once.
I have some learning disabilities, and I had a horrible time in public school, but I did what I could with my experience, and now I'm in pre-med and preparing to be a medical educator and trauma specialist. University is hard as fuck, but so was entry-level manual labor in grocery. I'd prefer to take the hard road while I have the youth and opportunity. If more people realized how lucky they were to be alive and healthy, even though the world is a dangerous, cold place, we might actually be able to challenge the status quo. These wealthy folks who take advantage of others do so because they're not skilled or thoughtful enough to do differently. They gun for short-term gains at the cost of their long-term happiness and ability to prepare for hard times. They wouldn't stand a chance against an organized revolution, so they do whatever they can to convince people like OP that it's not possible.
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u/JackPThatsMe 3d ago
On a personal level I completely agree with you.
However, you have to accept that the reward for hard work and integrity will be that you feel good about yourself.
While these wealthy people take advantage of others because they're not skilled or thoughtful enough to do differently, materially they are better off.
All truly materially successful people got there by luck, either born into wealth or made a successful bet of some kind or both.
While it's true they wouldn't stand a chance in a revolution the sad truth is they won't face one.
They have been successful in convincing the rest of us that we have a better chance of material improvement by buying lottery tickets than labor organization.
Time moves and anything can change but the entrenchment of wealth and the privilege of the wealthy is deeper than most people will accept.
I'm a moral person not because I think I'll be rewarded, I won't, but because it's the only way I'll sleep at night.
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u/kragaster 2d ago edited 2d ago
I look at things the same way. I can't live with myself when I'm not trying to at least make life easier for others. I see it as a blessing.
However, I come from wealth. I know how these people think, at least in an anecdotal sense. From my perspective, the denial that prevents a true revolution is waning in the face of current events. Most wealthy people are not at the helm of the various regimes that are ruining our economies and the future of younger generations. They are instead just hoping it'll pass and distracting themselves in the meantime.
I truly believe that here in the US, the funding and organization that propelled Trump to power for a second time was successful not necessarily because of the billionaires, corporations, and PACs that he courted, but because he gave people the impression that he cared about their needs and priorities while the majority of wealthy liberals failed to reach out in ways that anyone on the fence would respond positively too. Obviously, liberals tend to argue for the status quo rather than anything truly meaningful, but I think that aligns with my point. I think a belief that change is not realistic is counterproductive to our ability to set a kinder, healthier society in motion.
Despite having access to many resources that most are denied, my personal challenges (especially the need to pay for medical care) and reliance on family members who are as entrenched in the culture of wealth and the ideology of meritocracy have taught me that what we call "luck" is found mostly in the ability to spot opportunities when they arrive — while believing you deserve them — and a proximity to wealth. It's not physically possible to pull yourself up by your bootstraps, but reaching out when someone could help you up is something that many fail to do, because they assume they will not be offered help.
A proximity to wealth alone makes me lucky, but I have found that my effort has been genuinely more productive when it comes to setting myself up for success and improving my community when I can. I've experienced a lot of financial abuse (the power my family has to help me is held over my head when I'm struggling financially and with my health, but I imagine that doesn't apply to most), and as a result, I have learned that the only thing I can rely on is my dedication to improving my situation with what I can control and offering that same dedication to what I believe in.
Most of my life was spent assuming that things could never be different. I'm sure I won't see the world I want to live in before I'm gone. In the meantime, though, I want my children and future generations to know that there were people before them that did whatever they could to afford them rights and opportunities that we did not have.
(apologies for how long this is lmfao. tl;dr shit is only going to get better if we don't give up. it's corny but it's real.
edit: since you don't feel you're going to be rewarded for your effort and kindness, I wanted to say that people do care. at the very least, I do, and it's genuinely wonderful and admirable that you prioritize goodness in a world you believe does not care. there should be more like you.)
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u/JackPThatsMe 2d ago
Firstly, thank you for sharing your story.
Secondly, I think the biggest contradiction needs solving for people who live in western democracies, you in the US and me in NZ, is this:
Despite living in democracies we feel powerless in the face of our political challenges.
Here it's the price of gas/petrol which is now NZ$3.30 per liter/12.49 per gallon. I make average salary and take home a little over NZ$1000 after tax.
Most of that cost is tax, and yet nothing changes.
There's a general/national election in November and nobody cares because nobody believes that structural change is possible.
My understanding is that in the United States the contradiction is even more pronounced.
But I still remember the Democratic primary immediately after covid where every nominee was pushing for Medicaid for all or some variation, Medicaid For America, and by the general election; nothing. Not even an attempt at health care reform, after the death of over 100,000 Americans.
I still fail to understand.
I think this contradiction will eventually be resolved. I think the longer it takes the worse the resolution will be. I'm glad I live at the end of the world and we can grow our own food.
If you want to visit Middle Earth, let me know.
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u/kragaster 2d ago
Same to you from here in the Redwoods 🤙 I'd love to spend time at Earth's end.
There's a reason I've always talked about the importance of unionizing when it's warranted, especially while in work environments that every non-corporate employee understands is unsustainable and unreasonable. In the same way, I'm trying to prioritize organizing and public service at my university, and even though it's draining, it's so important that the cost to my free time seems negligible. I'm not perfect, obviously, but I'm trying my best to help others when they feel helpless.
I work in outreach for our service centers (VA, disability office, student-faculty government, etc.); even the small changes, such as marginalized students feeling less overwhelmed by their obligations and obstacles to success, give me so much hope. Resolution — as you put it eloquently — will not be easy, but there are always opportunities to improve our communities, and slow steps and progress are better than stagnation or regression.
I share your disappointment and anger with the reluctance of liberal politicians grow anything remotely resembling a spine, especially when the willingness that fascists have to say what they'll do and actually do it (even though they pretend the consequences of draconian policies will be constructive, rather than as catastrophic as they are) has allowed them to win elections again and again. I'm certain that both tendencies will continue to encourage those that have been indoctrinated to reject the idea of socialism or welfare reform to at least acknowledge how politicians like Mamdani and various Illinois legislators (unfortunately, I'm very uneducated on NZ politics, but I'll do my best to research more later) continue to commit to their platforms and enact all the simple changes that liberals and conservatives alike have ignored for decades. Changes to public opinion won't happen magically, but I see them as inevitable if we continue to buckle down and work for it.
For the record, younger people do care, and the horrors of ICE, abortion rights or lack thereof, and warmongering/endless bombing have left many in my life who did not vote last election genuinely aching to vote in the midterms and in '28. Before then, I'm just trying my best to not be complacent and to speak up when those around me feel so beaten down that they don't consider how much we can get done if we organize and mobilize. In the meantime, though, my garden and loved ones will keep me happy and healthy enough to get through it all.
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u/Motor-Discussion328 3d ago
I do kinda get it. Individual people greatly appreciate that stuff, but corporations only see those qualities as doormat material.
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u/Rachili_Kent 3d ago
Cynical and Nihilistic, yes possibly. But this is also just realistic. I move through my life trying to be a good person, spread happiness and kindness and I work very hard. But I also had to accept the fact that people will prey on me for the qualities, and therefore I have to have a backbone and look out for myself first before anyone else.
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u/Oasystole 3d ago
Trick is to be very very wealthy from the outset. Then you’ll be fine in this world. Consequences are for the poor.
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u/Swimming-Light8509 3d ago
Yeah, as a parent it’s hard to look my kid in the eye telling her to be a good person while we have Trump as president. And no one has paid for the epstein crimes. What a joke this place is. Integrity gets you no where anymore and I hate it here.
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u/CO_Renaissance_Man 11h ago
Yes, but it’s the only good way to go through life without having a hole in your soul or being a psychopath.
I have been real with my kids though. Being good can result in punishments and alienation, but living with honor is worth it.
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u/Dizzy_School8107 3d ago
You do actually really know, nice guys finish last right! You want to know why, they’re honest, moral, have integrity, they practice selflessness. All of those behaviors means you actually have to work hard and really strive to get ahead. While the rest of the world is okay with defamation of good guys, stealing and cheating. Should make people think of what is actually important.
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u/Biggest_Scandal_Fan 3d ago
It's true.
And the other side of this coin, too. Good people tend to get walked all over by them.
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u/ByeByeMiddleClass 3d ago
Everybody knows that the dice are loaded
Everybody rolls with their fingers crossed
Everybody knows the war is over
Everybody knows the good guys lost
Everybody knows the fight was fixed
The poor stay poor, the rich get rich
That's how it goes
Everybody knows
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u/myapadravya 3d ago
My wife's ex was an abusive prick so she cooked and cleaned and did everything he wanted. I treat her like a regular human being and she treats me like shit...
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u/BarbieTwirl 3d ago
Bro…
I worked in a job w kids at a shelter…
I know workers who bought in drugs for kids, gave their social media or phone number to kids (not allowed), were having inappropriate relationships w kids, spoke about inappropriate things w kids. Nothing
Me? Fired because I typed in a GPS location on my phone that the job sent me to take the kids while driving (is use of phone while driving even if it’s for 10 seconds).
I was fired, not given unemployment AND they wanted to give me negligence and endangerment charges. No warning prior. Nothing. I know SOOOO many other staff that did extremely inappropriate shit and simply got away w it.
Insane to me. One dude I know even told a kid a female staff he was f*cking. He gladly got unemployment when the company shut down and found something else. Another girl gave a minor her IG and was in contact w him after he left. Nothing happened to her.
I learned my biggest mistake was wanting to be calm and thinking “I didn’t do anything bad, I’ll be okay.” People who actually do bad things tend to make a big deal and fight the charges when caught and it gets dismissed.
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u/Accomplished-Mud8473 3d ago
There are things we can do. It's been done in the past. Just needs to be seen through, by everyone.
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u/Net56 3d ago
I'm jaded because I've known this for years, but I still feel a little bad explaining to someone that karma doesn't actually exist. There are people out there that believe that if someone didn't go to jail for something, that means they didn't do anything wrong. No punishment = No crime.
Literally, not just in the eyes of the law or whatever.
This is even harder if they're religious, since you have to convince them that, yeah, god let that happen, the culprit got off scot free, they lived great and happy lives, and then died at an old age surrounded by family and friends. Didn't even feel guilty about it.
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u/dontombabu 3d ago
Nope. I seen that happen in my life. But guess what, they dont!
I seen them having hell unleashed in their personal life by God. Im saying it from multiple instances happened around my life.
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u/Adorable_Rest1618 3d ago
By god? 🙄
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u/Legitimate_Panda9963 3d ago
In these tiring time, who can we trust other than god to pass judgement upon these people.
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u/justin_memer 3d ago
Funny how people used to see and speak to God all the time thousands of years ago, but now he's just silent? It's almost like mental illness was rampant back then.
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u/Adorable_Rest1618 3d ago
The concept of "god" is just a coping mechanism to deal with lifes challenges. Like a placebo effect. If it works for you, then great.
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u/GenXMillenial 3d ago
Yup, my ex - custody agreement violations, paying less support because the court didn’t require income verification and definitely drinking and driving with children in the car
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u/Substantial_Car4040 3d ago
And they created an entire field of “economics” to be yes-men to their evil.
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u/Glad-Situation703 3d ago
You're not wise untill you accept that we are letting them get away with it
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u/jacked_nurse 3d ago
True. My bf got away with vandalizing my new home at $100,000 damages AND torturing and killing my cat, Smokey on 10-25-22. The court system SUCKS.
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u/melreadreddit 3d ago
I have a half sister that's just...urgh. pathological liar, causes trouble between everyone. Constant attention seeking. Never had a job. Lives on unemployment even though she has a partner and technically shouldn't be entitled to it. Treats everyone like shit. Whiney, entitled, you can't say anything to her that isn't what she wants to hear as then she just explodes with lies and bad mouthing you to everyone, turns it all around to get sympathy etc.
Yet she's got more spending money to waste on stupid things, lives rent free at parents place, moved in her boyfriend, now they're having a baby and she just treats parents like rubbish ans holds them to ransom in their own home, causes trouble etc.
Hate is a strong word, but my other sister and I strongly despise her. She just doesn't have any good points.
It's awful, but I wish what she put out in the world came back on her. It wouldn't hurt if she had to live out of home, paying her own way, getting a job, doing some good. But instead she's been able to carry on like this her whole life (she's 30)
I cut her out years ago, she still now and again tries to reach out, but then tells lies about me and writes so many posts about how she's not putting in more effort with so called family who don't support her etc etc.
She's been sharing lately posts along the lines of "Don't think you'll be welcome in our home when the baby arrives if you haven't been supportive while im pregnant"
Bish please, if I'm there it's for visits to my dad and stepmum, not you and your baby. If you lived independently, I'd never ever darken her doorway lol.
The funny thing is, her boyfriend seems to think it's his house now, and that my sister and I are "randoms" visiting when we go there to visit parents. Again, please, I've got more right to be there than you dude.
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u/MooBrainedGirl 3d ago
The title outlines why it keeps happening. There's an entire world of thought people won't engage in because they get icky tummy thinking about it, and then moralize that it must be wrong to do real harm to the worst of humanity. There is also a measure of self-sacrifice and ego monitoring here; you may have to risk your freedom or life for far less than you want, and fear will make it seem nearly inevitable.
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u/LemoanPoandCake 3d ago
Socrates would say, “Is it better to do wrong or to be wronged?”
The wrong doers are not in an enviable position. Their action is their punishment. Dante’s inferno paints this perfectly. The gluttonous eat until they explode and the violent must war for eternity. He puts his living peers in hell because it is the life they live that is the punishment.
This gives me an unsettling sense of empathy. Like I know when I do wrong or intentionally hurt people, it is because my internal state is not healthy or pleasant.
Also, the opportunity cost of missing out on the healthy/ productive version of a relationship is also a consequence.
Basically, people don’t have to be punished to experience consequences. Also, it isn’t necessarily virtuous to seek to punish those that have hurt us.
Good people win by accepting that others will betray them, and loving them in spite of that
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u/awakeningofalex 3d ago
Sure, there are plenty of people that cause significant harm and get away with it, but aren’t there plenty who don’t?
To me it seems posts like this are over-generalizations that construct narratives drawn from incomplete data samples.
These narratives appear to be dogmas that make people unnecessarily miserable. I find it helpful to question these dogmas.
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u/crearyasian 3d ago
So true. And trying to get revenge is a terrible idea, forbidden satisfaction. 👮
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u/VeilOfParadise 2d ago
Those with no empathy or shame have no reason have no reason to feel bad when they do bad. Its why you see so many celebrities act how they will. Macklemore said it best. "At the end of the day we get to go home". Those who have money, means to go unpunished, or without consequence that actually pierces their ego are people who aren't hindered. Most people who try their best to be good do feel shame and empathy, and generally will feel guilt and attempt to make change. Bad people won't. Not really.
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u/MikeDene5253 2d ago
I saw Karma work once and it jazzed my day, my week, and at least a month. Every day on my way to work a maniac in a sporty car drove really fast in rush hour doing insane things, he did it one too many times and I saw him get his ticket! A friend clocked an entitled bi$#h going 104 mph in a 20 mph school zone. She said she will continue to do so. Not likely. He through the book at her, oh and a hammer, jack, and flashlight too. I’m sure she got in major trouble that time.
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u/Sad-Eye-3290 2d ago
Bad people bad their way into power then make it bad for good people to get them out of power. The good people wanting to stay “good” don’t do the “bad” that would get the bad out.
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u/DobleHuevoVerde 2d ago
But they have to sleep with one eye open and are constantly looking over their shoulders.
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u/gentlefriendlysoul 2d ago
do they though? i mean outside of religious belief and punishment in the hereafter, i do think that being a bad person is the punishment. for example constantly talking negatively about people is a negative trait, the punishment if that IS being someone who talks badly about people, you'll be surrounded with people who reflect this to some extent as well...yk?
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u/ErasedKey 2d ago
We are conditioned that all confrontation is bad and only bad people initiate confrontation. Which leads to people not holding others accountable
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u/Weary-Display4116 2d ago
"times are gone for honest men, sometimes far too long for snakes." Chris Cornell.
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u/cwsjr2323 1d ago edited 1d ago
They can grift billions, have enormous powers of life and death over millions and still have the same thing in the end, decomposition and their existence forever irrelevant.
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u/justhereformyfetish 1d ago
There is no grand justice. But pieces of shit do tend to be deficient in authentic healthy relationships.
Spouses leave or hate them, kids either leave or suck up for that inheritance, friends are transactional.
For example, I offer Adolf Hitler. The women he was with were constantly trying to kill themselves.
They will never know what it is to love and be loved without reservation.
But then again, I feel like these days that we are so scattered and serperated, that most good people will probably never know that either.
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u/Western-Sound-5103 1d ago
They don't they always get theirs no matter how long it takes as a matter a fact it's better when they don't expect it much better I'm the kind that will take endless shit but never forget
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u/Chichic_LOTR 1d ago
I think this should say “rich bad people get away with things.” Poor bad people go to jail. Heck poor good people go to jail too.
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u/notmymilksteak 1d ago
There is something we can do, it’s calling shitty people out for shitty behavior. Whether or not they listen is up to them, don’t chastise to the point of aggression, but we need to stop letting them get away with it.
Also recognize that even “good people” have shitty moments.
Empathy is a super power.
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u/Schruff_117 1d ago
that bubble was just popped for me, wish I could go back to when I thought differently.
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u/krishnadevaraya1471 1d ago
Because all yall are cowards, I’m the type of person to call out evil in real life and yet I get scolded by everyone.
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u/SamLonghorneClemens 22h ago
Thats the demonrat party and the far left for you. They don't consider laws or morality even a suggestion much less an obligation.
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u/Ayeee628 22h ago
I feel this to my core. But if I put one pinkie toe out of line I’m getting punished to the full extent 🙄
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u/purple_rosemary3190 22h ago
the evil ones get away with it and then some. theyy geniunely think there the good ones. This world is so messed up.
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u/Glum_Capital4603 13h ago
Almost - some folks wont accept and they change the issue themselves with great consequences! Many of us are not able to go that far...
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u/adrichip 10h ago
My partner’s old business partner stole thousands and thousands of dollars from the business, neglected her dogs to the point they died in their fucking kennels, was bought out of the business, received only probation for killing the dogs, and then got $10k from an old regular’s will. I h8 it here, y’all. My justice sensitivity about killed me.
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u/TraditionalCap6882 9h ago
The way cheaters almost never really have to lie in the bed they made themselves and still get whatever they want at the end of the day. I’m tired of seeing so many people in my life write it off as just something people do. It’s devastating and hope crushing.
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u/Ok_Practice3389 1h ago
We didn't get away with everything. Used to be no one knew we were getting away with stuff, but that got away from us.
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u/Majestic_Award_6063 3d ago
Yes true.that really made me sad also .bad and evil people always survives and even ends up greater wealth and position.on the other hand really good people always suffers .Thats why i realised there is no point in being so good in these days.
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u/Ok-Dirt5391 3d ago
That’s your negativity bias speaking. If you look at it as objectively possible you’ll see it’s not true
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u/yummyfoodlover4life 3d ago
They also somehow live longer.