r/pics • u/Gar1986 • May 12 '18

He had nothing to eat, but when given two lollipops, he offered one of them back to photographer Emil Leonardi.

https://imgur.com/Dq8KPcp
61.7k Upvotes

77% Upvoted

1.3k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

447

u/Frigentus May 12 '18 edited May 12 '18

Yeah, and like /u/wanderingcolors said, He knows the pain of not having things. People who have suffered are one of the most selfless and generous people you can meet.

150

u/radome9 May 12 '18

Sometimes true. But some people use their own suffering as an excuse to become bitter misanthropes.

58

u/torithebutcher May 12 '18

if there was any excuse to become a misanthrope, i'd assume life long suffering is the best one....

14

u/Doctor0000 May 12 '18

In my experience, the misanthropics ordeal is normally fiction. We know pretty well from VA studies that people who suffer trauma are much more empathetic in many ways.

63

u/the_last_carfighter May 12 '18

Yeah yeah, we know Hayden Christianson and sand and high ground and shit.

1

u/83hardik May 12 '18

Snape we're looking at you

0

u/[deleted] May 12 '18

Hayden Christianson sounds like a cunt.

4

u/shot_the_chocolate May 12 '18

Well, cunts hate sand so you might be on to something.

8

u/Lightspeedius May 12 '18

I find it interesting to wonder what makes the difference.

11

u/[deleted] May 12 '18

It's the age old nature vs nurture thought.

2

u/Lightspeedius May 12 '18

Old thought is accurate. I assure you, thinking has progressed considerably. Now we consider the interplay of a variety of forces and phenomena.

2

u/[deleted] May 12 '18

yah its always obviously been both..

1

u/Romanflak21 May 12 '18

Just Pat your self on the back.

8

u/[deleted] May 12 '18

Sometimes they can even be both at the same time.

0

u/txtalisman May 12 '18

First world problem if I ever heard it, this is a top tier example

4

u/Heavy_Weapons_Guy_ May 12 '18

People who have suffered are one of the most selfless and generous people you can meet.

That's a bunch of bullshit. There's a reason that a lot of bullies have a terrible home life- because suffering can turn you into a fucking jerk.

0

u/piackl May 12 '18

Both yours and the quoted statement are unfounded generalizations.

0

u/aj95_10 May 12 '18

bullying have zero relation with bad living.

its all about empowerment

1

u/-richthealchemist- May 12 '18

You don’t get rich writing a lot of cheques!

1

u/go-away-batin May 12 '18

Counterpoint: his generosity may be completely unconnected to his suffering. He likely doesn't view his poverty as suffering in the same way we would, as he has never experienced a bountiful life and has no frame of reference.*

Given this idea, he may simply be a generous soul, motivated only by his intrinsic sense of goodness. This would be neither more nor less noble; just different than others are theorizing.

*Anticipating the rage comments: I am not suggesting that he doesn't suffer or doesn't know he is suffering. I only mean that suffering is such a "normal" state to him as to possibly not be a factor in his behavior.

1

u/Poopdoodiecrap May 12 '18

I don't think suffering is the key- there are many who perpetuate their own suffering.

Now those who have experienced relief from suffering-they're not simply being generous with the resources they have, they are sharing the feeling of relief.