003 » ANONYMOUS; TEXT aka more questions at 2 am

[givenofox]

I guess there's no way to ask this that doesn't sound like a philosophy major trying to do their thesis at the last second so...

There's a lot of hero types here. You rush in to help when something happens and don't even think about it. I'd say that makes you good people.

Do you (or all of us here, I guess) think it's possible, if someone really tries, to start being a good person? Even if you've done horrible things? Like really, really bad things. Does the reason you did them matter?

Or maybe we're just meant to be bad and trying to pretend otherwise.

[ ...wow this sounds so much more melodramatic than he intended. ]

Comments

Re: anon;

[givenofox]

I was never good at self-reflection, honestly.

[givenofox]

I've actually gone and come back and...it was like what happened here never happened. I didn't remember anything.

anon;

[dereban]

that's fair

but i think it's definitely something you should probably at least consider? or maybe ask someone that's close to you? that might help a little more than asking strangers imo

unless you don't have someone like that

[clodpole]

I don’t, no. But you do. You know that whatever you did was wrong, and you are doing your utmost to fix that.

Do you not think that makes you a good person?

text; anonymous

[fafa]

Ah, but if the things done are so bad, is 'easy' deserved? If one pretends those things never happened, what's stopping one from repeating them?

You are only trapped if you make the same choices again and again. If you try to escape your mistakes, you are bound to repeat them.

[sleepinglotus]

There is someone from my world who grew up an orphan much like myself, but where I had a good friend to keep me from falling in despair, she didn't. She became a thief out of necessity, and was eventually found by someone who offered her shelter in exchange for doing things that ranged from illegal to immoral.

I met with her again here and when she was given time and space away from that individual she was actually capable of keeping out of trouble. I wouldn't call her a friend exactly but we're capable of getting along - something I couldn't see happening were we all still back home.

I think if she had been able to grow up in circumstances more similar to my own she would be a very different person.

[talkscrap]

Then that's your answer. You're definitely a good person already.

[timefordinner]

Yeah, it's easy to say things like that. But honestly, trying to change and reinvent yourself is probably one of the hardest things someone can do.

Re: anon;

[unhappy]

You can't take back what's done. There's no what-ifs about it. You can't ask for the people you hurt to forgive you but you don't have to add to that list. Don't make yourself miserable for someone who just wants you to be miserable as if it makes up for theirs.

[sheisthewind]

I see. That's unfortunate.

[necroyalty]

I know it sounds paradoxical, but the fact that you're questioning your own actions already places you far ahead of someone who never stops to feel regret.

[blindforlove]

It might depend on the bad that's been done, but more good in the world is more good in the world. More than "making up for" or "offsetting" it should be more about what you still can do.

anon

[ensuredsurvival]

Definitely not just you. It's getting ridiculous how many we have.

anonymous; pretend I'm not super late tagging in, I can't not tag Ren

[zunge]

[This topic certainly hits a bit close to home, and as such Noiz ensures to comment anonymously.]

hero types don't make any sense to me in the first place. people always do things for a reason, and it's their own stupidity or naivete if they aren't aiming to at least benefit themselves somehow. whether that's gaining something monetary or material, or just to feel better about themselves, it's always smarter and more efficient than doing things thoughtlessly without regard for the fact they're just gonna lose collateral. and some might claim they're being selfless when they "do good" when they in fact are gaining something.

as for your question, I wouldn't know how to answer that. I don't put much thought into the moral affairs of others, and the world is unfair by nature. it's a world where two people who unintentionally did something shitty will get treated completely differently, with one forgiven by friends and family and the other locked away by the same. the latter might happen because that person who caused problems was different from others, so his intentions didn't matter.

you sound like you care too much about what others think about you. it's better and smarter to focus on doing what benefits you. some things can't be changed. Some can. some things are outside your control. some are within it.