Good And Bad People

[sanctuary]

Well, considering people with BPD consider THEMSELVES bad more than any other mental health disorder, I would have thought this topic is resolved by saying:

Who's bad?

And everyone with BPD responding:

Me! I'm bad!

Hands up all you bad people out there? LOL (My hands are up!)

Sorry - I've lost it now. Outta here!

[roxy222]

I think I had a childhood that would be viewed as idyllic by many. A mother who doted on me.

Perhaps if I had the abandonment and abuse issues that many here have then I would have a different opinion about what evil is.

theres a hell of alot of people (in general)who have childhoods that would be seen as idylic but are infact quite the opposite

[Sammy]

The thing is I have no idea if my view really is exaggerated because there's no tangible evidence that anyone could provide to suggest it is. What I mean is how do I know that in fact because I have witnessed the bad, that I now have my eyes open and am able to recognise it therefore able to see the truth that those who live a sheltered life are not witness to?

If you look for bad in people you will find the bad and if you look for good in people you will find the good.

Now people may argue that I look for the bad and so find it. However anyone that knows me will tell you that I look for good in people, because that is what I need to see, yet I still find bad in the world without looking. I mean, I avoid watching the news and reading papers because I'd rather not see it, but yet I still see it regardless.

[placebo69a]

Here are some more thoughts:

If a person is bad, does that taint everything he does? If an immoral doctor experiments, cruelly, on human beings and discovers the cure for cancer, is that cure bad because he used immoral means to get it? Should we not make use of such a cure in this hypothetical situation because it was discovered in a bad way, by a bad man?

On the same note, if a person is good, does that make his immoral actions somehow alright? If a person devotes his life to charity and good will, bringing security and fulfilling the basic needs of thousands if not millions of people by his actions, should he be forgiven if he has a vice (maybe he exposes himself in public, or does drugs, or uses the services of prostitutes)? Should we not be just as harsh with such a person for his wrong-doings as we would be with a less "good" person?

I've already revealed that I don't believe in good or bad people. I think judging people as good or bad is wrong because people are equal. They're not bad or good, they're just people. We can all relate to one another despite any good or bad deeds we do, because basically we're all the same, we're the human animal and in the animal kingdom, there is no good and bad.

I do however firmly believe that our actions, and I'll give you this Sammy, sometimes our intentions, can be interpreted as bad or as good. There is no absolute good or absolute bad either, in my opinion. I think we learn what is good by receiving encouragement and we learn what is bad by receiving punishment. The things we think of as "inherently good" or "universally bad" can be interpreted by another person as quite the opposite under the right circumstances. Society needs these ideas, these judgments, just as we do. A general agreement on what is good and what is bad within society allows us to solve conflicts through dialog, and to reach compromise with our neighbours.

Something else I'd like to mention is being blind to bad things. There is a defense mechanism called denial, that plays a huge part in idyllic pacifistic notions and philosophies of non-violence. It is the powerful argument that reality is experienced subjectively and we can't be sure if what we perceive is real or just our limited perception of some grander design we are ill-equipped to perceive. Choosing not see evil is a very dangerous way of going about your life. It's practically an open invitation to any brute to take control of your life. In trying to preserve this, the highest value in the civilized world - Life - You can trap yourself in a mindset that makes you give up the very thing you are trying to preserve. If you try and justify bad deeds by saying you are simply incapable of seeing the good in them and it's your own limitation, you are in fact inviting people who do not share your morals to take advantage of your mindset and compel you to adhere to their own set of morals.

Life is not the only value we hold dear and life without our other values, without a defensible moral structure that allows us to pursue happiness, is a life not worth living. That's why revolutions occur, that's why tyrants are overthrown and it's why so much blood is shed every day on this lonely planet we call home. Because some ideas are worth risking your life for, yea even dying for.

In our justice system people are judged for crimes they've committed, not for their personality (we have psyche wards for that). We have laws that say what is fit punishment for every sort of crime we've come across and we keep updating the list. Once a person has served his time, put in his hours, paid his fine or whatever other punishment we deem fit to his crime then we consider him absolved. We may be on guard from a person with a history of criminal activities, because we've learned that most crime today is committed by repeat offenders.

But the point is we judge people for their actions, not for how they think or what they need or who they like and don't like. We as a society believe that once justice is served a criminal is once again our equal. We recognize, as a society that people make mistakes and should be made to pay for them, but that it doesn't make them any "less human". No more than good actions excuse unethical or immoral behaviour and elevate a person to "more human".