Are people generally good?

Farawayhome

What are your views? Are people generally good with the exception being the horrible people? Or is it the other way round?

I like to see the best in people but as you go through life, you find more and more people who are just not that nice. From the openly rotten people to the behind your back types. You see bullies, tales of disturbing boyfriends or girlfriends.

You also meet some really lovely people. Generous and kind hearted. Some people do really amazing things to help people.

Then you see people on social media and anonymous forums such as this and the amount of people who post horrible things is staggering. Why is this? Is it because they are really like this and get a chance to show their true personalities online, they would hide this in real life? Do you think many people would choose to be nasty in real life if they knew they'd get away with it?

I'm such a good lad I am.

People are a virus.
Come to after hours and ask a normal question.

ILoveYourVibes

I'm lovely

But when im bad im better!

ILoveYourVibes

Farawayhome wrote: »

What are your views? Are people generally good with the exception being the horrible people? Or is it the other way round?

I like to see the best in people but as you go through life, you find more and more people who are just not that nice. From the openly rotten people to the behind your back types. You see bullies, tales of disturbing boyfriends or girlfriends.

You also meet some really lovely people. Generous and kind hearted. Some people do really amazing things to help people.

Then you see people on social media and anonymous forums such as this and the amount of people who post horrible things is staggering. Why is this? Is it because they are really like this and get a chance to show their true personalities online, they would hide this in real life? Do you think many people would choose to be nasty in real life if they knew they'd get away with it?

Usually good but when they're bad they're better!

wally1990

In my opinion the majority of people are absolutely selfish

Most people are 'good' and not bad people but definitely selfish

Farawayhome

ILoveYourVibes wrote: »

I'm lovely

But when im bad im better!

ILoveYourVibes wrote: »

Usually good but when they're bad they're better!

Funnier the first time.




Is funnier the word I'm looking for?

valoren

And the whole world has to answer right now just to tell you once again: Who's bad?

ILoveYourVibes

Farawayhome wrote: »

Funnier the first time.




Is funnier the word I'm looking for?

wait for the third and fourth!

Farawayhome

valoren wrote: »

And the whole world has to answer right now just to tell you once again: Who's bad?

mrslancaster

Farawayhome wrote: »

What are your views? Are people generally good with the exception being the horrible people? Or is it the other way round?....

Then you see people on social media and anonymous forums such as this and the amount of people who post horrible things is staggering. Why is this? ....

IMe most people are generally good and have a "live and let live" attitude and just want to get on with life. There is some nasty mean stuff posted all right but also very helpful information and discussions that's not available elsewhere.

I’m actually more measured online than I am in real life. I loathe trolls and people who hide behind anonymity to pour vitriol, seemingly to get kicks. If I have something less positive to say to somebody for some reason I much prefer to do it face to face.

I think most people have a lot of innate decency, but with potential for bad deeds in the wrong circumstances. Most people are contradictions within themselves, I know I am definitely a hypocrite and I can annoy myself at times; but that’s my conscience trying to keep
Myself in order. There are those seemingly with no conscience at all and they are the sociopaths, probably making up almost 10% of society. They are the ones causing most of the problems of the world and they rarely struggle within themselves or lose sleep over anything that might affect anybody but themselves. At the other end of the spectrum there are the genuinely angelic people who wouldn’t harm a fly, or try their utmost not to in spite of personal obstacles. I seem to know few enough of those, but I have a small number of relations, friends, and acquaintances in this category, but, like the sociopaths, I still believe they make up about 10%. They are rarely enough to be seen in leadership, but if they can nudge their way up there they make the Gandhis of the world.

ILoveYourVibes

People are like a box of chocolates you never know what you are going to get. You just have to bite and see.

SirGerryAdams

wally1990 wrote: »

In my opinion the majority of people are absolutely selfish

Most people are 'good' and not bad people but definitely selifsh

Everyone is selfish. This is a fact.

ILoveYourVibes

ILoveYourVibes wrote: »

People are like a box of chocolates you never know what you are going to get. You just have to bite and see.

I must write that down on a piece of paper, and scrunch it into a ball.

mariaalice

Yes, without a doubt.

mariaalice

Goodness and kindness is everywhere. Cynicism corodes everything.

Farawayhome

Farawayhome wrote: »

What are your views? Are people generally good with the exception being the horrible people? Or is it the other way round?

I think the majority of people by far are "good" but I think they operate in a society that has created a system of incentives that can work against that goodness too.

Honesty is one good example of this. We do not celebrate honesty as much as we could - and quite often we actively suffer when we are being honest rather than hiding things or putting the blame elsewhere and so on.

Farawayhome wrote: »

I like to see the best in people but as you go through life, you find more and more people who are just not that nice. From the openly rotten people to the behind your back types. You see bullies, tales of disturbing boyfriends or girlfriends.

One problem I think is that it is not a linear scale. It is easier to seem bad than good. One takes more effort than the other. So this skews our perspective a little. We underestimate the good and over estimate the bad.

Worse I think we do not just estimate them poorly but _notice_ them differently. We are more inclined to notice the bad stuff although a lot rarer stay with us more and longer. How often do you notice a driver and think "wow he was nice or great to do that" compared to how often we notice a driver who seems to do an a-hole move?

And finally I think "seems" is important there. We can often see something happen we deem as bad or mean or horrible or inconsiderate and assume the worst of the person doing it. But we do not know their reality. Often they did it for reasons that would entirely justify it if we knew them. But we do not see any of that and in fact in the same situation we would likely have done the same thing.

Farawayhome wrote: »

You also meet some really lovely people. Generous and kind hearted. Some people do really amazing things to help people.

I try to be one of those people myself. Not that I often succeed. But one of the things I did recently was start working with some local youths who were hanging out basically being the worst kids you can imagine and even actively terrorizing little old ladies.

In an _amazingly_ short space of time I turned them into the loveliest group of lads you could want to meet. I have written about them a couple of times on boards.

Which feeds this feeling in my that not only are people generally good - those that seem not to be are not _actively_ bad. They are just a few short steps down the wrong path and can be rescued relatively easily.

Farawayhome wrote: »

Then you see people on social media and anonymous forums such as this and the amount of people who post horrible things is staggering. Why is this?

I think there has been no end of studies showing that a huge part of this is not that they are actively bad people but that the effect of "depersonalisation" on our species is huge. Particularly online. There have been studies on this in scientific contexts - social contexts - and even entertainment contexts.

For example of the third of those - Derren Brown a minor hero of mine did a game show where the audience was made vote on the consequences that would be visited on a seemingly innocent member of the public. The more depersonalised it became the more horrific the audience got.

But this has been born out in science studies too. It is not just that people on here are anonymous so they feel they can do more evil - but the people they are doing it _to_ are also faceless anonymous incarnations and that depersonalises them and people feel more justified and less hesitant to simply be cruel to them.

Not because they are actively cruel as such - but just because our species is not evolved to process individuals in such a removed manner.

SEPT 23 1989

the nasty b@stards sell papers

branie2

I think most people are

take everything

People are fine.
Once a relationship is superficial and ego-preserving for the other person.

Most people (especially younger people today) live in a bubble where they don't want to be questioned or introspect. Friendship and reality are nearly mutually exclusive from what I have observed. Just keep saying nice things and not calling people on bull**** and you'll be fine.

I rarely ever meet people who want to go deeper than that and are not all about preserving that ego. I have seen it again and again again. It never fails.

Once you do that and call them out on reality, you can forget about connection with most people.

Most people.
Just have to find the ones who aren't like that.

ToddyDoody

Everyone casts a shadow.

Farawayhome

There are some threads on this site that show that there are people who take delight in others misfortune. You have to feel sorrow for these people really. How empty are their lives?

orourkeda1977

generally good but generally annoying also

victor8600

What is good? Stealing food from a shop is usually a not good deed, but if you have to feed a starving baby, would it be better to steal rather than let the baby die? What if some Hitler in your country starts a war which means that your children starve, and then he tell you to go loot Jewish shops, would you do it?

But yeah, generally, if everything is chugging along nicely, people are good.

Most people are good, but even good people can do bad things just like bad people can still do good things. People aren't just good or bad; they can be both on the same day.

Anteayer

Most people are great and will often go out of their way to help out. That very small % who aren't cause mayhem though.

RollieFingers

Everyone has good and bad in them.

punisher5112

The Chinese, great bunch of lads....

Hal3000

People are generally good and that's why we don't have total anarchy in the streets. You just hear more now about the bad people because the media control literally everything these days.

bottlebrush

victor8600 wrote: »

What is good? Stealing food from a shop is usually a not good deed, but if you have to feed a starving baby, would it be better to steal rather than let the baby die? What if some Hitler in your country starts a war which means that your children starve, and then he tell you to go loot Jewish shops, would you do it?

But yeah, generally, if everything is chugging along nicely, people are good.

agreed. smooth seas don't make good sailors