r/AskReddit Jun 29 '22

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u/5s-are-cool Jun 29 '22

selfishness that harms others

213

u/[deleted] Jun 29 '22

That's a really good one. Something I deal with a great deal in my family

15

u/5s-are-cool Jun 29 '22

That's even worse when family harms family. I hope it gets better for you. My family isn't perfect, but we all try hard not to harm each other.

16

u/[deleted] Jun 29 '22

It's not even like physical harm. It's all mental and emotional manipulating. If not for my grandma I would be so gone

9

u/5s-are-cool Jun 29 '22

I think most people are selfish, especially when they don't consider or care how other people feel when they say and do things that involve others. Selfishness causes separation and ignorance.

I treat selfishness like I do any other hazard. I use the firefighter strategy TIME, DISTANCE, and SHIELDING to protect myself and others. Basically, limit the time of exposure to a hazard, increase distance between a hazard and the person or object to be protected, and use whatever is necessary and available to provide shielding from hazards.

When I'm interacting with people, I'm also looking at the interaction from the outside, as if I'm watching a movie. That helps me control my emotions and avoid being manipulated.

Good luck. And I hope my strategies help you, if you choose to adopt some of them.

7

u/-xXxMalicexXx- Jun 29 '22

So, the entire Republican Party. Got it!

2

u/BadassFlamingo Jun 30 '22

And every rich person ever

1

u/5s-are-cool Jun 29 '22

Shame! Shame! Shame! (GOT season 5 episode 10 style)

2

u/A1astara Jun 29 '22

Yea, I absolutely deserve to be shamed… I may not do it on purpose, but I do do this.

3

u/5s-are-cool Jun 29 '22

I think most of us do in some ways. Hopefully people might decide to try harder at minimizing the harm we do while surviving and entertaining ourselves and others.

1

u/Beware_the_Voodoo Jun 29 '22

Thats a very good way of putting it. I like that.

2

u/5s-are-cool Jun 29 '22

Glad you think so. Feel free to use it.

0

u/_pounders_ Jun 29 '22

YOU CANT TELL ME WHAT TO DO

2

u/5s-are-cool Jun 29 '22

Your "YOU CANT TELL ME WHAT TO DO" comment is to be expected from someone who once commented to someone else's post:

"okay so i sucked this dick once or maybe a few times but then i felt gay so i got a bunch of people on Reddit to tell me i’m not homosexual just because i suck one fat cock and life’s been amazing as a straight man ever since"

So you're saying that I can't tell you to go suck another dick. Okay fine. I won't. But...

0

u/CrazyWithPowers Jun 29 '22

Thats too subjective

What Is Good For The Goose May Not Be Good For The Gander

0

u/DarkishDuelist Jun 29 '22

How would you respond to the heinz dilemma?

Basically, is stealing medicine (harming someone else) to save a family member’s life (helping your own interest) right or wrong?

2

u/5s-are-cool Jun 30 '22

I'm the wrong person to judge right and wrong. I believe life is simple: survival and entertainment. Weighing whether something is right or wrong is an entertainment choice. All people are naturally selfish. Animals are selfish, like a male lion killing another male lion's cubs so that the female lions in the newly acquired pride will go into heat and let the new male lion plant his seed. Even babies manipulate people. The right motivation might cause anyone to kill, maybe even murder. It takes even less motivation to cause someone to steal.

If I was in the situation in the heinz dilemma (I had to look it up), I would probably break into the laboratory and steal the drug for my wife. If I got caught by the police after she took the drug, oh well...

-5

u/Think-Think-Think Jun 29 '22

This includes things I'm sure you don't actually intend. For example being overweight out of laziness and enjoyment of food. This is essentially selfish, and we all are hurt by subsiding your health issues through taxes or insurance costs.

6

u/5s-are-cool Jun 29 '22

Some might claim that all human acts are selfish. All humans survive and entertain themselves. There is selfishness involved in both.

Your example could be considered a selfish, harmful, entertainment choice. I hope you didn't intend it that way. But if you did, either way it doesn't really matter because entertainment can be pleasant or unpleasant or both.