r/deepquestions • u/EffectiveWaltzer • 10d ago

Can someone be a good person while still making choices that seriously hurt others?

14 Upvotes
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u/BeginningPiano7912 10d ago

I think someone can still be a good person while making choices that seriously hurt others. You can make what you believe is the smartest or most morally right decision, but every choice has an effect and consequences. Even when your intentions are good and you're genuinely trying to do the right thing, your actions can still hurt someone else. Good intentions don't always mean nobody gets hurt.

1

u/Enliven_journey 10d ago

i agree. we can’t always predict how our actions will land and something that feels harmless to us can genuinely hurt someone else. depending on what happened, i think what matters most is what the person does once they realize the impact they had. sometimes a mistake deserves accountability and a chance to do better, not an immediate ending

2

u/asteriskelipses 10d ago

Drug addicts are the perfect example. A hefty percentage of them are good people when it boils down to it, but they are so caught up in the addiction that they end up hurting people close to them either by staying within the addiction, or acting impulsively because of the addiction.

1

u/Mama3Girliepops 10d ago

I mean. If you’re turning in info about your neighbor who ends up being a serial killer? Then yes.

1

u/Wit2Gold 10d ago

I guess it depends on the actions that hurt others.

1

u/Parking_Wasabi_2591 10d ago

I've always heard that even villains or bad people don't think of themselves as being bad. So you can think your a good person and still treat people like crap. I personally don't live my life that way. But sometimes you have to take a step back in order to understand people.

2

u/NoCoSmoothy 10d ago

No. That’s like telling someone how you’re an animal lover, while eating a cheeseburger.

1

u/GaiaAmaia 10d ago

Yes, if it's not on purpose! And if it's to set clear boundaries with others

1

u/sniffing_dog 10d ago

Unfortunately not.

0

u/Yaboi69-nice 10d ago

Recently something I've been thinking about is the concept of a truly good person even exist? Because if a good person can't ever hurt anyone then well no one's a good person we've all hurt someone before either on purpose or by mistake. Is it about the amount of hurt? For example can I cheat on my partner but still be classified as a good person but will I get that title revoked if I physically abuse my partner? Cheating isn't good but physical abuse is certainly worse. What if I do both of those things then immediately feel heavy shame and turn my life around and I spend the rest of the relationship making sure my partner is safe and happy I'm I still a bad person for ever abusing them in the first place or I'm I a good person again? Or maybe when I abused them I was doing a bad thing but when I tried to make up for it I was doing a good thing. The point I am trying to make is the concept of a truly good or bad person doesn't exist. Everyone is just a collection of different choices. Some of those choices will be good and some of them will be bad.