[ColdNoMore]

At the suggestion of the moderator in the "Is it just me" thread, I offer this thread for those to express how they feel when evaluating whether the 'good' should be taken into account...when the 'bad' is revealed?

Recognizing the almost limitless ways, and the seriousness of each, that the good/bad can be intertwined...how do you separate the two?

I generally give more weight, good or bad, to that which...harms other people/animals/society in general.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

I mostly try looking at things in context. Good and bad are so subjective, but context is not. For example:

White guy talking to his white pals at a table, in general conversation, overheard saying "yeah I hate those people."

Black guy is the one to overhear it, it might cause his spidey senses to tingle. White guy wearing a MAGA hat might have the same reaction. Disabled person might have the same reaction. A mixed-race couple might have the same reaction. An ex-convict of any race or ethnic origin might have the same reaction.

The actual context:

The guys at the table were talking about "people who are rude to cashiers in supermarkets." And he really hates those people.

Granted, hate is a pretty severe word to use with regards to people who are rude to cashiers in supermarkets, and he could've been more gentle in the expression of his opinion. But the point is, the statement "I hate those people," taken out of context, can set off some pretty serious triggers. Missing information is as bad, in my opinion, as misleading information.

[Velvet]

...

[Rapscallion St Croix]

I am a military man and in my world, "one awe sh*t" wipes out 99 "attaboys", or as the unofficial motto of SAC stated, "To Err is Human...To Forgive is Not Our Policy".

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Originally Posted by Velvet

Personally, no matter what the justification, I can’t condone evil (action that hurts others) behavior. Particularly when those hurt are young children.

And this is exactly why I say context is more important than "good vs. bad." What you think is bad, might actually have been very good. But you were missing a piece of the puzzle that put the whole story into perspective.

Another example:

You witness an unarmed 20-year-old kid being tazed and held while his pregnant wife is pleading for the police to stop hurting him.

You think - holy cow, this is clearly a case of police brutality!

--------

What you didn't see, was that seconds before you got there, the unarmed 20-year-old was armed with a loaded revolver and was aiming it at his pregnant wife. She is a battered woman under extreme duress and unable to think coherently at this moment of crisis, and the man was just stopped from murdering her and her baby. He refused to put the gun down and they couldn't get close to him without risking him pulling the trigger. The gun is now right behind his wife's left foot, out of your view.

[Bucco]

Originally Posted by ColdNoMore

At the suggestion of the moderator in the "Is it just me" thread, I offer this thread for those to express how they feel when evaluating whether the 'good' should be taken into account...when the 'bad' is revealed?

Recognizing the almost limitless ways, and the seriousness of each, that the good/bad can be intertwined...how do you separate the two?

I generally give more weight, good or bad, to that which...harms other people/animals/society in general.

Everyone has good and bad on their "ledger"

Seperating them is difficult, but, FOR ME, it is based on truth. When you lie, and as IAZUELA has noted, context is important, you pretty much place your "good" in jeopardy.

If you embrace truth, your ledger will easily be much more good than bad. If you act to the truth, tell the truth, expect the truth, seek the truth, then your bad side of the ledger will be HONEST an mistake for the most part.

When someone is revealed as a liar or is duplicitious then it is very hard for me to see any "perceived" good thing as anything but self serving cover up

We are speaking of chronic behavior, not "oneoffs".

And I further believe a lie ALWAYS hurts someone.

[Topspinmo]

Originally Posted by Rapscallion St Croix

I am a military man and in my world, "one awe sh*t" wipes out 99 "attaboys", or as the unofficial motto of SAC stated, "To Err is Human...To Forgive is Not Our Policy".

In my last days of sac the motto was “ do more with less” a general named “Light” brain storm or most likely one of his little yes men? Naturally I was in management position and wondered how I was going to do more with less parts, less troops, less training time, and more sorties?

[Topspinmo]

The good? What’s it good for? Done good job, the good which 99% fall into never get recognized, we expect more than good. Now the bad, bad is bad! The bad deserves second and third chance. A bad experience is not good. Bad can be good? He’s one bad ball player, he’s a bad ___.

[Velvet]

...

[Taltarzac725]

Originally Posted by Velvet

And yet, the only thing that evil needs to prosper is a blind eye. (Sorry, this is in reply to the earlier post).

Actually in certain situations there were many blind eyes turned. Check out Barbara Tuchman's The March of Folly .

The March of Folly - Wikipedia

[Bucco]

Originally Posted by Velvet

And yet, the only thing that evil needs to prosper is a blind eye. (Sorry, this is in reply to the earlier post).

A blind eye and deaf ear.

If you do not recognize BAD, how will you know GOOD. If you turn a "blind eye" to evil, you gradually lose the ability to ever see it again, and the ability to then do anything good.

Worst of all, that "blind eye" is mestastic. It spreads.

[Taltarzac725]

Originally Posted by Bucco

A blind eye and deaf ear.

If you do not recognize BAD, how will you know GOOD. If you turn a "blind eye" to evil, you gradually lose the ability to ever see it again, and the ability to then do anything good.

Worst of all, that "blind eye" is mestastic. It spreads.

Barbara W. Tuchman - Wikipedia

A good historian to read about how things can go wrong. She writes well too. The Guns of August - Wikipedia

[Velvet]

Just read a bit of the book on google books, her thesis is thought provoking! Will get around to reading the whole book.

[New Englander]

Originally Posted by Rapscallion St Croix

I am a military man and in my world, "one awe sh*t" wipes out 99 "attaboys", or as the unofficial motto of SAC stated, "To Err is Human...To Forgive is Not Our Policy".

It was the same with MAC.

[Velvet]

...