Why do you believe that bad things only happen to bad people?

[TreVader]

Conservatives by and large come from a demographic that had either had little or no interaction with law enforcement and/or are law enforcement. They are more likely to be military, white, and non-urban or city-dwelling. They are less likely to be highly educated.

I don't think they are assholes or necessarily mean to be racist, but I do think they (conservatives) have no idea what the realities of being a minority in a big city or living in poverty. With zero actual experience they are left to Fox or whatever other media BS they watch on TV.

It's understandable but that doesn't mean it needs to be tolerated. I don't really understand the obstinance exhibited by people on the right when confronted with undeniable truths about race in the US today.

 

[Zaap]

This is nearly toddler-level stuff.

No one believes the over-simplified premise which is of course based on the usual purposeful-misunderstanding of actual positions people have.

Also just of note, leave it to a simple-minded liberal to bring race into the dumbed down premise therefore equating "bad people" with minorities, and then claiming its others who have bizzarely racist thought patterns. But then again, need I say it? Typical.

 

[blankslate]

Because God tells me that's how the world works and if you don't believe in God you must be a musleeem terrist.... Goddamn bombers....



....

 

[JEDIYoda]

I see a lot of comments like "to stop getting harassed by police, don't commit crimes" or "if you're struggling to pay the bills, just get a better job."

Why do you believe that bad things only happen to bad people?
Have you ever had any misfortune in your life wasn't your fault?

who said...

 

[cubby1223]

I see a lot of comments like "to stop getting harassed by police, don't commit crimes" or "if you're struggling to pay the bills, just get a better job."

Why do you believe that bad things only happen to bad people?

Have you ever had any misfortune in your life wasn't your fault?

You can create a lot of variations, but I will say this one is absolutely true:
If you do not want to be harassed by police, do not commit crimes.

It's not saying people who don't commit crimes do not get harassed. It's just saying those who do commit crimes should not get to be portrayed as the hero when a police officer isn't friendly to him.

 

[shira]

Please stay away from any career choice that requires good reading comprehension.

Fern

My reading comprehension is just fine. It's your writing that sucks. You wrote:

Bad people do bad things to good people. So yes, bad things can, and do, happen to good people.

"So yes" (my bolding) is equivalent to "Therefore." In other words, you're saying the reason bad things happen to good people is that bad people do bad things to them. How could anyone with normal reading skills interpret that to mean that you think there are "natural" causes of bad things (and just plain bad luck), too?

 

[cubby1223]

My reading comprehension is just fine. It's your writing that sucks. You wrote:

"So yes" (my bolding) is equivalent to "Therefore." In other words, you're saying the reason bad things happen to good people is that bad people do bad things to them. How could anyone with normal reading skills interpret that to mean that you think there are "natural" causes of bad things (and just plain bad luck), too?

No, your reading & comprehension of logic could use some improvement. Here is some introductory material:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propositional_calculus

p -> q
p therefore q
does not negate the possibility of:
r -> q
nor does it make any statement to the validity of either of these:
q -> p
~p -> ~q

In layman's terms, people of "normal reading skills" recognize that his statement did not exclude alternate sources of "bad things".

 

[Moonbeam]

It's because having superior values leads to money and money insulates you from the majority of bad things.

WOW! Was that ever masterfully done.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

The rain falls on the just and the unjust and sometimes a cigar is just a smoke.

 

[Smoblikat]

I dont think this way. I believe the universe finds it extremely funny when bad things happen to good people. I also think it has even more fun when bad things happen to me, so ive stopped caring/

 

[glenn1]

Conservatives by and large come from a demographic that had either had little or no interaction with law enforcement and/or are law enforcement. They are more likely to be military, white, and non-urban or city-dwelling. They are less likely to be highly educated.



I don't think they are assholes or necessarily mean to be racist, but I do think they (conservatives) have no idea what the realities of being a minority in a big city or living in poverty. With zero actual experience they are left to Fox or whatever other media BS they watch on TV.

You're omitting a big factor, those conservatives from the first paragraph typically obey the law. The per capita crime and vicitimization rates for the people in the second paragraph are orders of magnitude higher than those in the first.

This might be helpful to you: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2plo4FOgIU

It's understandable but that doesn't mean it needs to be tolerated. I don't really understand the obstinance exhibited by people on the right when confronted with undeniable truths about race in the US today.

What exactly are you saying doesn't need to be "tolerated"? And what "undeniable truths"?

 

[shira]

No, your reading & comprehension of logic could use some improvement. Here is some introductory material:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propositional_calculus

p -> q
p therefore q
does not negate the possibility of:
r -> q
nor does it make any statement to the validity of either of these:
q -> p
~p -> ~q

In layman's terms, people of "normal reading skills" recognize that his statement did not exclude alternate sources of "bad things".

You're confusing reading comprehension with performing an exercise in formal logic. You're confusing the process of coming up with everyday, reasonable, nuanced interpretations of written words with how a crude android, untrained in semantics, would figure out the meaning of written words.

Remember, Fern was affirming that bad things happen to good people, and provided a cause (the acts of bad people). No "layman" asking the original question could possibly "recognize" that his statement did not exclude alternate MAJOR sources of "bad things," because to do so would mean that the question-asker already knew the answer to his/her own question.

Furthermore, it's VERY reasonable (for those of us who already do know the answer) to interpret Fern's response as meaning that he overlooked alternative major explantions for bad things. I mean, if someone asked my why bad things happen to good people, I'd mention "bad luck," "ignorance," "inadequate resources/time/money," and "laziness," before I'd mention "bad people," but I'd certainly mention ALL of these (and I'd specifically state that God was NOT a cause). Since Fern didn't include these other causes, it's reasonable to conclude that he either didn't either think of them or didn't think they were signficant.

 

[Rakehellion]

Bad things can and do happen to both good and bad people. People also do things that result in bad things happening to them as well.

Getting harassed by police and not being being able to pay your bills aren't the same bad thing. Nor is cancer, ebola, run amok semis, your neighbor's natural gas explosion...

Because there is arguably causation between being a bad person committing crimes, and "harassment", whereas my my utility provider could have, and which is the likely scenario, increased my payments, or I could have been forced to settle for a lower-paying job.

I cannot see how not having a "better job" to afford bills is an indictment on being a bad person like committing crimes leading to harrassment is.

Bad begets bad. But, it doesn't have a monopoly.

Nobody believes that.

Either people are dodging the question or this is flying right over their heads.


How do you blame someone for their own misfortune in cases similar to the ones mentioned in the original post? If you don't agree with the arguments or similar ones, then the question isn't directed at you.

 

[Rakehellion]

You can create a lot of variations, but I will say this one is absolutely true:
If you do not want to be harassed by police, do not commit crimes.

It's not saying people who don't commit crimes do not get harassed. It's just saying those who do commit crimes should not get to be portrayed as the hero when a police officer isn't friendly to him.

That isn't the point. People who commit crimes should be arrested by police as it's their job.

Police also harass people who have never broken the law.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

Either people are dodging the question or this is flying right over their heads.

It could be that the number of those who believe that bad things only happen to bad people are practically nil and therefore you aren't getting the answers you want.

Why do you believe the sky is green and grass is blue?

 

[WHAMPOM]

I see a lot of comments like "to stop getting harassed by police, don't commit crimes" or "if you're struggling to pay the bills, just get a better job."

Why do you believe that bad things only happen to bad people?

Have you ever had any misfortune in your life wasn't your fault?

Oh, that is the bolster of their magic feeling of superiority. I am always reminded of the visit to the monkey house in "Stranger In A Strange Land."

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

Either people are dodging the question or this is flying right over their heads.

It could be that the number of those who believe that bad things only happen to bad people are practically nil and therefore you aren't getting the answers you want.

Why do you believe the sky is green and grass is blue?

 

[shira]

Either people are dodging the question or this is flying right over their heads.


How do you blame someone for their own misfortune in cases similar to the ones mentioned in the original post? If you don't agree with the arguments or similar ones, then the question isn't directed at you.

Cognitive dissonance pushes conservatives into rejecting the notion that "external" causes can be significant contributors to life going south for many people. To put this another way, given the choice between embracing "bad luck" on the one hand and their ideology on big government, taxes, national defense, and criminal justice on the other hand, conservatives find it easy to blame the victim.

 

[Omar F1]

Did we choose at which family to be borne, which century, at peace time or war, in which country or color, tall or short, beautiful or ugly, healthy or with disability....
Life is luck, with many options we could get along the road, but for some there isn't any at all.

 

[Londo_Jowo]

Either people are dodging the question or this is flying right over their heads.


How do you blame someone for their own misfortune in cases similar to the ones mentioned in the original post? If you don't agree with the arguments or similar ones, then the question isn't directed at you.

Obviously I don't beleve that bad things only happens to bad people. Bad things can happen to people of all walks of life. What matters is how a person moves forward after a bad thing happens.