Share Your Virtuous Actions With The World

[Deleted User]DarrenWalker (deleted user)
in General

No, seriously—do. Tell everyone about the good things you've done in your life; the things that helped others; that made you feel good about yourself; the things you're proud of.

Who knows? Maybe we'll all get some new ideas.

And if you want to share stories of others who've done good things for you, why! By all means, go right ahead.

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Comments

  • [Deleted User]DarkLordChungus (deleted user)
    edited December 2020

    OH BOY.

    As I've recently stated in another thread, I have made several donations to a charity that focuses on mental health. Aside from that, my benevolence has extended to:

    Paying for a man's fuel and cigarettes. He appeared desperate; his clothes were little more than rags, and his eyes contained a deep sadness. He also possessed a knife, which he brandished at me. "I don't wanna do this, man, but I need some gas and cigs." I looked outside to see which pump he was parked at. I ascertained this information right away, as his vehicle was the only one present. It was a van, and from the looks of it, I was surprised that the thing was even capable of moving—save, perhaps, for a slow sinking into the earth. "Sure, man. What kind of cigarettes do you prefer?" The fellow gaped, and lowered his knife somewhat. "Uh, anything menthol would be great." "Shorts, or one-hundreds?" "Hundreds is fine." I grabbed a pack of Eagle 20 menthol 100's. "And how much do you need for fuel?" He thought for a moment. "Six would be good." The knife was still out, but it hanged limply at his side in his hand. I rang up his cigs and fuel, took out my credit card, and paid for it all. The man put the knife way. When he spoke again, he was choking back sobs. "Hey man, I'm sorry man, it's just...it's just...you know. I want to get home and see my kids." This confession, and his thanks, irritated me mildly. "No problem." He took a few steps away from the counter. "Hey, uh, you're not gonna call the cops are you?" I looked at him for a moment, realizing that this was something I could do. "No. The thought didn't even occur to me. Have a good night." "Yeah man. Thanks again."

    And:

    Helping a trans person establish herself on a webcam site. Despite being a misanthrope, I do sometimes get the urge to speak to people. Not just anyone, mind you, but persons who I think may have an interesting story to tell, or a worldview different than my own. Oftentimes, sex workers have interesting stories to tell. So there I was, browsing Chaturbate's trans section. On the last page (which features entertainers with very few viewers), I happened to discover a woman garbed in black. From the thumbnail, I could see that she had a spookiness about her, which meant (in my mind) that it was possible that our musical tastes might align. I entered her room and was greeted by the sound of Rammstein's "Links 2 3 4". This was a good start. I struck up a conversation about music, and all went quite well. We chatted about our other interests, too, for a while. Other users came and went, generally to ask for sexual content without paying, but our conversation would pick up again once they'd departed. Eventually, she announced that she was done for the day. I gave her a tip, thanked her, and joined her fan club.

    We continued to speak for some time after our initial meeting, and we came to share various personal things with each other. It was a pleasant arrangement, and I felt that she was good company. Unfortunately, her stream didn't take off, and she thought that it might have something to do with her dismal camera, lighting, and so on. After some discussion, I ended up getting her a ring light from Amazon.

    More time passed, and the tip money I'd occasionally send for an especially nice conversation went to miscellaneous pieces of tech. Her viewer count grew, she raked in more digital currency, and offered me to moderate her chatroom for her. I politely declined, and then went on my way, glad that I was able to assist her, if only minimally, to be more successful at getting naked for strangers and jacking her large penis.

    And those are only two examples of my astounding kindness, my sheer generosity—my amazingly sweet good-heartedness.

    I am truly wonderful. Thank you for reading.

  • [Deleted User]DarrenWalker (deleted user)

    @UltimateChungus: I remember you telling me about the man with the knife a few years back. In your shoes, I think I'd've taken the money out of the till (as it were) and reported a robbery. Paying for what the robber needed out of your own pocket without a thought? Sometimes your selflessness amazes me.

    ...No, really. I don't understand this dork at all. So abrasive. So giving. It's weird. Not that I'm complaining.

    When I believed in the Judeo-christian mythos, I used to encourage gay people to suppress their natural desires and deny who they were—to pretend and pretend until the day they died. This was good because if they listened I'd have saved them from an eternity of torment.

    Now that I no longer believe in hell, I encourage gay people to surrender to their sinful lusts and embrace the perverted temptations of the devil. This is good because if they listen I'll have saved them from a life (the only one they'll ever have) full of lies, self-rejection, and pain.

    ...You ever wonder what counts as "good," and why?

  • CuddleDuncanCuddleDuncan Mod

    I was brought up in a conventional, strictly Christian household. As a consequence, gay people - including gay couples - were always welcome in our house. (As was everybody.) This was in the 1970s.

    I only mention it because the anti-gay [non] 'Christians' have better publicity than the actual Christians, and I like to redress the balance.

    @UltimateChungus an acquaintance of mine was once mugged at knife point. During the mugging the parties fell into conversation, and the consequence was that they went for a pint. In the pub my pal said, 'Well, you'll have to pay because I don't have any money .... '

  • [Deleted User]DarrenWalker (deleted user)

    @CuddleDuncan: I was brought up in a strictly Christian household, too. The conventions of worldly society, though... yeah, my family kind of rejected those. "Biblical Christianity!" That was the idea. Thus, I grew up studying Hebrew and Greek and looking very carefully at any translations which were supposedly inaccurate.

    "Harmonizing the scripture" was also a big deal. Found a verse that could be translated more than one way? Find other verses on the same topic and see if the ambiguity can be eliminated.

    The Bible's not exactly a loving or inclusive book, in general. You have to ignore, leave out, or willfully misinterpret a great deal if you want to make it look even vaguely like that. Which is easy if you never study it! Especially not in depth. Honestly, it's much easier to be a Christian and a socially acceptable person if you don't look at the book too hard. Or at all.

    [sigh]

    Who's a realer Christian, anyway? One who follows the rules and regulations set forth by a book written centuries ago—a book that says things like "God made Eve from Adam's rib, and that's why a man leaves his father and mother and partners up with a woman"—or one who ignores all that binary, heteronormative nonsense, looks at reality, and accepts people for who they are?

    Guess it depends on your definition of "Christian."

  • sunnysideupsunnysideup
    edited December 2020

    What counts as good? It can be subjective, and culturally dependent. Like you pointed out, two different people would give radically different advice, and both people would think they are good. It's part of what's responsible for the big political divide - people assume people in the other party are immoral, and therefore, not good, for having different moral values.

    I like to think that good actions are the actions whose net effect is more positive than negative, with decisions grounded in reality, without directly hurting anyone (who isn't directly hurting anyone).

    Positive effects are those that result in an increased standard of living for one or more, increases one or more persons health or mood, and avoids unncessary suffering or destruction.

    One should always be reevaluating their morals to make sure it's inline with the kind of world they'd like to be in, and that future decisions can be better made.

  • PeopleLikeUsPeopleLikeUs

    I'm restoring a graveyard. Dead people need love too.

  • TheFunCartelTheFunCartel

    @PeopleLikeUs Did Jerry Garcia appear grateful for your work?

  • pmvinespmvines

    My mere presence on this site is a virtuous act of service . I'm here , and I'm a blessing!

  • quixotic_lifequixotic_life

    Aww... @pmvines ~ Yes you are dear. 💓😉

  • pmvinespmvines

    @quixotic_life you're welcome

  • [Deleted User]DrCuddleBug (deleted user)
    edited December 2020

    (I had a post here that I decided to delete, but couldn't figure out how to do that, so I am replacing it with this lame message lol)

  • [Deleted User]DarrenWalker (deleted user)

    @sunnysideup: I've been told often that I think too much. It's nice to see that other people have spent mental time on the same topics I have!

    Speaking of which, here's a ramble.

    It's a terrible thing (so I'm told), but I can't see the word "good" without wondering, For whom? For what? By what standard? It does always seem to come down to humans—which makes sense. Humans are, after all, the only ones consciously assigning positive or negative value to things.

    Look at the net effect of eating nonhuman animals, and we see that the effect is more positive than negative (for humans).

    The net effect of eating plants? Again, more positive than negative (for humans; no word yet on how the plants feel about it).

    Even if we say eating the things we eat is good for them somehow, it's our own ideas about what's good that we're applying. Who knows what a cow thinks is best for it, or a carrot? Not me. And if a parent beats their child genuinely believing it's helping (and perhaps it is), are they doing good or bad? What does the child think; and does that matter?

    If you put up a flashing Christmas display, and a passing epileptic has a particularly nasty seizure because of it and ends up paralyzed or dead or something, is that all right because most people who passed reacted with joy—does the net effect still count as more positive than negative?

    This is why, even if I create a thread like this one, I can't really participate in it. I think too much to be able to confidently say "this was done, and it was objectively good."

  • FlyingToasterFlyingToaster

    I have mixed feelings about this thread.. I'd feel a little weird about telling people - If I want to do something helpful, I just want to be helpful. It seems a bit self-congratulatory to tell people later about such things.

  • [Deleted User]DrCuddleBug (deleted user)

    @FlyingToaster that's why I replaced/deleted mine.

  • [Deleted User]DarrenWalker (deleted user)
    edited December 2020

    @FlyingToaster: I'm not sure about a lot of things related to doing good, but it seems to me that the more positive reinforcement a person gets for doing a good thing, the more likely they are to do it again, probably. And if some of that positive reinforcement comes in the form of self-congratulation, well... why shouldn't it?

    I know the Bible says good deeds should be kept secret and people should only be rewarded for them after they're dead—but really, now.

    If a deed is actually, objectively good, why not feel as good about it as you can? Is it more moral, somehow, to be less happy? (This is a genuine question: for all I know, it might be.)

    And surely there can't be anything wrong in giving people practical ideas about what sorts of good things can be done. Can there?

  • FlyingToasterFlyingToaster

    @DarrenWalker I haven't studied the bible much, so I don't know all it says about that.. But the good I feel after doing something helpful is often good enough reinforcement.

  • [Deleted User]DarrenWalker (deleted user)

    @FlyingToaster: Could you be happier, or feel better about having done something helpful? Or is your brain so generous with the dopamine that anything more would feel like too much (and thus not actually feel better)?

  • FlyingToasterFlyingToaster

    @DarrenWalker I'm not sure what you mean.. I tend to feel better after I do something helpful.

  • [Deleted User]DarrenWalker (deleted user)
    edited December 2020

    @FlyingToaster: Basically, if your mental state is a 5—not happy, not unhappy—does doing a helpful thing boost your mood to an 8, 9, or 10? Or do you only get a 6, or a 5.5 or something, and call that "good enough"?

    Edit: More than 10 would be too much. A scale-breaker. Overwhelming. No longer pleasant.

  • FlyingToasterFlyingToaster

    @DarrenWalker I suppose it gets me close to 9-10

  • [Deleted User]DrCuddleBug (deleted user)

    @FlyingToaster don't let anyone steal the joy from you for acting selflessly on another's behalf.

  • [Deleted User]DarrenWalker (deleted user)
    edited December 2020

    @FlyingToaster: That explains it, then. Congratulations! You've got a strong internal rewards system. Sounds like you don't need positive reinforcement from others to feel good about doing something to help another (though it might still be nice, every once in a while).

    Not everybody's as lucky as you.

    Is it immoral to have a brain that doesn't reward you so greatly for doing good things that you don't need external positive reinforcement?

  • FlyingToasterFlyingToaster

    @DarrenWalker I suppose I'd say I don't feel like I need to go around telling people about the good things I've done. On a related note though, one of my love languages is words of affirmation, but I think that works well mainly in the context of a relationship.

  • [Deleted User]DarrenWalker (deleted user)

    @FlyingToaster: Love languages do tend to work best in the context of a loving relationship.

    Well—though you may not need to tell people what good things you've done, mightn't some people need to hear it? That good things are done in the world, and here are some of them, and perhaps you can do something like that too, now that you know what's possible.

    [shrug] Just a thought.

  • [Deleted User]DrCuddleBug (deleted user)

    @DarrenWalker I don't mean to speak for @FlyingToaster , but if I am understanding him correctly, it sounds like he would be all for celebrating the good we find in the world, but does not feel comfortable or desirous of "blowing his own horn." That seems pretty clear from what he had repeated said. Why can't you let him be okay with that? He didn't say you, or anyone else, can't broadcast your good deeds; it just isn't for him.

  • FlyingToasterFlyingToaster

    @DrCuddleBug No joy has been stolen :)

  • [Deleted User]DrCuddleBug (deleted user)

    @FlyingToaster I'm glad to hear that. In that case, I retract my statement. 😊 Carry on, ya'll.

  • littermatelittermate

    I make my living loving on people every day, all day, every day of the year. Oh, and it's not only my work, it's my hobby too. I'm one big fat love dog. I only stop to eat, sleep and ride my mountain bike. And even then, I might be multi-tasking and loving on somebody while I eat, while I sleep (night shift, my soul leaves my body and enters other people's dreams and does good shit to them), and while I ride my mountain bike (hi! hi! hi!). I could go on. I won't. Besides the occasional mountain bike ride, there's literally NOTHING as awesome or fun or heart-shatteringly wondrous in my world as pouring my heart out in the direction of another.

  • [Deleted User]DarrenWalker (deleted user)

    @DrCuddleBug: All I meant was that, while some people might feel uncomfortable sharing their good deeds, I don't think there's anything intrinsically wrong with sharing—in fact, somebody might benefit from hearing.

    Just figured I'd counteract the discouragement of the idea that sharing goodness is "tooting your own horn." And thanks for sharing, @littermate!

  • littermatelittermate

    Yout bet @DarrenWalker. At minimum it might restore a bit of faith in the goodness of humans, despite how challenged we are.

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