Do-Gooders in a World Without Empathy

Doing onto others as they don't do to you

I was cursed with an incessantly active conscience. It’s probably related to Catholic guilt, and my mother’s regular reminders to “look before you leap,” so that I didn’t wind up feeling guilty. I find feelings of remorse, of wanting to apologize to someone who no longer can be apologized to, more heartbreaking than unrequited love.

I’ve always been able to feel empathy. Perhaps to a fault. Thus, I can even sympathize with those who’ve offended society like no others; child rapists, serial killers, and the like. I don’t believe that anyone is born to commit crimes like that. I think those kinds of monsters are created. Nurture over nature, to quote the old classical liberal canard, which I still stubbornly subscribe to. The story of Saul, the very bad man who became converted to St. Paul on the road to Damascus, is one we should all remember, when we find it impossible to forgive, or to believe in redemption. Jesus related to the prostitutes and tax collectors, not the publicly pious souls trying to impress their neighbors (but not love them).

Despite the fact that superheroes are more popular than ever- Hollywood would have died long ago without superhero films- there seems to be less of a “do-gooder” mentality among the public than ever. Witness what happened to the Marine who tried to protect subway passengers from a mentally ill man threatening violence recently. He’s being prosecuted. We see what happens to every whistleblower. Not only the wrongdoers they are trying to expose, but a majority of the sleeping general public, opposes them. It’s a wonder that anyone is still willing to blow the whistle on corruption at any level, given the reaction they invariably receive. There are bound to be fewer than ever now- Marines or not- who risk their own lives to save others.

In the great cartoon series Batman Beyond, an elderly Bruce Wayne has turned more bitter than ever, and ruminates over how his lifetime of patrolling the streets of Gotham City at night had such a minimal impact on crime. The fact that superheroes keep being created, and finding an audience, is due to the undeniable fact that criminals seem to be winning. It appears that, for many at least, crime does pay. You had the dubious Guardian Angels on the streets for a while back in the 1980s, but they don’t seem to have done much to stop criminal activity. Vigilante Committees haven’t really existed in this country since perhaps Wild West days. And you can be certain that they would be prosecuted, unless they opposed imaginary MAGA foes.

I often wonder whether people who seem really unfriendly, and unhelpful, purposefully set out to be that way. Did life beat them down, and forge an ugly personality? Do they think of themselves as actually being kind and friendly? Do they get turned off by others who act similar to them? What about violent criminals? Do they look at themselves as monsters? Do they find a way to justify their horrific crimes? Does anybody set out be a “bad guy” in life? Would they rather be a “good guy,” but just can’t do it?

I have strong faith in God. The good force. It’s the side I’m on in this spiritual battle. Do any “bad guys” believe in God? I’m thinking particularly of bad “holy men.” I was watching one of those Investigation Discovery shows recently, that chronicled the story of a popular pastor, at one of those big “nondenominational” churches. You know, the ones with glitz that preach the “prosperity gospel.” The ones that act like my favorite Bible verse- comparing a rich man’s chances of entering Heaven to a camel going through the eye of a needle- doesn’t exist. Anyhow, this guy entered into a bizarre three-way relationship with his wife and a young member of the congregation. He got her pregnant, and then killed her. Talk about sinning.

So, I’m wondering if that pastor ever really believed in God. Was he just tempted beyond his limitations by a young body? Why compound things by committing the greatest sin of all, murder? Was he just running a scam? Like the Joel Osteens and Kenneth Copelands? They can’t really have faith that they will be judged, can they? They know the eye of a needle verse exists, and that it came directly from Jesus. Osteen wouldn’t even let some of the victims of Hurricane Katrina be sheltered at his opulent mansion. Jimmy Swaggart consorted with prostitutes. He didn’t know that was wrong? When he was telling his followers that things more minor than that were an “abomination” in the eyes of God? Are they really atheists? Or satanists?

Do Catholic priests that rape alter boys really think that God approves of that? Are the Catholic officials that covered it up convinced that God would be pleased by their concealment of abuse? Too many rabbis have sexually assaulted children as well, to far less media fanfare. I’m sure Muslim clerics have their issues as well. Remember the Muslim migrant a few years back that raped an eight year old boy at a public pool, and used the fact he had a “sexual emergency” as a defense? I never heard anything further about that. Knowing our rigged injustice system, they probably dropped the charges. Or the entire incident was made up.

How do we speculate about society’s so-called “good guys?” The ones who are either self-proclaimed, or portrayed as such by our always dishonest media? Oprah made a big deal out of giving away new cars to audience members years ago. Except she didn’t do anything, except soak up society’s gratitude. GM donated the cars to the show, and the world’s unlikeliest billionaire “gave” them to people, smiling and hugging them as they wept for joy. I wrote about this in Survival of the Richest. Most of those who got “free” cars couldn’t afford them, because they had to pay the hefty taxes on them. Oprah was actually asked why she didn’t just pay the taxes, and her self-important justification has to be read to be believed. It’s all in my book.

Warren Buffet is praised as a kindly “philanthropist.” Enjoys his ice cream almost as much as our beloved current president. “Philanthropist” is a ridiculous term designed to paint the top tier of the One Percent as exceedingly generous, when in fact their “gifts” are always made through their tax-free foundations. Anyway, Buffet was exposed for refusing to financially assist his daughter in rebuilding her kitchen. Even more damnably, he wouldn’t help out his granddaughter with her college tuition. But he still lives in what they claim is the same “modest” home he’s had for years. Buffet, like Oprah, is considered a “good guy.”

Bill Gates refused to provide free computers to public school systems. That’s why you always saw Apple products in schools. Gates wants to be paid for everything. And he’s a crappy tipper, as well, like most of his One Percent peers, according to the former intriguing web site Bitter Waitress. Well, you wouldn’t expect a devout eugenicist who drools over the prospect of millions of human beings dying to be a good tipper. Or to give the schools free computers. Oprah, by the way, not only gave up her only child for adoption (which didn’t stop her from sharing endless parental advice to adoring mostly White women), she called the cops on some poor people who were squatting on a small corner of the grounds on her palatial estate. Philanthropists. Good guys.

“Liberal” politicians from Al Gore to Jesse Jackson have been exposed as giving only a fraction of their wealth to charities. A far smaller percentage that actual poor people give to charity. But that doesn’t stop them from being portrayed as “good guys” by our fawning state-controlled media. Gore is the champion of the environment. Except that he ran up the largest energy bill his county had ever seen. And he didn’t seem concerned about the greatest environmental disaster in modern times- the Gulf Oil spill. He wasn’t interested in East Palestine, Ohio, either. It’s a “Climate Change” thing, you wouldn’t understand. Talk about inconvenient truths.

So who are the real “good guys?” Police officers? The ones who are routinely caught on tape planting evidence, or shooting deaf people in the back because they didn’t turn around when they barked nonsensical orders at them? Or throwing disabled people out of wheelchairs and sometimes beating them? Or slamming skateboarder kids against the sidewalk? Or shooting motorists accused of some minor traffic infraction? Firefighters? Well, maybe, but they spend the vast majority of their time not fighting fires. There just aren’t that many fires in most neighborhoods. And they get paid really well, with lucrative pensions.

Doctors? Nurses? Don’t make me laugh. I saw them in action, long before the COVID psyop took over the world. Sure, just like in law enforcement, there are some good ones, but the majority aren’t “good guys.” And the system that consistently enables the bad behavior of cops, and the mistakes and incompetence of doctors that have made our putrid “healthcare” system the leading cause of death in this country, certainly aren’t “good” by any definition. Soldiers? Again, the bloom wore off the rose for them once the Vietnam War protests began. They are risking their lives, but are they “good guys” carrying out some noble mission?

Since, to our knowledge, no superheroes exist in real life, then we must admit that “good guys” are in short demand in our society. After all, if any appreciable amount of “good guys” had power, then we wouldn’t see the nonstop corruption, crimes, and coverups, with no one ever held accountable. Where are the “good guy” judges? On the contrary, they are increasingly deranged partisans whose goal is to punish their political enemies. How about “good guy” juries? Nope. They are invariably filled with dunces, who delight in convicting people when there is tremendous reasonable doubt, while also managing the delicate task of acquitting many defendants, in those rare cases where reasonable doubt doesn’t really exist. Nothing “good” about our courts.

I have always identified as a good guy. That’s a lot more normal than “identifying” as a nonbinary with plural pronouns. I’ve been criticized for being a “do-gooder.” Think of how terms like that, or “goodie two shoes” have been used as a weapon against genuine “good guys.” Grade school whistleblowers were routinely denigrated as “tattle tales.” In the crime world, the criminals denigrated them as “rats.” Well, actually so does law enforcement, and pretty much every other profession in our society, as I detailed in my book Bullyocracy. Now there certainly are real “tattletales.” And they are annoying, and devoted to exposing minor misbehavior (if you can even call it that) which is a normal part of human nature.

But one man’s (or nonbinary’s) “tattletale” is another one’s whistleblower. Just like one man’s (or nonbinary’s) “terrorist” is another one’s freedom fighter. Think of it this way. If little Johnny and little Susie share an innocent kiss at recess, anyone running to the teacher is a tattler. But if little Johnny is attempting to sexually assault little Susie, then the one reporting that is a whistleblower. In the business world, anyone telling the boss that the secretaries are sometimes taking pens home with them, is a tattletale. A rat. But someone exposing lucrative graft within the company is a whistleblower. And the tattletales are always treated better than the whistleblowers.

Again I explored this theme in Bullyocracy, but really “goodness” in today’s world is often seen as weakness. Psychopathic personalities dominate all the occupations that command respect from everyone. Despite what the box office returns say about superhero movies, the fact is most people don’t really seem to like morality, or principled individuals. Goodness. How many jokes have we heard about celebrated people rather being in Hell, where all the fun is, than Heaven? Billy Joel said, “The sinners are much more fun.” And the kids clap and nod approvingly. Nobody likes being “preached” to. The new preachers are the “Woke” evangelists, who are trying to convert the decent into heathens.

I’m not sure what the definition of a “good guy” is any more. But I’m trying to be one. We need more “do gooders,” who as the name suggests want to do good. Like “Truthers,” who are seeking truth, this shouldn’t be used as or considered a pejorative term. But in a world dominated by the dark side, by evil, goodness and light are going to be condemned and rejected. Tim Tebow was blackballed from the corrupt NFL because he was an uncommonly nice person. A real good guy. He might as well have been waving a crucifix at a gang of vampires. He never had a chance. As the saying everyone recognizes as true remind us, nice guys finish last.

We can all be good guys in our own small way. Don’t do horrible things in the dark, when no one is watching. Don’t be hypocritical, and project your own transgressions onto others. Stand up for the truth, even if it’s not popular. The truth has never been popular. We could start a real life Justice League, with millions of members. No super powers, but a collective desire to stop wrongdoing. Is it wimpy to be good? Who is more principled- the naive, trusting victim of an ugly prank, or the prankster? Which one does the crowd laugh with? Wrong is wrong, and never funny. Call me a “goodie two shoes.” I’ll wear the mantle with pride.