this post was submitted on 30 Sep 2024
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Every good person is actually a bad person trying to atone for something horrible they did.
Not sure this is true ... But mainly due to nuance.
I think everyone who has reached adulthood has done bad things worthy of atonement (not because minors can't be bad, just to set a line), regardless of whether that's because they're a bad person or because they made poor decisions. I think of myself as a good person - because I try to better the lives of those around me - but I can think of plenty of bad things I've done (primarily out of ignorance or foolishness - I don't think I've ever acted with the intent of hurting someone).
I'm not trying to atone for those things; once I realized they were bad things, I did my best to fix them and once I did everything I could, I moved on (and hoped the other participants did as well). In some cases, continuing to try to atone for bad acts would have exacerbated the consequences if the other party just wanted to move on.
My mom, who was a big fan of aphorisms, used to say "if you mess up, apologize if you should, fix it if you can, and move on." I try to live by this.
So, to reiterate the nuance: I try to fix bad things I've done if I can; I try to learn from them so I don't do them again; but I don't live my life trying to atone for them.
I do like the sentiment behind your post, in case you think us philosophically opposed.
Fuck me, who told you my secret?
Very few people can reasonably be called "good" or "bad". Most people are somewhere in between.