Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
That's one of the points of the Woody Allen movies "Crimes and Misdemeanors." A good priest who enriches the world he lives in and those around him, is stricken blind in his mid-years, while Martin Landau, who betrayed his wife with Angelica Houston and then murdered Houston, prospered and was well liked and respected.
Another poster said the bill always comes due. I don't think that's true. Maybe that's why so many people turn to the dark side. Because there's ample proof in the world that if they play their cards right, doing wrong benefits them. Of course, there's luck, or lack of it.
Even innocent people get sent to prison for crimes they didn't commit. Or executed. Which means the murderers did not pay for their crimes.
Often, very bad people pay a high price for the evil they do, or for the person they ultimately become. Sometimes others don’t see or know any retribution, but that does not mean that there is none. Of course it is entirely possible that some psychopaths will continue on in their lives with seemingly few consequences.
It is too easy to see bad people who are wealthy, and healthy, and feel that they are paying no price for the things they have done, or for the ugliness in their souls. But genuinely bad people will have trouble in personal relationships, might be able to trust no one, might never know love, or at able to reciprocate it.
I believe people do pay for their “sins” if they live long enough. But this might not be apparent to others who only see trappings of success.
If you do bad things continually, you will transform yourself in ways that are ugly. You don’t want to be that person. You really don’t.
I know, feelings are not always rational. As a matter of fact, this thread made me think about times when I did indeed feel good about something bad happening to somebody, despite my disclaimer to the contrary above, lol.
When I was in high school, I was the target of a lot of mockery. Remember that ugly girl you made fun of who wore glasses, had braces, the unruly hair, and really bad skin? Add being six feet tall by 14, skinny and flat-chested on top of that, and you have me. It was a small town and a small school. There was nowhere to hide. I spent most of high school wishing I was dead but afraid to kill myself.
Anyway, the guy who led the mockery was this very good-looking kid named Chris. He had all kinds of imaginative names for me. If I saw him in the corridor before he saw me, I would duck into a room or take a long way around and be late to class to avoid him.
So we graduated, grew up, moved away, life changed, etc., and I didn't think about him for years.
Then, when I was fifty, somebody told me that Chris had died of a heart attack. All those awful teenage memories came flooding back, and my first thought was GOOD. I AM SO GLAD HE IS DEAD.
Of course logic kicked in and I know I am not the same person I was back then and he probably wasn't, either. I read his obituary, and he didn't seem to have left any wife or partner or children, just his siblings. I have no idea what his life was like or why he was so mean when we were kids. But it was funny that I reacted at 50 the way I would have at 14, 15, 16 upon hearing of his death.
Your post struck a chord with me. I, too, was a bullied kid. Growing up in a town that was predominately Irish and Italian Catholic, my family was anything but. I was short, chubby, with inherited bad teeth and when young had a bad case of psoriasis. It was like I had a target on my back. I hated having to go to school but...had no choice.
One of the worst bullies started in with me and other kids back in first grade. He would continually get in trouble for bullying but it never stopped him from doing so. In fact, speaking up about his behavior only painted a bigger target on my back. In my sophomore year in HS, he was in a Spanish class with me and assigned to sit practically next to me. I did very well in Spanish mainly because I enjoyed learning another language and I already had a year of French under my belt. He hated that I did so well and even called me a "S..." because I'm half Hispanic and said I already knew how to speak Spanish (which I didn't)
When we moved before my junior year started I was so relieved to get away from him.
Years later, I googled his name and discovered that he had died of a heart attack in his late 40s, leaving a wife and 2 daughters. Ironically, he ended up working at my college alma mater in their mailroom. Apparently, they praised his work in an obituary. I got some pleasure knowing that I went to a better school than he did. Also, I thought about his 2 daughters and wondered if he bullied them and his wife. If that had happened, I would have been sad for them.
Well...I look at it this way --- I'm still here. In the end, considering that, I fared better than he did.
But, yes, it can be hard to see people get away with wrongdoing, no matter how big or small it is.
I knew a man who went 5 years without filing income tax. Said he "didn't have time". Once his wife told him he'd better GET the time, he went to the nearest IRS office with all his paperwork and, even with all the penalty and interest for not filing all those years, came home with a $1200 refund! If I tried that, I would have been thrown under the jail after the first year.
Status:
"I don't understand. But I don't care, so it works out."
(set 5 days ago)
35,620 posts, read 17,948,343 times
Reputation: 50641
What a thoughtful thread.
While I do see some others seemingly skate off without consequences for destructive behavior, I also see other people who have suffered many losses in their lives and they've lived them as kindly and carefully as they could.
The world isn't fair, and I don't think everyone who deserves to be swatted by Karma gets their payback.
Status:
"I don't understand. But I don't care, so it works out."
(set 5 days ago)
35,620 posts, read 17,948,343 times
Reputation: 50641
Quote:
Originally Posted by kygman
I knew a man who went 5 years without filing income tax. Said he "didn't have time". Once his wife told him he'd better GET the time, he went to the nearest IRS office with all his paperwork and, even with all the penalty and interest for not filing all those years, came home with a $1200 refund! If I tried that, I would have been thrown under the jail after the first year.
If you're due a refund, I don't think you are required to file, are you? Or anyway, they certainly look more kindly on you if you're delaying getting a refund, than they do if you're delaying paying.
Here you go. You don't have to file if you're owed a refund:
If you're due a refund, I don't think you are required to file, are you? Or anyway, they certainly look more kindly on you if you're delaying getting a refund, than they do if you're delaying paying.
Here you go. You don't have to file if you're owed a refund:
Status:
"I don't understand. But I don't care, so it works out."
(set 5 days ago)
35,620 posts, read 17,948,343 times
Reputation: 50641
Quote:
Originally Posted by kygman
The thing is, he didn't know if he was going to have to pay or get a refund. He's one of those that didn't know and didn't care.
But the overriding point is, he was due a refund, and that's why he wasn't fined heavily or jailed. It wasn't about him skating by and getting away with something, he came away with a refund he was entitled to the whole time, and didn't claim, and that's why he didn't suffer IRS penalties.
But the overriding point is, he was due a refund, and that's why he wasn't fined heavily or jailed. It wasn't about him skating by and getting away with something, he came away with a refund he was entitled to the whole time, and didn't claim, and that's why he didn't suffer IRS penalties.
He may have been fined. He probably was, for any years he owed taxes. It's just that his refund for some of those years was large enough to cover the penalties and interest and have some left over for a refund. So I guess you could say he paid dearly for not filing, since he lost the penalties and interest sums.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
