FOURTH CURSE: video
Jul. 17th, 2015 02:01 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
cawsforalarm[When the video turns on, viewers are presented with a Henry surrounded by leaves, with the summer sun peeking in through the branches -- seems he's decided to climb a tree for this broadcast, or maybe he was just chilling here anyway. In either case, the expression on his face is uncharacteristically somber.]
Heya. So... this is going to be, like, Serious Business Time. [He glances off somewhere into the foliage. Honestly, it seems like he's not totally comfortable with the idea of Serious Business Time himself.] I've been kinda mulling stuff over, and I wanna hear all your responses! [The smile flickers back for a couple of seconds, but it's gone just as fast.]
What do you think makes someone a bad person? I mean, just for you, like I said. ...Traits or whatever are fine.
…
Yep.
[And that’s how the video ends.]
Heya. So... this is going to be, like, Serious Business Time. [He glances off somewhere into the foliage. Honestly, it seems like he's not totally comfortable with the idea of Serious Business Time himself.] I've been kinda mulling stuff over, and I wanna hear all your responses! [The smile flickers back for a couple of seconds, but it's gone just as fast.]
What do you think makes someone a bad person? I mean, just for you, like I said. ...Traits or whatever are fine.
…
Yep.
[And that’s how the video ends.]
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Date: 2015-07-17 11:07 pm (UTC)So I think before I answer this I should probably say that I think good and bad are kind of subjective. I feel like everyone has their own sense of what's "good" and what's "bad" and you're gonna have to kind of make that definition for yourself if you wanna form your own answer but I feel like you know that already from how you asked your question?? It's kind of hard. There are people I know who are good people in my eyes but think of themselves as bad for one reason or another, and then there are people who are the absolute lowest of the low but I'm sure if you were to ask them they would insist they were nothing short of the perfect gentleman but now I'm rambling a little. This whole thing's gonna be a bit of a mess of words so hopefully you can get what I'm trying to say
But in the long run it's really complex and I don't think it's something that you can define by someone's actions. I mean, even the nicest people do things that are bad sometimes, sometimes they don't have a choice? Sometimes they do have a choice but the choices look all muddy because they're afraid or under duress, or maybe it's become habitual or something?? Or maybe the person doing the bad thing is ignorant of just how bad it is until it happens? I mean, if someone like that does something bad you can't call them a bad person, there was no intent there, it wasn't, like, a deliberate effort to do bad for the sake of oneself. Sometimes even those don't necessarily make you a bad person either because your intention is for the greater good
I think a bad person is probably someone who's out for nothing but their own power and gain, someone who uses other people to get what they want for no purpose other than for themselves. A bad person will do whatever it takes to get what they want and not care who they have to manipulate and take advantage of to achieve that, not caring about the consequences and not caring about the relationships they have with others. A bad person uses people as a stepping stone to reach their own ideals and goals without consideration of the people around them and only empathizes with others for themselves, they have no hesitation hurting or exploiting someone else if it means furthering their own ambitions
I think in contrast a good person is someone with positive intentions, someone who wants to do what they consider to be good for goodness's sake, someone who acknowledges their own shortcomings and wants to learn from them. A good person isn't always perfect but they care about people who have a presence in their lives, especially the people they don't necessarily need to be good to. Good people are honest and kind and open-minded...and they don't live their lives at other people's expense, but instead they want to better themselves and their relationships with the people they care about, and at the very least attempt to understand the people they don't
That's what I think anyway you can feel free to correct me on anything you think I'm wrong about but that's just like my opinion man
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Date: 2015-07-17 11:52 pm (UTC)[He takes a while to reply to this.]
yeah, it's really subjective. that's kind of the reason i'm asking. i already know that people make their own definitions of good and bad, and they're really complicated and people get wrapped up in it a lot. but that's about all i know. i didn't really have a concept of good or bad, like most people, you know? i just kind of avoided thinking about it. but here i am, and i don't really want to ignore it anymore, i guess? and i'm learning a lot already.
like, for example, this is TERRIFYING.
i knew it was going to be bad, but. man.
[A pretty weak attempt at lightening the mood, but he's speaking honestly. Seems even now he's trying to push away the doom and gloom a bit.]
thanks, though.
what do you think you'd do with someone who fits a lot of descriptions on both lists? or who used to do one, is moving to the other, but can't shake the things they used to do?
[It's pretty obvious he's talking about himself, but, well.]
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Date: 2015-07-18 12:17 am (UTC)It's hard to just...say someone is just fully good or bad. Things aren't usually so black and white. Not everyone is going to have the same ideas about what is or isn't bad, either. It's less about what you do that defines you as a person, and more about...what your intentions behind what you do are, I think.
Some people do bad things with good intentions. Some do good things with bad intentions. Some do things that most might consider "bad" because they don't have a choice, or they might not even realize what they're doing is wrong. It doesn't make what they're doing any less wrong in its own right, but you can't call them a bad person unless you know why they're doing it. The same goes for someone who does things that seem good on the surface...it's just as likely that their real intentions aren't as pure.
[He stops there for a moment, looking over what he's already typed.]
I'm not sure how much sense any of this is making, but that's what I think. I also think that- even if you've done bad things in the past, even with bad intentions- that doesn't mean it's not possible to change. People are always changing and growing, for better or for worse.
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Date: 2015-07-18 12:33 am (UTC)it kind of makes sense. like, it's not what you do, it's what you mean to do -- got that.
but there's a looooot of variations, and keeping them in mind doesn't come natural to me like it does to some people, i guess. i get lost somewhere in that tangly mess there. the thing about changing yourself, that's good to know, but it's... okay this is really obvious already, but the hypothetical person we're talking about here is me. so. i'm just kind of going through memories over here, stuff i know i've done, aaaaaand it's pretty steadily making me more and more sick to my stomach?
and i guess i really just don't see how you're supposed to move on after that. especially with all the holes i dug myself into. but knowing it's possible, that's good.
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Date: 2015-07-18 01:00 am (UTC)Like I said, I think everyone has the potential to change. I know that's easier said than done. But a bad person wouldn't care about changing, or whether or not the things they've done have had a negative impact on other people. ...And you care, don't you?
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Date: 2015-07-18 01:10 am (UTC)though i guess that counts as a realization.
yeah, i do care, NOW. but before a few weeks ago? not at all. like, "if me and my people are happy, then everyone else can die in a hole" not caring.
[And also literally putting people in holes, but he's too scared to put that in just yet.]
i guess i always knew i was missing something??? it was really obvious. but i didn't wanna deal with that, 'cause i thought i didn't need to. and now i think i do.
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Date: 2015-07-18 01:21 am (UTC)[text, private]
Date: 2015-07-18 01:26 am (UTC)and now this post is a thing and there's really no going back anymore.
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Date: 2015-07-18 01:36 am (UTC)But I guess I should ask...does this mean you want to try to change yourself even more?
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Date: 2015-07-18 01:49 am (UTC)and... sort of? i mean i'm also getting steadily more nervous because i knew this was gonna be a big, complicated, scary thing. but that still didn't prepare me for it.
but i'm still gonna give it a shot.
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Date: 2015-07-18 01:55 am (UTC)Yeah, it's not a change that's going to happen in a day. Probably not even in a month or two. But the important thing is that you're going to try.
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Date: 2015-07-18 02:00 am (UTC)you seem like you know a lot about this stuff.
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Date: 2015-07-18 02:06 am (UTC)No, I don't think so. It's something you'll probably have to work out on your own. Giving yourself time to think about it is a good place to start.
It's hard not to dwell on the past. Moving past it will take time too. But it sounds like you're on the right track.
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Date: 2015-07-18 02:12 am (UTC)thanks again. you've been really... good about this? i guess? i kind of expected people to be like OH GODS WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU
and that hasn't happened yet!
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Date: 2015-07-18 02:48 am (UTC)It's hard to talk about, especially with someone you don't know very well...I think it's pretty brave of you to do to begin with.
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Date: 2015-07-18 02:54 am (UTC)but hey. bravery. maybe so.
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Date: 2015-07-18 02:58 am (UTC)[text, private]
Date: 2015-07-18 03:01 am (UTC)[text, private]
Date: 2015-07-18 03:08 am (UTC)[video]
Date: 2015-07-18 12:24 pm (UTC)They break the law.
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Date: 2015-07-18 12:27 pm (UTC)[Hm. He's trying to withhold judgment, but Henry looks decidedly unimpressed.]
What if the law is stupid?
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Date: 2015-07-18 12:34 pm (UTC)You think everybody should only follow the laws they like?
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Date: 2015-07-18 12:40 pm (UTC)I'm just sayin' that some laws are made for really arbitrary reasons. But hey, valid response, I guess.
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Date: 2015-07-18 01:25 pm (UTC)i think... That's mostly from intention. Even if your actions seem evil... It's the intention behind them that determines if someone's good or bad.
[ More pausing. Just to collect his thoughts. ]
If someone does things to hurt people intentionally... That's something I'd consider bad.
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Date: 2015-07-18 01:37 pm (UTC)