‘Tis a kind of good deed

To say well;

And yet words are no deeds.

— Shakespeare, Henry VIII,111,2

Words are not deeds. That’s right, word is wind, mouth mek fi talk. It’s so easy to say something rather than do the actual deed. But what happens when you do the act and it backfires, blows up in your face, making you wish that you never did it?

It was PR guru Jean Lowrie Chin who told me many years ago, “No good deed goes unpunished,” and I have never forgotten that sage advice. I have seen it manifest itself so often that it’s more the norm than the exception.

We were all told to do good deeds when we were children for, “God will bless you and good will follow you when you do good unto others.” We were taught such things in Sunday School along with stories about The Good Samaritan and others, which I’ll delve into a little later.

We were told to be our brother’s keeper, to help our neighbour, to lend a kind hand, give generously, look after those with less than ourselves. But is this really sound advice in these modern times, where justice and karma are swift and people are punished for their kindness faster than you can say, “What was I thinking?”

A friend in need will just have more need after you bail him out, is the common thought. But that’s what we’ll examine today, the fact that no good deed goes unpunished, right after these punishing responses to my take on ‘Separation of powers’.

Hi Tony,

I agree that couples should have separation of duties, but both should have equal but different powers. Each should have equal powers to do what they do best, and neither should question the power of the other. There is an old saying that too many cooks spoil the broth. To each their own, but never the same. Now, I should go and infringe on my wife’s power of duties, and do some shopping to pleasure my brain.

Fred

Greetings Teerob,

Interesting topic, probably as taboo as women abusing men, but no less factual. Agreed, there are just some things around the house that men and women find to be of such heredity in a relationship, that a balance has to be struck. True, some powers should not be relinquished once morally/ethically appropriate. Females want to be independent and men want to be macho. Society culturally has made it uncool to be amicable in relationships, with neither male nor female wanting to admit or accept fault.

Kurt ‘Blaze’

A reader responding to my footnote about the mendicants and beggars on the streets took the time to send me horror stories of what happened to him when he tried to help some of them, especially the street boys who wipe windshields. He was punished severely with abuse for his good deeds, as they either cursed him royally for not giving enough, or became permanent repeat receivers whenever they spotted him in traffic. “Only $100, wha dis can buy?” “You haffi give all a we, not just me.” His stories prompted me to address the situation of good deeds being punished.

Let’s go back to the Biblical story of the Good Samaritan — the guy who helped a man who was beaten by a mob, stripped of his clothes and left for dead in the streets. The man from Samaria, the Samaritan, unlike all others, had pity on the victim, took him somewhere and paid for him to be nursed back to health.

Now that name is synonymous with doing good deeds. “He was a good Samaritan, helping out people along the way.” But there is a downside to helping others, as it sometimes backfires and blows up in your face like the exhaust from an old diesel truck.

Let’s take even the simple act of giving people a ride. May years ago as schoolboys we would take great pleasure in ‘bumming a ride’ from motorists, saving our bus fare and getting a lift home in comfort. Kind motorists would stop and pick us up and let us off where we requested. Who dares do that now?

There have been so many horror stories of drivers picking up people out of kindness and ending up robbed or dead. A kind deed, punished with extreme prejudice. Now even if people see a sorry looking woman with a child on her shoulders, they dare not do a good deed and offer them a ride. And that’s a shame.

The last time I picked up a young lady seeking a ride was many years ago. It was in broad daylight in the glare of the noonday sun, so I decided to be kind. Well, before we even drove a mile, she asked me if I wanted sex and how much I would pay. Before I got punished, I let her off at the next intersection.

Prior to that I gave this mother and her daughter a lift on a lonely country road. Before we even drove two miles, the little girl threw up all over the car interior. What a punishment, I thought, but all that pales in comparison to what other people have experienced.

There was this horrible case years ago where these young student doctors’ car collided with two guys on a bike. Out of concern, they would visit the guys regularly to render medical assistance. A good deed that would cost them their lives, as they were robbed and killed on one of their visits.

Acts of kindness are so often punished. Even the simple act of being a guarantor for a loan for a friend can lead to severe punishment. There are so many tales of this happening, one of which involved this co-worker from my past who took out a credit union loan and asked other staffers to guarantor said loan. Well, he skipped town, fled the country, and left his co-workers holding the bag and having to pay off his loan.

Fast-forward to the present and it’s still happening. Another friend of mine ruefully told me how he signed as a guarantor for a female co-worker, only to discover that she has migrated. He explained how she was in need and was desperate for some funds to sort out her life. Being a kind soul he co-signed the loan, not thinking that anything bad would happen. I couldn’t help but remind him, “No good deed goes unpunished, son.”

I know people who have taken in waifs off the street, given them a good home, sent them to school, only to have them turn around and rob them blind. One man swore to me that he would never, ever help anyone in that way again.

Another lady took in this young girl and treated her better than she treated her own daughter. The girl not only got pregnant at age 15, but cursed her benefactor and ran away from home — stunning stories of good deeds being punished. Those experiences turn people’s hearts hard, but the punishment can be so severe.

Even doctors who are sworn to help others do not escape. In the USA they have to buy malpractice insurance, for if they stop to render assistance to anyone in distress on the street and something goes wrong, they can be sued. A victim is dying from an accident, a doctor stops to assist, but in the turmoil and melee of the emergency something goes wrong. The patient’s life is saved, but he still sues the doctor because he now walks with a limp.

I have known women who took in men out of pity, only to be punished for their kindness. Or did they have ulterior motives, who knows? Still, the winds of the world have shifted, and too often people are punished for acts of kindness.

No one escapes. Judges have freed prisoners only to have them return and murder again. There was this story where this top cop allegedly tried to ‘help out a friend’ and paid dearly for it, as he had to resign the force after years with an unblemished record.

Lend money and see what often happens. Benevolence is often bashed, but still, we cannot stop doing good deeds.But just be careful, for more and more the odds are stacked against you and your good deed may be sorely punished.

More time.

seido1@hotmail.com

Footnote: The shooting and killing of black people in the USA has reached alarming proportions. It’s now almost a daily occurrence with the same outcome, the victim is killed and the cops walk free, even when video evidence shows everything. But it’s nothing new. I saw a document that likened these killings to the lynching of black people in the 1800s and up until the 1960s. Then, a black man could be lynched just for looking at a white woman (crazy eyeballing) or for not stepping off the sidewalk to allow a white person to pass. Now, the lynch rope has been replaced by the policeman’s gun, as black people are shot down with regularity. It’s sad. See for yourself on the news.