Monday, April 13, 2015

I Think Karma Is Broken

Recently, I was walking past a doctor's office when I found a debit card on the ground. For a moment, visions of paid bills and Prada bags danced through my head. But I didn't use the card, of course. I made sure that the bank listed on the card was alerted that the card had been found. After all, if I had tried to use the card, it could have gotten traced back to me. Then there would have been visions of me in a prison jumpsuit dancing through my head, only they wouldn't just be visions; they'd be reality.

Once I found a Kindle. This was before I had the money to buy my own e-reader. I could have kept it, and it wouldn't necessarily have gotten traced back to me. But the owner of the Kindle had put his name and e-mail address on the back, probably so that if he ever lost it, the e-reader could be returned to him. So I contacted him, and he was grateful to get it back. And I felt good that I had done the right thing.

The other day I was studying in a coffee shop, and I accidentally left my cell phone on the sink in the bathroom. When I realized my mistake and went back to get it less than half an hour later, my phone was gone. The baristas said no one turned it in.

I was at the coffee shop that day because I had a coupon for a free cup of coffee. Ironically, that free cup ended up costing me more than a hundred dollars, because I had to pay for a replacement phone (fortunately, I had insurance on my old phone, so I didn't have to pay full price), a memory card, and a new case. I spent more than an hour at the phone store, learning about how to remotely wipe the data from my old phone so the thief couldn't access it, lock my new phone, and back up the data on my new phone. I foolishly did not back up most of the data on my old one, so I lost all the pictures I'd taken, including the ones from my trip to New York.)

I also had to keep running down to the mailboxes of my building to check for the delivery of my new phone, because my loser neighbors have a bad habit of not only stealing my magazines (I actually had to cancel all my subscriptions) but also my packages. I once put up a note asking for the return of my mail, and the losers put up their own note mocking me for their theft and saying they would do it again if they found more of my mail (the postal workers keep putting the wrong mail in the mailboxes. I tried to file more than one complaint about it, and the post office retaliated by giving my number to one of those workers, who called me to scream at me and blame ME for getting the wrong mail, as if it was my fault she kept doing a bad job). Fortunately, I got to my new phone before those leeches did, so they couldn't steal it.

The theft of my cell phone really pissed me off. I always try to do the right thing (though admittedly I don't always succeed). I don't keep things that don't belong to me. The one exception is when I find coins on the ground, because who's going to run back and search for a quarter or a couple of pennies, right?

But unfortunately, some people aren't honest. Some people are selfish thieves and just immoral. This isn't the first time I've gotten robbed, because this is Chicago, after all. I've gotten mugged and pickpocketed on more than one occasion, which is why I never carry a lot of cash or major credit cards with me. Once I accidentally left my coin purse in a bathroom at one of the schools where I teach. I went back less than five minutes later, to find the purse still there but all the coins missing. And I don't think it's a coincidence that not long after some of my mail went missing, someone tried to open up a bunch of credit cards with my information; fortunately, my credit card company stopped them and alerted me to what was going on.

It's times like those that make me wonder why I even bother trying to be considerate and honest. I know it's the right thing to do, but it doesn't always pay off. Even when I try to help people, it occasionally ends up backfiring.

For example, once I saw an old woman struggling with a shopping bag as she went down the stairs of an El station. The bag split open, and all the things inside fell out. Other people walked by, some of them trampling over her things without a second glance. I said, "Here, let me help you with that," and I tried to pick up what she had dropped. She screamed at me to keep my hands off her stuff and accused me of trying to steal it. I quickly backed away and let the old witch take care of it herself.

In spite of creeps like that, I will continue to try to do the right thing. If I find something valuable again, I won't keep it; I'll make sure it gets returned. I have enough Catholic guilt in me to motivate me, after all. But it still discourages me and makes me mad that no matter how nice I try to be to people, I still end up getting screwed again and again. It bothers me that some of the worst people in the world end up rich, successful, and getting everything else that they want, like karma isn't real after all. It's not like I help people with the expectation of being repaid every time, but it would be nice if people would show me the same consideration and at the very least return my possessions. But maybe that's expecting too much.

What about you? Have you ever gotten robbed? Have you ever tried to help someone, only for your efforts to end up backfiring? How do you deal with people like that?

12 comments:

  1. We have been burgled multiple times (at the majority of places we have lived actually, more so than not) including once by people we know. Our car has been broken into multiple times. My phone while plugged in and charging once went missing from the living room when some people were over. Yeah, karma feels broken.

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    1. Hi eemusings,
      I'm so sorry that happened to you! That's awful that you were even robbed by people you knew; it's too bad that some people just can't be trusted, you know? I wish that karma was some kind of magic genie that only granted wishes to honest people; in fact, karma would have to be a whole team of genies, probably.

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  2. Sorry to hear about the trouble with your phone. Maybe Karma is saving itself up for one great big lottery win, or something? Seriously, though, it might feel like everyone else is a selfish thief, but there are lots of good people out there. Be proud you are one of them.

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    1. Hi Annalisa,
      One of the things that bothered me about the phone was the financial aspect; I couldn't afford to spend so much money to replace it, but I didn't really have much of a choice. I hope I do get a big win someday, preferably in terms of a good teaching job or my neighbors moving to Antarctica or something like that.

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  3. What a sad world we live in if we can't stop to help a stranger. Or if that stranger won't accept help freely, as a loving gift.

    Sorry you lost your phone. I would freak, mostly because all the pics of my kids would be gone!

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    1. Hi Emily,
      I know, right? I once tried to give some food to a homeless guy who held up a sign asking for food, but he glared at me and said he wanted money instead. I didn't have any cash, so he swore at me. So I walked away. Not all homeless people are like that, of course, but it still made me mad.
      I didn't realize until I lost my phone how much information is on there. In addition to my pictures, I also took videos of my parents' adorable dogs, and now I'll never be able to watch those videos again, sigh...

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  4. I'm so sorry that people are being horrid to you. It's definitely not your fault. Don't change who you are. Don't sink to their level. I hope you get to move to a safer area of Chicago soon, or at least a more hospitable building. I'm sending you tons of virtual hugs.

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    1. Hi Murees,
      If I get a better job next year, I'll definitely move to a better apartment, hopefully one with thicker walls so that I don't have to hear everything that goes on. I knew someone who lived in a high-rise, and she didn't have to worry about her packages being stolen, because the doormen would collect them for all the tenants and give them to the tenants when they got home. And thanks for the hugs. :)

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  5. Agh!!! Its so ridiculous the effort you put in to being a good kind person and gosh dang if someone else , neighbors included, can't muster up a just a smidge of integrity!

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    1. Hi Tammy,
      I think apartment life would be much easier if my neighbors didn't live here. :) I once missed out on a job offer that was mailed to me (this was before everyone e-mailed everything); I only found out about the job offer after they told me that it had been rescinded and given to someone else. They said that since I never responded to the letter, they thought I didn't want the job. I didn't respond to the letter because one of my loser neighbors got the letter by mistake and never bothered to give it to me! I was and still am really mad about that.

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  6. Yeah; I don't buy into karma either.

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    1. Hi Melanie,
      Sorry about my late response; I had to take my computer in for repairs since there's a virus on it. Anyway, I wish karma was real; it seems like the bad guys get away with it/win way too often.

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