Is it fair for one to have to had to survive physical torture as a child,try to( and succeed in) shrug off the hurt to be obedient and to follow parental advice only to have to struggle against the untruth of their un-wordly-wise teachings in adulthood?


I have recently lost my job, seen my investements plunge in value, lost more 'friends' than I can count on one hand and generally lost all faith in humankindness in general.

Psychologically, I have to even the score, and I do this by closing one eye to my little dishonesties: fare-cheating, picking up forgotten dollar coins & pocketing them.

Is that bad?

I also feel happy that my 'friend' recently bought shares of American International Group(AIG) near the top of their rebound, and is now suffering a heavy paper loss as they plunged back by 40%. I even (gleefully) reported by SMS to him that AIG's founder had sold a huge chunk of his stake at 40% below his entry price.

This friend had turned into a 'friend' by demonstrating over the past year that he is ONLY and EXCLUSIVELY interested in furthering his own well-being, often at the expense of others.

I decided to send the implicit message that he's not even worth the cost of my incoming call by pressing away his calls. In fact, I even hope he is suffering anxiety over the sudden drop in his stock's value and is trying to talk to a friend to soothe his pain, but that I'm denying him that...

Is that bad?