There's a saying that no good deed goes unpunished, as these good samaritans definitely learned was true the hard way. Proving that karma isn't always instant, people share the times they've tried to be nice for it to only blow up in their face.
More Than A Lost Phone.
“This happened to one of my clients. She is a 70 year old woman with a walker. She was walking along the streets when she saw this young homeless woman and the weather was getting bad. Being the compassionate lady she is, she decided to help this young girl get safely into a shelter. She bought her coffee and she was calling various woman shelters with her. At one point when she was looking away, the homeless woman took her cellphone and ran away. For many it’s just a $200 phone. But for this woman it was memories. It was where she had all her pictures. It had all the numbers and messages of her loved ones. She lost a part of her life that day. She broke down crying and I hugged her and comforted her, I wish I could do something more” (source).
Never Make That Assumption.
“One day I was commuting on a train. The train was fully packed, when a pregnant woman entered and could not get a seat. Instinctively, I stood up and told her that since she was pregnant she could take my seat. Turned out, she wasn’t pregnant” (Source).
Stabbed In The Back.
“I just finished running 8 miles and felt like I deserved a reward. I had only a single $1 in my pocket, so I decided to buy my favorite Milk Duds for my fix. I began walking home when I saw a very sad looking homeless man camped behind a Taco Bell. He didn’t see me, but as I munched on my delicious chocolate Milk Duds, I figured sharing some of them with him would cheer him up. I said ‘Hey man,’ and his head perked up. ‘Would you like some milk duds?’ I walked over to him and splashed a good handful of chocolate-y goodness. it was hard for me to give away so many after my run, but I wanted this poor soul to know people care. All he said to me in return was ‘Milk Duds?’ really quietly like he’s never heard of them before. I proceeded to tell him ‘yeah, they’re delicious. Have a good night!’ And walked away, feeling pretty good about myself. Suddenly, someone shouts ‘Dats him!’. I turn around to see two people running at me. Immediately, I turn around to run and smash directly into a stranger that knocks me flat on my ass. As I scrambled to my feet and prepare to defend myself against three men somehow, I recognize one of them. It was the SAME homeless man I gave a handful of Milk Duds to! Even worse, I think he was still chewing on them. He didn’t say a word, but his friend pulled a knife and began flashing it in my face! ‘All your money, now!’ However I only had $1, which I already spent on the Milk Duds, half of which I gave to the exact bum that was robbing me! I attempted to explain the situation. They didn’t seem to be happy or even understand what I was saying, and the man with the knife grew angrier and angrier every time he asked for my money, to which I would tell him I had none. Then, out of nowhere, he lunged at me and stabbed my gut with his knife repeatedly. I ended up being stabbed 7 times, and they checked my pockets after I began to pour blood. I couldn’t yell for help, blood was literally filling my mouth and splashing out of my teeth. They left me there as they ran away and called me a ‘f**king loser.’ Suddenly, by sheer luck, a police cars lights lit up and the red and blue flashed against my bloody body. The officer threw me in his car and drove like a madman to the hospital. It was unbelievable, like a dream, and I fell unconscious before I arrived. I was told I woke up 2 days later after being unconscious due to my extreme blood loss. I was told how lucky I was to be alive. A nurse told me it was a miracle I woke up after the amount of blood I lost. In retrospect, I should have just ate the Milk Duds by myself” (Source).
Beggars Apparently Can Be Choosers.
“It was a super hot summer two years ago and I saw a homeless guy standing outside the front of a 7-11. He asked me for money and I didn’t have any cash so I said, ‘sorry, I don’t have any.’ It was very hot, so I wanted to find a way to help. So I bought a deer park water bottle, like the 50 oz one, and walked out and tried to hand it to him. I was already broke, so for me to spend $2 bucks meant a lot for me. The conversation went something like this. Me: Here you go sir, I know it’s hot out and I want to give you this (hands water bottle). Him: I asked for a dollar, not water. Me: So you aren’t going to take it? Him: I said I wanted a dollar (looks away). I just got in my car and drove off, this guy was very ungrateful considering he was asking people for money!” (Source).
A Traumatizing Experience.
“When I was 7 I was standing in line to go to the bathroom and my bladder was about to explode. At the time, I attended a Baptist school. There were rules for everything. One rule they had was that students could only use the bathroom at predetermined times when the whole class was allowed to go. This is why I had to go to the bathroom so badly. The class walked to the bathrooms in a single file line. There was absolutely no talking in the hallways. Only 2 boys and 2 girls were allowed in the bathrooms at a time. So as I stood there, I noticed that the zipper on the dress of the girl in front of me had unzipped about half an inch. I was forbidden to talk, so in my 7-year-old brain I decided the best thing to do would be to simply reach out and zip up her dress. I thought this would be a nice thing to do. After all, if I didn’t do anything, the zipper might slip down even more. Now, it is important to note here that the girl’s father was the vice principal of the school. It is also important to note that from his office he had a clear view of the bathrooms and the line I was standing in. As I reached out my hand to zip up her dress, I heard a loud yell and a man charging toward me. I then felt the iron grip of his hand on my shoulder ripping me out of line and marching me toward the principal’s office. At that instant, my bladder decided it could not wait any longer and I began to pee all over myself. It ran all down my legs, into my socks, and into my shoes. I was utterly and totally humiliated. And to make matters worse, I began crying. Here I had tried to do something nice for a girl and her father had assumed that I was trying to do the exact opposite. After I explained to the principal what had happened, he decided I would not get a spanking (they still gave out spankings at that school with a large wooden paddle with holes drilled in it). I then returned to class and sat in my own urine for the rest of the day until my mom picked me up after school. This day ranks as one of the worst days of my entire childhood, possibly the worst. Maybe this is why I have a natural distrust of authority” (Source).
Not The KitKat!
“I’m on a bus holding a KitKat. A little girl is looking continuously me in the eyes and the KitKat alternately with a puppy face. Felt horrible and generously gave the KitKat to her (nicest thing I ever did, my chocolate is my baby). Happily takes it from me and shows it to her mother, ‘Mommy, she gave me this.’ The Mommy says, ‘What did I tell you about taking chocolates from strangers. You never listen to me’ and gives me a deathly stare. ME POKERFACE ARE YOU KIDDING ME? CAN I AT LEAST HAVE MY KITKAT BACK? I don’t know what depressed me the most that day. Looking like a kidnapper or losing my KitKat.” (source)
“There’s A Big List, But This One Tops It.”
“I was home alone. To kill my boredom, I cooked some food and thought it was very tasty. Having leftovers I decided to be nice and give it to a kid in the nearby slum. The kid gladly accepted. But to my horror she came down with food poisoning the next day. The poor soul suffered with fever, throat pain and vomiting for two days. I suffered extreme ridicule from almost everyone in the colony for giving away stale food. Especially to a kid. I took her to the doctor, bought her medicine and spent time with her. Her parents made sure that I felt like the most embarrassed guy in the history of humanity. Yet I was not offended a bit. I would’ve been equally angry if I was put in their situation. Surprisingly, the food had no effect on my body. I don’t know if it was the food that I gave or something else that made her sick. But, it was one h*ll of a backfire” (Source).
Saving A Girl From Drowning Can Backfire?
“I was running along the shore line and noticed some little yelps. I looked around and noticed a girl drowning. I swam out, grabbed her and swam back to shore trying to keep her head above water as she was unconscious. Got to shore and started CPR. Not long after her parents came running up and her mother kicked me. That’s right. She kicked me. And then proceeded to cuss me out and to ‘never touch her daughter’ to ‘keep my lips to myself.’ I did my best to protest while the lifeguards started running up and the father was asking the mother why she kicked me and what her problem was and to my surprise she pointed at me and said criminal. I was like ‘what the hell’ and she pointed to my back and said ‘I’ve seen men like you before. Lowlife (censored), etc. etc.’ I had no idea what the heck she was talking about. But since the lifeguards revived the girl I just got up and walked away, the mother and father glaring death beams at me. Afterwards, it got me thinking. Why did she call me a criminal? The best theory I could come up with was to do with my back. A long time ago I had an abusive stepfather who flogged me with a bike chain leaving scars across my back. I looked like a ‘prisoner’ who might have been flogged. Still, that doesn’t make sense. It’s obvious she was unhappy with some random guy performing CPR on her daughter. I don’t know what her problem was but I found it very odd and unsettling that she would point at me like that and call me a criminal” (source).
Um, Ouch!
“I was invited to a surprise birthday party for a friend at their friend’s home. When I arrived I was told the their beautiful Siberian Husky Monty had a bone wedged in its top jaw, but he was relaxed and even came to greet me. The owner of the dog said they didn’t have money for a vet. So I got a plan to cover Monty with a thick blanket, including his eyes, and use a large serving spoon to remove the bone. It worked and in less than 5 seconds the bone was out. Monty even picked the bone up and started chewing it again. Everyone cheered. So I went to pat him on the side of his neck and my hand went past his mouth. He grabbed my hand. The bottom k9’s went in the palm and the top ones into my thumb bone and he violently shook my hand three times. Apparently dogs don’t have the same sense of appreciation as people” (Source).
Lost For Words.
“I was waiting for the traffic light to change so I could cross the road. The road was not that busy but I knew trucks and vans come barreling through the intersection at random times so I wasn’t about to chance it by jaywalking. A young man and woman approached the intersection and I noticed them because they were having one of those intense conversations that looks like they’ve blocked out the whole world. I was bored, so I watched them, then saw they hadn’t noticed the red light and were about to step off the curb and into the path of oncoming traffic and a car was closing in fast. I leaned forward, grabbing the man by the back of his shirt, trying to say stop. For some reason my mouth froze – the word ‘stop’ didn’t come out at all. I made some sort of strangled gasping noise instead. And my adrenalin had spiked so I didn’t know my own strength. I accidentally hauled his ass to the pavement, spinning him around to safety like he was a sack of flour. Him and the woman both STARED at me. The car whooshed safely by and they didn’t even see it. She was too busy letting fly with expletives for ‘attacking’ her man and being a ‘sick effer’. He just got up and glared at me like I was a piece of scum and said I’d ruined his best shirt. At this point I think I was in total shock. The people around were staring. Not one of them spoke in my defense. Still I couldn’t think of a word to say beyond ‘But…’ while I pointed helplessly in the direction the car had gone by. The lights then changed and everyone began to cross. The man pulled the woman away from me and they stalked off, she flipping me the bird as the final insult. I meant well but it left such a bad taste in my mouth. The encounter was embarrassing and hurtful. Even knowing I may have saved them didn’t stop how lousy their words felt ringing in my ears. And the knowledge no one spoke up. Wow. That sucked (Source).”
That’s Embarrassing.
“A beautiful lady was sitting besides me with a cute baby. We were traveling in a train. I was heading for a professional meet. The baby was in the lap of her mother and was crying. Her mother tried to calm her, but she would not stop crying. As a good citizen, I thought I could help and asked to hold her baby for some time so that she could rest for a while. She was glad to do so. I took the baby, she was still crying. After about a minute, I felt something wet on my thigh. I lifted the baby to find that she peed on me. Oh god! Her mother was resting and her eyes were closed so I didn’t wake her up. After half an hour she opened her eyes. I returned the baby to her. The surprising thing was, that the baby stopped crying after she wet my pants. I kept my laptop bag on my lap for the rest of my journey, as it looked like I peed in my pants” (Source).
“I’ve Regretted This Nice Gesture For The Last 15 Years Of My Life.”
“In high school I was in love with a girl named Kristen. She was my soulmate, my passion, my everything. Once we went on a church youth group trip. During the trip, she was having trouble getting the film in her camera to the next slot. So, being the get-r-done man that I am, I said, ‘Let me see it. I’ll fix it.’ She handed it over. I tried moving the slide but it seemed stuck. Brute force wasn’t going to fix this issue so I started using my brain instead. I didn’t know anything about cameras but I figured it must be something stuck inside, so I popped open the back of the camera. ‘What are you doing?!’ she screamed. ‘Um… fixing your camera?’ I said. ‘You just ruined my film! It’s exposed now! You just broke it!’ With that, she grabbed it back and I felt wretched. I kept apologizing but there was nothing I could do to make it right. She stopped talking to me for a week. Deflated and frustrated, I started dating another girl a few weeks later. After 3 years, we broke up and I married another girl, who I then divorced 7 years later. Throughout all of this, Kristen and I stayed in touch. We wrote long emails and handwritten letters to each other. Every week I’d look forward to hearing from her. Then one day she suddenly stopped communicating. I emailed many times to no response. It took me a couple years to figure out she stopped because her husband forbade it. It broke my heart. If I hadn’t had tried to fix that stupid camera we might be together today. Many years later, she told me she had a crush on me at the time when I broke the camera but was too immature to know how to handle it. In her immaturity, she thought not talking to me would make me interested and want her more when instead it turned me off enough to turn my attention elsewhere. It’s 15 years after that camera incident and there’s rarely a day that goes by when I don’t think of her.” (Source)
So Much For Helping Out A Friend.
“A friend of a friend got kicked out of his parent’s home. He did not earn enough money to survive on his own. I foolishly took him in without questioning why his parents kicked him out. A few months later, I learned that he had severe bipolar disorder and refused treatment. I told him he had one week to make an appointment with a psychiatrist or to get out of my house. He responded by vandalizing my house while I was at work.” (source)
Well, That Was Stupid.
“A fellow police officer came into work, off duty, to help me find a troubled child that was missing. He was on his own time but got a radio and actually found the boy because he had had prior contact with him so much so that the mom had the officer’s personal phone number. I would have never found this child without him and I wrote him up for a commendation. Instead the police administration punished him for coming in without permission and he got written up, but in a bad way. I was furious and said so but to no avail. I begged him to forgive me and he did. I think he knew I thought he had gone above and beyond what was normal and wanted him rewarded not punished. I have always felt terrible about the outcome but it taught me that police administrators don’t always care about what’s right as much as following their rules, even when they are illogical” (source).
“Because Of My ‘Nice’ Action I Had A Very Expensive Mobile Phone Broken And Was Semi Responsible For Someone Being Gravely Injured.”
“One of my friends had a girlfriend and I was never particularly close to her. At a party I saw his girlfriend getting off with another guy. I took a photo for proof, but then decided I wouldn’t tell him his girlfriend was cheating on him as maybe her cheating was a one off act, and I didn’t want to cause him heartbreak. Only it didn’t stop there. At every party, as soon as she had a chance to get away from him, she’d cheat on him with this other guy. Everyone at school knew, apart from my friend. And all the time the girlfriend carried on as if she was a loyal girlfriend, going on dates with him, hugging him, etc. I decided that this couldn’t go on. I took another photo at the next party I was at. Then I took my friend aside and explained to him what was happening. He thanked me calmly and after I had shown him the photos on my phone he took it out of my hand and walked through the house to the room where his girlfriend was cheating on him. They were just talking to each other, but as soon as they saw my friends’ face, they knew they were busted. The girlfriend tried to cosy up to him and pretend she was really sorry, it wouldn’t happen again, etc. He responded by hurling my phone right into the guy’s face. Then he began beating the guy up – and I mean seriously beating the guy up – he broke his nose and I’m fairly sure cracked a couple of ribs. Then he just left the party, leaving behind my ruined phone, a beaten up guy and a lot of scared party-goers” (Source).