Dishonesty

Dishonest people drive me nuts! I have had two situations in the past month or so that have made me realize that there are some very dishonest and mean people in this world. I guess I always give people the benefit of the doubt when it comes to most situations. I think about what I would do under the circumstances and just assume most level-headed people would do the same. WRONG!

So the first instance has to do with ebay. I actually really dont like using ebay because all of the strangers on there freak me out. I had this brilliant idea that I could sell my old iphone and pay for a new one with the profit. Long story short, I got scammed by a dishonest person who sent a fake email leading me to believe they sent me the money. I had to deal with a huge headached of getting the package turned around and shipped back to me. At first I was just mad and then I thought, why do people think this is OK? How can you live your life by cheating others? I just cant even comprehend how these people sleep at night.

Fast forward to this past Monday night. I had just gotten into my car in my company's parking garage after work when I heard a big CRUNCH behind me. I look back and some lady in a giant monster truck slammed into one of my co-workers cars. I sort of panicked because it looked like the lady was trying to leave without leaving a note. I quickly whipped out my newly-purchased iphone and punched in the lady's license plate number in case she got away. At that moment, my co-worker came around the corner and I pointed and blurted out "THEY HIT YOU!" He was not pleased. After confirming everything was ok, I left and went home. The next day I learned that the lady is not insured and her boyfriend owns the car. They are claiming the damage was already there and it wasn't her fault. Excuse me? First off, you endanger yourself and others by driving without insurance and now you are going to flat out lie and basically call me a liar for telling the insurance adjuster what I saw? Absolutely ridiculous.

Sometimes I go to an event like a Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer 5k or a Jaycee meeting and I am genuinely impressed with people. I think to myself, wow, some people have such passion and great ideas and I'm glad I can learn from them. But then situations like these happen and it makes me angry to think that there are a small minority that ruin it for the rest of us honest hard-working people. I pay my car insurance (well actually my mom), and I dont like it. But you have to, its part of life. I have bought many things online via stubhub or ticket exchanges and I never once was out to scam or defraud anyone. Who do these people think they are?

These situations also make me feel fortunate that I surround myself with honest and positive people. I am lucky to be able to have moments of complete astonishment as friends, family and even acquaintances succeed each in their own way. It is just sad that this is not the reality for some. And these select few seem to have a way with handling situations that can mask the good in others. Honesty is a virtue.