r/AskReddit • u/AuthorConfident9386 • 13h ago

Men, what’s one small, seemingly insignificant thing you’ve noticed that can be a telltale sign of the difference between a genuinely good man and a bad one?

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u/sisyphus_was_lazy_10 11h ago

Paraphrasing a Greek proverb: A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they know they shall never sit.

Unfortunately, we have a lot of old men running things right now that are only creating shade for themselves.

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u/unoriginal5 11h ago

They're not creating any shade. They actually as though shade is a finite resource and take as much as they can get for themselves. They'll even destroy 100 acres of shade to gain an inch for themselves, because theirs will then be more valuable.

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u/3vs3BigGameHunters 10h ago edited 10h ago

Did you know one of the infamous Koch brothers died in 2019?
Most people don't, because other than the people who personally hated him, nobody gave a shit.
He destroyed the environment, treated people like shit, funded right-wing bullshit, and was an all around cancer on society.
No state televised funeral, no statues erected, no songs by Elton John. Nothing.
Died with fifty-billion dollars to his name and everyone who reads this who just found out is happy that asshole is dead.

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u/BunnyPhuPhu 8h ago

I remember.. I drank a toast with some good liquor, and wished him well on the golden escalator to hell.

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u/Own_Zookeepergame271 8h ago

Um, I believe it's a highway to hell and a stairway to heaven. The traffic pattern is kind telling don't ya think?

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u/DudeCanNotAbide 4h ago

The escalator is out of order, and you are guaranteed to trip on the first step.

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u/3vs3BigGameHunters 8h ago

Nice. Did he fuck you over personally?
Or was it just a toast in solidarity with his victims?

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u/scriptfoo 7h ago

their money went to undermining environmental laws, labor laws, and social safety net programs. So, even if they didn't fuck me over directly, eventually I (and practically all of us) would be.

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u/Anothernamelesacount 6h ago

Man, they truly are cartoon villains through and through

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u/waterfountain_bidet 6h ago

See your energy bills this summer? He personally fucked each and every one of us. I often wish there was a hell, because I would like to imagine him (and some other guys) being tortured forever.

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u/BunnyPhuPhu 5h ago

I think he fucked every single American with his existence, so it was a solidarity toast.

But I'm not rich enough for him to have fucked me over personally. I wear my badge of semi-poverty with pride.

I'm fully aware of the evils that too much money brings. Once you reach a certain point you have to become a sociopath to want more.

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u/sexyshingle 4h ago

Man reading this (news to me!) and going thru his wikipedia has made shitty weekend a smidge better!

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u/blargney 7h ago

Hey cool, i finally got to read an obituary with great satisfaction!

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u/3vs3BigGameHunters 7h ago

read an obituary with great satisfaction!

I wish you many more my friend, and hopefully sooner than later.

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u/The_Onion_Life 6h ago

Died with fifty-billion dollars to his name and everyone who reads this who just found out is happy that asshole is dead.

Can confirm, I just learned he's dead and it made my day!

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u/3vs3BigGameHunters 6h ago

Hooray! Glad to help :)

Do you enjoy pickled onions?

•

u/The_Onion_Life 52m ago

Do you enjoy pickled onions?

I've never actually tried them. Now I'm intrigued.

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u/the22ndquincy 5h ago

Come on, he wasn't all bad. His prostate accomplished some great things.

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u/Michael_Goodwin 3h ago

Koch brothers

..who?

Genuinely

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u/squired 5h ago

It is also worthwhile to note that he and his brother were effectively married at the hip. The loss of his brother is the absolute worst thing that could have ever happened to him. $50BB and not a soul in the world he loves to share it with. He would have begged to precede him.

Happy Halloween.

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u/3vs3BigGameHunters 5h ago

Wow thank you I did not know that! That IS worthwhile to know!
I love that for his piece of shit fucking brother to suffer and grieve!

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u/squired 5h ago

Yeah, they were trauma survivor fraternal twins. His father made them compete and fight over everything and beat the loser. They became soulmates forged in Hell. Then he finally won and lost everything.

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u/DeadpoolLuvsDeath 10h ago

THE OLD

FUCK YOU, GOT MINE

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u/crowmagnuman 7h ago

Chopping down the forest their fathers planted, to build themselves a bunker

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u/MeowMixDeliveryGuy 8h ago

Shade is bad for data centers.

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u/AyeEyeWrap 10h ago

I mean I totally agree that their shade shouldn’t be more valuable, but if you’re old, wouldn’t every single resource be like x2 or x4 more valuable than somebody who is young (and ambitious)?

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u/cryptoengineer 9h ago

Reminds me of:

“I must study war and politics so that my children shall be free to study commerce, agriculture and other practicalities, so that their children can study painting, poetry and other fine things.” — John Adams

I actually do enjoy the shade to two sugar maples I planted beside my driveway 20 years ago - they are now over 30 feet tall, ad make parking there in summer bearable.

If I planted them today, I wouldn't get to enjoy them.

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u/Hartastic 2h ago

“I must study war and politics so that my children shall be free to study commerce, agriculture and other practicalities, so that their children can study painting, poetry and other fine things.” — John Adams

It's a great quote, although ironically the two sons he didn't disown are best known for war and politics.

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u/SweatyExamination9 4h ago

But are you done planting trees?

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u/MyFiteSong 10h ago

They're cutting down and selling the trees.

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u/FecusTPeekusberg 10h ago

And salting the earth so no more will grow.

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u/MoffKalast 8h ago

Real salt of the earth people /s

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u/GrippingHand 5h ago

And all because we refused to name the trees after them.

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u/darkslide3000 4h ago

Elon with his chainsaw is literally the perfect image to represent how current-day politics fit into that metaphor.

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u/joanzen 9h ago

Here's a point to ponder: Everyone is worried about the lack of skills transfer due to COVID. But if you retire people with skills early enough/at a decent and fair age, then you'll discover and skills gap prior to the person dying with exclusive knowledge?

So if we retired politicans a bit younger we'd be sure we have a good stock of young replacements who are doing the work out of interest vs. demand/best we can find?

Crazy logic.

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u/Ya-Dikobraz 9h ago

It's not even a lot. It's the few with the money and power.

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u/MJP_Writing 9h ago

They're actually making giant parasols for themselves out of everybody else's saplings.

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u/Fishychicken 10h ago

I burn myself for a sunrise I know I’ll never see

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u/meson537 8h ago

They're cutting down the trees for fuel.

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u/TheWriteStuff1966 10h ago

Well said. Lots of shady trees growing in the swamp.

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u/catchpanther86 9h ago

Good proverb, bad take. It’s not just old men and it’s not new. Been taking shape for decades. 

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u/Specialist-Lack-9804 8h ago

No no no it is completely justified to make your own shade. the real issue is if you have ENOUGH shade but bulldoze other people's shade unlike their peers/teachers.

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u/FormerTesseractPilot 6h ago

They're actively chopping down trees and selling them.

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u/LeGrandLucifer 4h ago

Also they're cutting down the trees.

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u/SweatyExamination9 4h ago

I'm not the most rah rah environment guy. But I really feel like deforestation is truly the best symbol to represent just how blatantly a generation spit in the face of that proverb. Wood is literally worse.

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u/Funandgeeky 4h ago

They are also clear-cutting all the forests to make sure no one else has shade.

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u/conners_captures 2h ago

only creating shade for themselves

thats not fair, they're literally stroking out on live television. clearly they need some shade!