----- Original Message ----- From: "Jeffrey Fisher" <jeff.jfisher at gmail.com>
Isn't it just the pernicious idea that people always get what they deserve? I think this is maybe where Joanna's use of the term, "belief," is so perfect. That is, there is something religious or at least quasi-religious in the refusal of people to recognize that the world is not fundamentally just, that people don't necessarily get what they deserve. Gates gets what he deserves, for his innovation or boldness or "entrepreneurial spirit" or what-the-fuck-ever, while the homeless guy down the street, well, it's sad, but he also clearly just didn't work hard enough. otherwise, why would he be there?
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Yes. I remember talking to a crunchy granola type woman in Calif who believed in Karma.
I asked her whether those who died in concentration camps karmically deserved their fate, and she said Yes.
That's when I gave up.
Joanna