# So this is what they call Karma, huh? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 28, 2004, 7:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-this-is-what-they-call-karma-huh/276973 "2004-11-28T07:45:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![START](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2bfe46/32.png) [@START](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/START)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2004, 7:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-this-is-what-they-call-karma-huh/276973/1 "2004-11-28T07:45:21Z")
Imagine this (it happened today); 4 guys riding around in a car in the rain for no particular reason other than they were all bored and did not want to be at their homes. The driver is hitting every puddle much to the amusement of his passengers, the driver of the car sees an older man walking down the street and asks “should I go for it?” A handsome young man named “START” asks “go for what?” but before he can finish his question the driver has already hit the puddle and soaked the old man. The three passengers all laugh and say half heartedly “that’s messed up”. The young man “START” realizes that it really was messed up and let’s his imagination run wild, thinking thoughts like; “What if he was depressed and after this he just goes home and kills himself”. Not wanting to upset anyone “START” keeps his thoughts to himself. Later on when the rain subsides the occupants decide to roll down the windows in the car because the heater had made the interior of the car feel hot, stuffy and uncomfortable. As one of the young men chatted on a cell phone the other 3 were trying to figure out where they could go to relieve their boredom. As the car drove along a gigantic SUV came by and drove over a puddle sending rain water into the car wetting the young men, especially the driver who was soaked and extremely cold. The 4 young men rolled up their windows and cut their trip short so they could each go home and get into some dry clothes. _ **What goes around comes around!** _ ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2004, 8:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-this-is-what-they-call-karma-huh/276973/2 "2004-11-28T08:54:30Z")
**START** , I’m surprised at you! Next, you’ll be telling us about your Mail Box baseball team! No, Karma takes a lifetime, sometimes, several. That was a new and improved variant of Karma, called “Instant Karma” It’ll get ya every time. ---
**Author:** ![quiltguy154](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/ad7895/32.png) [@quiltguy154](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/quiltguy154)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2004, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-this-is-what-they-call-karma-huh/276973/3 "2004-11-28T13:39:03Z")
What’s the phrase I’m trying to think of, about chomping on the back of something fleshy. ::Instant Karma, NOW with comeuppance:: ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2004, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-this-is-what-they-call-karma-huh/276973/4 "2004-11-28T14:28:23Z")
START, you really need to get a new hobby - one that doesn’t involve driving or being [driven around](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=285638). While you’re at it, you might consider some new friends, as well. ---
**Author:** ![ParentalAdvisory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@ParentalAdvisory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParentalAdvisory)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2004, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-this-is-what-they-call-karma-huh/276973/5 "2004-11-28T15:31:54Z")
> [@picunurse](#): > > **START** , I’m surprised at you! Next, you’ll be telling us about your Mail Box baseball team! Mail Box baseball team? LOL, may Sosa can start up a league, and may he’ll actually hit something? ---
**Author:** ![Uvula\_Donor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e19adc/32.png) [@Uvula\_Donor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uvula_Donor)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2004, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-this-is-what-they-call-karma-huh/276973/6 "2004-11-28T16:30:41Z")
> [@START](#): > > before he can finish his question the driver has already hit the puddle and soaked the old man. Hey, START, you sure hang around with some real assholes, y’know? Come to think of it, so did I when I was that age. ---
**Author:** ![START](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2bfe46/32.png) [@START](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/START)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2004, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-this-is-what-they-call-karma-huh/276973/7 "2004-11-28T20:00:40Z")
Instant Karma, huh? Well it’s real I will tell you that :smack: . It’s also a good way to get rid of guilt…you know we wet the old man then we got wet, no more feeling guilty because we all got what was coming to us. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2004, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-this-is-what-they-call-karma-huh/276973/8 "2004-11-28T20:04:37Z")
> [@START](#): > > It’s also a good way to get rid of guilt…you know we wet the old man then we got wet, no more feeling guilty because we all got what was coming to us. 🙂 If you believe that, you have definitely not discharged your karmic debt, and your bad deeds have yet to be repaid to you three-fold. ---
**Author:** ![Loopydude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e56c9b/32.png) [@Loopydude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopydude)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2004, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-this-is-what-they-call-karma-huh/276973/9 "2004-11-28T20:08:54Z")
No, it’s called shitty-ass luck. Don’t say it’s “ironic” either, or someone is likely to force-feed you Alanis Morissette CDs, then finish with a jewel-case colonic. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2004, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-this-is-what-they-call-karma-huh/276973/10 "2004-11-28T20:43:44Z")
> [@START](#): > > . . . the driver has already hit the puddle and soaked the old man . . . As the car drove along a gigantic SUV came by and drove over a puddle sending rain water into the car wetting the young men, especially the driver who was soaked and extremely cold. What would be _really_ great, of course, was if the SUV was driven by the wet old man. ---
**Author:** ![AngelicGemma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/439d5e/32.png) [@AngelicGemma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AngelicGemma)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2004, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-this-is-what-they-call-karma-huh/276973/11 "2004-11-28T20:53:45Z")
It’s nice to know that ass holes sometimes get what’s coming to them. I find it reassuring. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2004, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-this-is-what-they-call-karma-huh/276973/12 "2004-11-28T21:08:38Z")
I was walking home from the grocery store in the _pouring_ rain this morning, trying to avoid being splashed by passing cars. In one hand was a can of cat food. Had any car speeded through a puddle “to splash the old lady,” I was armed and ready to send it crashing through their rear window. ---
**Author:** ![Jenaroph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Jenaroph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenaroph)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2004, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-this-is-what-they-call-karma-huh/276973/13 "2004-11-28T21:36:53Z")
Instant Karma: just add water. ---
**Author:** ![Uvula\_Donor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e19adc/32.png) [@Uvula\_Donor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uvula_Donor)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2004, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-this-is-what-they-call-karma-huh/276973/14 "2004-11-28T23:07:32Z")
> [@START](#): > > The 4 young men . . . Oh, and by the way: as long as you and your buds keep pulling crap like that, and [like this](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=285638), you have no business whatsoever referring to yourselves as “men”. ---
**Author:** ![Carnac\_the\_Magnificent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Carnac\_the\_Magnificent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carnac_the_Magnificent)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2004, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-this-is-what-they-call-karma-huh/276973/15 "2004-11-29T02:44:28Z")
> [@START](#): > > _ **What goes around comes around!** _ The Jeep driver’s actions were malicious; the SUV driver’s seemingly accidental. Big difference. Your getting wet did nothing to ease the suffering of an old man. ---
**Author:** ![START](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2bfe46/32.png) [@START](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/START)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2004, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-this-is-what-they-call-karma-huh/276973/16 "2004-11-29T03:08:51Z")
I hope you all realize that I was NOT driving the car, if I had there is no way I would have wet the old man because I wouldn’t want someone to do that to me. I am just happy that my friend got soaked and even happy that I also got wet, I’m not happy that despite getting what we deserved we probably ruined the old guy’s day. You see I’m not an asshole, even my friend who was driving later admitted that splashing the old man was an idiotic thing to do. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Keapon\_Laffin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e274bd/32.png) [@Keapon\_Laffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keapon_Laffin)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2004, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-this-is-what-they-call-karma-huh/276973/17 "2004-11-29T03:19:31Z")
> [@START](#): > > _ **What goes around comes around!** _ Wasn’t that what they said about _herpes_? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Roland\_Orzabal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c2a13f/32.png) [@Roland\_Orzabal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roland_Orzabal)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2004, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-this-is-what-they-call-karma-huh/276973/18 "2004-11-29T03:40:30Z")
**START** : Hanging around with assholes doesn’t make you an asshole, but it does make you a guy who hangs around with assholes. That’s not a judgement, and it’s not advice…it’s not even a suggestion of anything. Just keep it in mind. ---
**Author:** ![Uvula\_Donor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e19adc/32.png) [@Uvula\_Donor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uvula_Donor)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2004, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-this-is-what-they-call-karma-huh/276973/19 "2004-11-29T04:33:03Z")
> [@Roland Orzabal](#): > > Hanging around with assholes doesn’t make you an asshole, but it does make you a guy who hangs around with assholes. And ya have to be really careful, too, because assholery is contagous. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2004, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-this-is-what-they-call-karma-huh/276973/20 "2004-11-29T11:03:07Z")
And not to get all Momish, but this is twice in two weeks that you’ve been with your friends when they’ve pulled something really stupid. Next time it might be something really stupid and illegal, and Officer Friendly is not likely to listen to your protests of innocence. Hang with the idiots and sooner or later you’ll suffer the consequences. It may not be Karma - it may be incarceration. Just sayin’.