Good guys finish last – the reward system for bad boys

The opening lines from the movie go like these.

Bad boys, whatcha want
Watcha want, whatcha gonna do?
When sheriff John Brown come for you
Tell me whatcha wanna do, whatcha gonna do?

While the good guys are taken for granted, it is the bad guys who get all the attention. Living upto expectations of others, good guys are expected to follow rules and take responsibilities. But the same yardstick does not apply to bad boys. Most of their mistakes are excused or even admired being on the wild side. Is there any reward factor for the good guys from the society?

Good guys always in a minority

Good guys are always in a minority everywhere. Reaching places in time, finishing assignments, getting things done, making less demands and so on. If everyone around is ignoring you, means you are THE good guy. Rest of the guys are allowed to get away with mistakes and remain the centre of attention. While the mommies gang is constantly fretting over such kids and seemingly enjoying it too, you will just get a pat on the back and will be expected to move on.

This sorry story continues through school, when you continue to work hard and slog it out for good grades while the other variety manage to get away with passing grades. The entire teaching fraternity go overdrive helping them to study harder and better their grades. But despite all the effort, nothing seem to work.

College time is supposed to be all about fun and companionship. But not for the good guys, because they will be preparing most of the time for their job and career. Time to get ready to take on more responsibilities.

No reward system for the good guys – both professionally as well as personally

There is a whole eco system out there having the sympathy factor for the bad guys. The strange but familiar system of bad guys always in the mode of wanting to get a fresh start. Society does not keep a count as to how many opportunities have been wasted on them. They are in the process of finding and providing new opportunities to the losers.

The good guy on the other hand will work quietly in the background, without any fanfare or limelight. Good guys somehow manage to keep the family together and provide for them despite all odds and any economy induced market conditions. That is because they are risk takers and do not keep much for themselves. They are the providers in the family and bread earners. This is the part where gender neutrality is widely seen. So many families where the woman in the house is the primary earning member.

At the workplace the good guys manage to keep things afloat. They put in the extra effort and bring in business while the bad boys either do not have any permanent job or career or seem to keep trying without reaching anywhere.

When good guys enter into a relationship, they get the first glimpse of this skewed reward system. Having a loser spouse or partner is the generally accepted norm in society. Otherwise how is it possible that everything else is checked in an arranged match except for the fact that will they keep each other happy. How much of the wealth is earned rather than inherited and so on.

Will the situation change?

Good guys are kind of “fill it, shut it & forget it” types.

Bad boys are always in need of money so the people around them are always in a state of providing for them.

Which comes to the main question. Will this change? No, my friend. This is the order of the world.

If you have spend your entire childhood and teenage period realising that the good guys never get rewarded, then that is probably going to continue for life.

The main reason for this is society fails to keep losers in check. Hard work and effort is not recognised and rewarded. They will be cosmetic events such as prize distributions and some words of praise in family. But at the end of the day, it will be the losers who will get more than their due. A loser’s effort will never be questioned. He or she will always get the support wanted. But as a good guys your intentions will always be questioned, no matter how noble they are or how well they have been planned. How often have you seen fraudsters duping people of money where the fraudster is always a stranger, but still manages to con people. If only it would have been easy to trust a winner.

The bad guys will keep getting help in terms of money and affection. They will be the first to get payments and gifts. In a property dispute or distribution they will get the lion share because they tried and failed. As a companion, the good guys will be tagged as boring. So if you are feeling a bias against good guys in society, it is the harsh truth.