--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The thing I've learned in life is that…" description: "\"The thing I've learned in life is that basically good people can do some really horrific things, and basically bad people can do some really good thing..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/efd/wilbert-rideau-52797_bad-people_the-thing-i-ve-learned-in-life-is-that-b_499256.jpg" --- # The thing I've learned in life is that basically good… ![“The thing I've learned in life is that basically good people can do some really horrific things, and basically bad people can do some really good things.” quote by Wilbert Rideau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/efd/wilbert-rideau-52797_bad-people_the-thing-i-ve-learned-in-life-is-that-b_499256.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/efd/wilbert-rideau-52797_bad-people_the-thing-i-ve-learned-in-life-is-that-b_499256.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/efd/wilbert-rideau-52797_bad-people_the-thing-i-ve-learned-in-life-is-that-b_499256.jpg) > “The thing I've learned in life is that basically good people can do some really horrific things, and basically bad people can do some really good things.” [Wilbert Rideau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilbert-rideau/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People’s moral actions are not strictly tied to their character; good people can commit atrocities, and bad people can perform kindness. **In simple terms:** Good and bad actions are not exclusive to character. Key Takeaway Judge actions, not labels. Themes morality human nature complexity Mood thoughtful serious Type ethical analytical When to use this quote - justice system - personal relationships - historical analysis - media reporting Key Concepts ethical ambiguity psychology of behavior Questions to Reflect On - What factors influence a person's actions? - Can we separate intent from outcome? A Different Perspective Moral judgments often ignore situational pressures. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bad people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-people/) [Beam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beam/) [Can do](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/can-do/) [Good people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-people/) [Good thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-thing/) [Good things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-things/) [Horrific](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/horrific/) [Horrific Things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/horrific-things-2228148/) [I've learned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-ve-learned/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life Basically](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-basically-377995/) [Life is](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-is/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Things i've learned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/things-i-ve-learned/) ## Related quotes > [Sometimes the most difficult, horrific things can be the greatest spiritual teachers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cameron-mathison/sometimes-the-most-difficult-horrific-things-can-be-the-greatest/) [Cameron Mathison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cameron-mathison/) > [Adulthood can do the most horrific things to the best of people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-shusterman/adulthood-can-do-the-most-horrific-things-to-the-best-of-people/) [Neal Shusterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-shusterman/) > [Horrific things should be presented as horrific.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-podeswa/horrific-things-should-be-presented-as-horrific/) [Jeremy Podeswa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-podeswa/) > [Sometimes the only way to deal with horrific things in life is through a dark sense of humor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-cho/sometimes-the-only-way-to-deal-with-horrific-things-in-life-is/) [Margaret Cho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-cho/) > [That to me is the basic message of events like the rise of Nazism, the Salem witch trials, and so on: not that bad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/that-to-me-is-the-basic-message-of-events-like-the-rise-of-nazism-the/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) > [Just because some people make bad choices doesn't mean they are bad people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/just-because-some-people-make-bad-choices-doesn-t-mean-they-are-bad/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It's wrong to hurt even bad people. Because they don't know any better, and because bad people sometimes become good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/it-s-wrong-to-hurt-even-bad-people-because-they-don-t-know-any-better/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) > [Bad people sometimes do good things, and good people do really bad things or do something the audience disagrees with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-sheridan/bad-people-sometimes-do-good-things-and-good-people-do-really-bad/) [Taylor Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-sheridan/) > [Being wrong doesn't always make them bad people, well intentioned good people can do twice as much harm sometimes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/senoraroy/being-wrong-doesn-t-always-make-them-bad-people-well-intentioned-good/) [Senoraroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/senoraroy/) > [Bad people doing bad things is not interesting. What I find interesting is good people doing bad things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-bloom/bad-people-doing-bad-things-is-not-interesting-what-i-find/) [Amy Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-bloom/) > [Good people can make bad decisions and bad people can be redeemable and that is an important message for teenagers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-hope-fletcher/good-people-can-make-bad-decisions-and-bad-people-can-be-redeemable/) [Carrie Hope Fletcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-hope-fletcher/) > [Good people can do bad things, make bad decisions. It doesn't make them bad people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/good-people-can-do-bad-things-make-bad-decisions-it-doesn-t-make-them/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There’s not really such thing as ‘good’ or ‘bad’ people, there’s just like…humanity. And it gets broken sometimes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-marion/there-s-not-really-such-thing-as-good-or-bad-people-there-s-just-like/) [Isaac Marion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-marion/) > [Just because we do bad things dosent make us bad people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/unkown/just-because-we-do-bad-things-dosent-make-us-bad-people/) [Unkown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/unkown/) > [“Bad people very often do one good thing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-forrest/bad-people-very-often-do-one-good-thing/) [Emma Forrest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-forrest/) ## More by Wilbert Rideau > [Life isn't that simple. Everybody has a dual potential to do good and bad and you're capable of doing both. But as to whether…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilbert-rideau/life-isn-t-that-simple-everybody-has-a-dual-potential-to-do-good-and/) [Wilbert Rideau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilbert-rideau/) > [If you're gonna judge people by crimes, you get into a quagmire. If you're gonna judge people by themselves, by who and what they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilbert-rideau/if-you-re-gonna-judge-people-by-crimes-you-get-into-a-quagmire-if-you/) [Wilbert Rideau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilbert-rideau/) > [Whatever you want, you can make things happen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilbert-rideau/whatever-you-want-you-can-make-things-happen/) [Wilbert Rideau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilbert-rideau/) > [Solitary confinement has been used extensively, it always has. I was in prison for 44 years; it was a normal part of life -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilbert-rideau/solitary-confinement-has-been-used-extensively-it-always-has-i-was-in/) [Wilbert Rideau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilbert-rideau/) > [Crime is a social problem, and education is the only real deterrent. Look at all of us in prison; we were all truants and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilbert-rideau/crime-is-a-social-problem-and-education-is-the-only-real-deterrent/) [Wilbert Rideau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilbert-rideau/) > [“You have a responsibility to act for others when you're the only person in a position to do so. It's how you handle it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilbert-rideau/you-have-a-responsibility-to-act-for-others-when-you-re-the-only/) [Wilbert Rideau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilbert-rideau/) [Explore all 7 Wilbert Rideau quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilbert-rideau/) ## More Bad people quotes > [“Crime and punishment can be summed up in two classifications: there are bad people and there are people who get into bad situations. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnnie-dent-jr/crime-and-punishment-can-be-summed-up-in-two-classifications-there/) [Johnnie Dent Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnnie-dent-jr/) > [“Any discussion of money and success would be lacking if I did not state that money is neither good nor bad. In the hands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-stovall/any-discussion-of-money-and-success-would-be-lacking-if-i-did-not/) [Jim Stovall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-stovall/) > [When people walk away from you, let them go. You're destiny is never tied to anyone who leaves you, and it doesn't mean they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-people-walk-away-from-you-let-them-go-you-re-destiny-is-never/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“If you have the ability and the opportunity to help someone, but you don't do anything just because you're scared or it's inconvenient or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bree-despain/if-you-have-the-ability-and-the-opportunity-to-help-someone-but-you/) [Bree Despain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bree-despain/) > [Really bad people around the world, because of the genius of American innovation, use our products and infrastructure for their emails, for their communications.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-comey/really-bad-people-around-the-world-because-of-the-genius-of-american/) [James Comey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-comey/) > [“If you sought to leave the world, don’t go alone. Since there are too many bad people you can take them too.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/if-you-sought-to-leave-the-world-don-t-go-alone-since-there-are-too/) [M.F. Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/) > [“To feel someone’s life drain from their body by your hands . . . bad, bad people who need to be plucked from this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tillie-cole/to-feel-someone-s-life-drain-from-their-body-by-your-hands-bad-bad/) [Tillie Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tillie-cole/) > [“I just can't get with this idea that literature is a 12-step program. If someone wants to read a book to see good people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/china-mi-ville/i-just-can-t-get-with-this-idea-that-literature-is-a-12-step-program/) [China Miéville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/china-mi-ville/) > [“Deterrents properly placed can help. But that is not enough. We are one society, and as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, what we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-booker/deterrents-properly-placed-can-help-but-that-is-not-enough-we-are-one/) [Cory Booker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-booker/) > [“Plato argued that good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will always find a way around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-howard/plato-argued-that-good-people-do-not-need-laws-to-tell-them-to-act/) [Philip K. Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-howard/) > [Too bad all the people who know how to run this country are busy running taxicabs or cutting hair.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-burns/too-bad-all-the-people-who-know-how-to-run-this-country-are-busy/) [George Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-burns/) > [“was my first indication that the policies of Mamaw’s “party of the working man”—the Democrats—weren’t all they were cracked up to be. Political scientists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-vance/was-my-first-indication-that-the-policies-of-mamaw-s-party-of-the/) [J.D. Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-vance/) > [The truth is that Africa is like everywhere else. There are poor areas, there are rich areas, there is a middle class. Some of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masai-ujiri/the-truth-is-that-africa-is-like-everywhere-else-there-are-poor-areas/) [Masai Ujiri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masai-ujiri/) > [I'm a very placid human being. I don't want to kill anyone. I guess I have played a lot of bad people in my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-mays/i-m-a-very-placid-human-being-i-don-t-want-to-kill-anyone-i-guess-i/) [Daniel Mays](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-mays/) > [We do not come to God as bad people trying to become good people; we come as rebels to lay down our arms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/we-do-not-come-to-god-as-bad-people-trying-to-become-good-people-we/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) [Browse all 703 Bad people quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-people/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The thing I've learned in life is that basically good people can do some really horrific things, and basically bad people can do some really good things.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Wilbert Rideau" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilbert-rideau/the-thing-i-ve-learned-in-life-is-that-basically-good-people-can-do/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bad people" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilbert-rideau/the-thing-i-ve-learned-in-life-is-that-basically-good-people-can-do/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/efd/wilbert-rideau-52797_bad-people_the-thing-i-ve-learned-in-life-is-that-b_499256.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/efd/wilbert-rideau-52797_bad-people_the-thing-i-ve-learned-in-life-is-that-b_499256.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/efd/wilbert-rideau-52797_bad-people_the-thing-i-ve-learned-in-life-is-that-b_499256.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The thing I've learned in life is that basically good people can do some really horrific things, and…” — Wilbert Rideau", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Wilbert Rideau", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilbert-rideau/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The thing I've learned in life...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilbert-rideau/the-thing-i-ve-learned-in-life-is-that-basically-good-people-can-do/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilbert-rideau/the-thing-i-ve-learned-in-life-is-that-basically-good-people-can-do/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```