35 Satisfying Instant Karma Moments People Witnessed And Couldn't Forget

"A seagul tried to eat my sushi. It ate a lump of wasabi instead."

Chelsi

• Published in Funny
• September 27, 2024

Colloquially, karma is viewed similarly to cause and effect. The good you do in the world will find its way back to and the same is true for negative actions.

While karma is rooted in Buddhist, Hindu, and Sikh teachings, its concept has been embraced by other cultures. Some view karma as a moral scoreboard to better promote accountability.

Some experience schadenfreude— pleasure from witnessing someone else's failure or humiliation— from seeing karmic justice be served to people who have wronged others. This is apparent when people celebrate the arrest of corrupt politicians, unethical executives, and criminals.

But schadenfreude can be felt even when a run-of-the-mill, unlikeable person gets a taste of their own medicine. Did the person at the next table who was rude to the staff get an illegal parking ticket?

Did the playground bully get humbled after tripping and falling? Even those simple inconveniences are enough to satisfy the craving for justice.

According to neuroscientist Dean Burnett in his BBC Science Focus Magazine article, this craving for justice against bad actors is deeply ingrained in us. Social standing, fairness, and justice play into feeling satisfaction when we see someone experience "appropriate failure and misfortune."

As Burnett explained, "Our brains respond to perceived fairness and justice like they do to raised social status: they really like it." This explains why people remember the karmic retribution they witness, as evidenced by their responses to the question: "What’s the best example of ‘instant karma’ you’ve ever seen?"

1. You may not be a dung beetle in your next life, but you would take longer at the till.

2. Did he deserve the kindness? Maybe not, but the guilt will linger.

3. Oh, Christopher. Pooh will be disappointed.

4. Karma goes the other way as well!

5. Being nice literally costs nothing!

6. Should have tested her chair before messing with other people's seats.

7. Good luck with the job market!

8. This could have ended badly.

9. They need to learn about actions and consequences at a young age.

10. I can almost picture this happening in slow-mo.

11. There's a reason why people say, "Safety regulations are written in blood."

12. The anger I felt on behalf of this person's dog!

13. Tires = popped. Ego = deflated.

14. See what happens when you're unkind to others.

15. If that's what he does in public, how does he behave behind closed doors?

16. No caffeine for those who don't deserve it.

17. Sometimes karma works through you.

18. Should have stopped when she got a broken nose.

19. You can't be mad when you're bad at your job.

20. Was it enough to teach the offender a lesson?

21. Didn't he know he was supposed to volley the ball to the opposing team?

22. Don't mess with someone who has a familiar.

23. That level of road rage should be enough to have their license revoked.

24. *shudders*

25. You have to make sure your side of the street is clean before insulting others.

26. There's some truth to what people say. You do attract what you are.

27. He was speedrunning a quest to go to prison.

28. "What's the rush?" asked the magazine rack.

29. They call that the jerk tax.

30. Bigots and bad drivers? Choose one struggle.

31. The universe said he was cut off.

32. What a sticky situation.

33. You're never too old to learn new things.

34. A delicious reward!

35. Even bees know justice.

In the same article, Burnett said it would be weirder if our brains didn't enjoy schadenfreude. We are social beings who take pleasure in seeing people get what they deserve.

It's nice when people get a little bit of their kindness in return, and it is extremely satisfying to see morally questionable people attract the negative energy they put into the world. It's a small form of justice that could happen quickly, especially in a society where punishment isn't always meted out to those who deserve it.

Chelsi