Do you think most folk are kind and honest?

I think there is goodness in everyone deep down & it’s down to the individual’s conscience. I agree that as long as my conscience is clear then it’s up to others what they do.

I remember vividly in the early 70's my stepson, when doing his paper round about this time of the year and after his tea so it was dark, him finding a wallet in the road.
He brought it home and we realised it was a coalman's takings judging by the muck and dust on it. We didn't have a phone but the phone-box was near enough so H took a look inside the wallet to find a number and rang it. " Had he lost anything ?"

The poor man on the other end of the phone was practically in tears as he didn't think he'd see it again so he drove from his home and came and collected it ( stuffed with notes ) yet none of us were ever tempted in any way as we were thinking how this chap was feeling.

Honesty paid off because he gave my stepson 2x£5 notes which he handed to his dad and myself. The man himself was crying " happy " tears. I was delighted because I went out next day and bought the two step-children a large Mars stocking each for Christmas----and they were large in those days with a Mars bar about a foot long

I can't be anything else but honest, though yesterday I did find a fifty pence piece but there wasn't a soul about, and put it in my coat pocket----it's still there, just in case.

Why is there a need to turn everything on Gransnet into something political. Not a need to do that we all know that mistakes have been made and lies told from all the Governments everywhere. Most of the time they have tried to do what is advised by scientists not something they have come up with off the top of their heads. As for breaking the rules, a lot of people have. Yes they should know better but they after all just people. I dont actually trust any politician further than I can throw them of all parties.

I found a handbag in a small street bin when putting in some sweet wrappers. Rang police who asked me to take it to a local greengrocers shop. Owner was very pleased as shop keys were still there. Sadly not her purse or money.

Sometimes I do and I feel good about it. Then something pops up to make me doubt it again. It could be media based or personal and then I have to wait for my belief in honesty and goodness to creep back in. I dont know why its harder to trust it than it is to lose it. Could it be my cynical age? I hope not.

I think the majority are kind and honest. We only hear about the unkind and dishonest. I was recently surprised at how kind people are when i had an accident in my car. People stopped their cars to help, people came out of their houses, someone phoned the police, ambulance, son who all turned up immediately. People asked if i wanted tea/water/to sit in their car/house. It really surprised me as you dont hear about all the kindness and help that people offer.

In my experience, yes !

Yes, I do believe most people are kind and honest. There are millions of acts of kindness every day which we never hear about.

I think, too, that often you get what you expect. I expect most people to be kind and I'm rarely disappointed. Often people go above and beyond to be helpful and generous. I try to emulate that. My brother, on the other hand, expects people to be selfish and to want to con him. He is rarely disappointed either! I know which I would rather be.

On the whole, yes, when it comes to important things. A local charity was broken into, toys for disadvantaged children were all stolen.A call went out to local supermarkets, people turned up with much more than was taken, so yes. People really knock my area, and there are, as in all places, some bad uns, but on the whole people here are kind and trustworthy. I would hate to be of the mindset that you can’t trust anyone.

Oh Marydoll, another member of the dopey son club! I am sure at that age their brains aren;t wired properly

I couldn't imagine finding a purse or hand bag and not handing it in!

I have also witnessed what I would call organised shoplifting in charity shops!

When my middle son was at university, he didn't come home after a night out. This was so unlike him, in fact he rarely went out. I kept ringing his phone, nothing.

Eventually I got a call from someone asking if I was the mum of the person, who had lost his phone. My heart practically stopped with worry.
It turned out this person had found my son's phone in the street near Glasgow University. What puzzled me even more was that he was at a different university!!!

With still no sign of my son, I drove up to Glasgow to get the phone back. ? I was fuming and sick with worry.
The young man, a foreigner refused a reward, but I insisted.

A few hours later, DS returned home to a very frosty welcome.
His excuse was he had stayed with a friend and lost his phone.
His face was a picture of bewilderment, when he spotted his phone lying on the table, when he had lost it elsewhere. It was hilarious, watching him, trying to work out how it got there!

He soon found out, when I demanded £20 from him as reimbursement for the reward I paid to the young man. ?

I think most people are kind and honest. I've been burgled a couple of times, and had my car broken into a couple of times, and I've had people at the door asking for money for alleged bus trips to see ailing relatives or because they'd allegedly lost their shopping money, sometimes the exact same tale at each visit
but
In normal life, I've only met kind and honest. A few weeks ago I left my iPhone in Costa in Blackpool - I had had it on a carrying strap round my wrist and when I left I'd mistaken the sensation of my masks round my wrist for the phone strap - and a customer and a staff member came racing after me. ?

Yes, I do think most people are. It’s just the 5% or so you have to worry about.
Dd2 once lost her purse on the way home - she assumed it had been nicked - at a heaving Waterloo station in the rush hour.

She cancelled her cards, but did check at lost property the next day, just in case. And lo, it hadn’t been nicked - she must have dropped it, and some kind soul had handed it in.

My own purse was stolen during a burglary - luckily there was very little cash in it. Many months later, a very battered and mildewed leather purse, with my driving licence (which I still hadn’t replaced) was put through our letterbox, with a note to say that someone had found it in their garden. They didn’t live very far away, but how nice of them to bother.

Years ago I found a purse in a Scarborough pub with money and cards in it. I took it to the police station and a few days later I received a lovely thank you letter with a bouquet, it made me feel happy that I was appreciated..

I don’t have experience of people being honest but I have come across some very kind people recently. I had a TIA earlier this year and as a result have had various tests at Manchester Eye Hospital. The staff there are brilliant, so caring and understanding, they cannot do enough for me. I use two walking sticks to get around on the visits as there can be a lot of walking and wherever I go, a chair is found for me to sit, I never have to wait long and I love that everyone is smiling and happy.

I’ve had a Tesco delivery today and as the guy was carrying it into my kitchen, I asked if he would leave any bottles and cans by the front door as I needed to put it in the garage. He did that, there were a lot, and then asked for the garage key and insisted on putting it all away in there. Such a kind gesture which he really did not need to do.

Yes I think the large majority are, it’s just this government that isn’t

We were on holiday in Cyprus, many years ago and when paying for a meal, handed the waiter what we thought was the right amount plus a good tip and promptly left. Our waiter chased us down the road to return some of the money, we had mistaken the value of the notes and had paid ten times too much!

As others have said, most people are honest it is usually the ones that aren't that get the most publicity.

In the summer my husband went to fill up our car and put his wallet down on the pump. He forgot to pick it up and when he went back it had gone.

To cut a long story short the person who picked it up tried to return it to where we live but ,as we were still out took it back to the supermarket where my husband had bought the fuel.

It was a young man and my husband went to his house and gave him a small amount to say thank you for being so honest.

This honest response was a good ending to a stressful time.

I certainly do. We have many more kind people than evil ones.

Some time ago returning from holiday in Turkey, I realised I’d lost my wallet, so cancelled by cards etc.

A year later the travel agents called me and after asking some questions, told me they had my wallet. It was duly returned with my cards and money intact. I couldn’t believe it.

So yes, I believe most people are honest and kind even if the papers and media suggest otherwise.

Yes I believe the vast majority of us are basically decent and honest. Good news doesn't often make headlines.

Seems like I'm not alone in thinking that most people are honest. I have a friend who is generally very suspicious and a bit paranoid. Strangely it seems that she does seem to encounter more dishonesty in daily life than I do. I do think that one has to have trust in humanity.

LauraNorderr you haven't said how much was in the bag. You could do the round of charity shops and hand a sum to the person on the till as a donation, making sure they clocked it on the register before putting it in the till. Then there is a record of it. Most people working in charity shops are volunteers and would be honest I think. How many charity shops depends how much was in the bag!