Why do jealous people view others as undeserving?

[Anonymous]

I’ve heard that when someone is jealous of someone else, they view that person as “undeserving” of the things they have. Why is that? Why are they undeserving?

[HighlyVolatile]

Oddly, I've never felt jealousy towards anyone in my life. I can admire someone who is better at me than something, and I don't look down on those who are worse than me at something.

But maybe "deserve" is the keyword. I have no idea what people deserve. Their lives are too complicated for me to judge that. I also don't necessarily think the seemingly most successful people have it better; I have no idea but even celebrities can commit suicide.

So maybe it's because I had no idea what people deserve that I never felt jealous. Maybe it's the feeling of knowing what others deserve or don't deserve, like people who picture themselves as omnipotent gods able to judge these things, who get jealous.

[Asker]

Yeah I completely agree with you, I feel like no one “deserves” or “doesn’t deserve” anything because we are not entitled anything from birth. Either people have something or they don’t. Deserving doesn’t even come into it and shouldn’t be a factor.

[HighlyVolatile]

Definitely, and I really don't know there is to be jealous about. There might be something to be jealous about like maybe one person actually is so much happier and has it so much better off than me. But I can't know that and because I don't know that, I wouldn't want to swap shoes and minds and lifelong experiences with them. That's too much of a gamble. I like sticking to knowing what I know with my own body, my own body, my own memories. So I simply don't think I know enough to be jealous of anyone.

[HighlyVolatile]

* [...] don't know [what, sorry] there is to be jealous about [...]

[HighlyVolatile]

* [...] my own body, my own mind, my own memories [apologies for making so many goofs -- was trying to answer two things at once!]

[Hanrej]

Because they only see what others have, not their struggle.

[Anonymous]

I have no idea.. good question