Being nice, why, and why not

So, I had a chat session recently, and some comments resulted in my standing upon my digital soap box. I kind of liked the result, so I fixed it up (just a bit) and pasted it below. (sorry about the formatting)
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Being super nice isn't always a good thing... it can back fire, or cause trouble... But, I try, regardless. Because... why not? The world sucks. It's a horrible, dark, unforgiving place not meant for a sentient species, and it's the one "true" sentient species is trying to kill itself half the time. So, why bother even living or trying? Because, it's the one thing you can constantly strive for, because it goes against what seems to be the nature of man and nature, to control things, but to still make things good and nice and fair.

The world isn't fair, but it doesn't mean we can't strive to make it more fair for more people.

So, even if it SUCKS that's just more of a reason to do nice things and say nice things and to be a nice person. Even if you don't feel like one sometimes. When I see others suffer or in pain, it's then I'm reminded of it, which probably results in my nurturing nature.

I've worked with and known so many sad, lonely people that didn't try to make anything of themselves, and I worked to make their lives better. It's such a relief to know people and help people that will help themselves, and appreciate what's done for them. Anyhoo, you probably belong in the latter group, being independent, and certainly not helpless or anything like that.

Why any of us bother is the question, indeed. We bother because without good people the world falls apart. And I really couldn't care less about the world. It's the people I care about, and my friends, and the kids I see. Those are the people the world should be better for even if I'm fucked up and so in everyone else, if I can push and shove and punch the world into a better shape, even for just my nephews, it's worth it. If I can, maybe, do the same for friends, then the more power to it.

So, when things are bad (as we both know how that can get, in so many ways), I  look at the fate, or destiny, or whatever it is making things hard, and "Fuck you," and push on, because I'd rather be beat up and trounced on my whole life trying to do something decent, then to just get through this life by just getting by, and making it worse for others.

Those people I referred to... an alcoholic mother whose daughters I watched grow up, and who I help take care of. The mother was nice, actually, but couldn't get the drinking under control, which I tried to help her get off of, and get to AA and stuff, and to help her daughters understand as much as one can understand such a thing, and in the end, the dad took the girls away, which was for the best, and only then did the mom get around to sobering up.

So, now the mom is missing out on her daughters' daily lives, and I never get to see them.

That's maybe not the best example, but the idea of "helping those who help themselves." That if there's two groups of people that could use help (in some way, even if it's just listening or cheering them up sometimes), so I'm scarred in some way by that, and rejoice when there are people I can help who try to help themselves. and, every now and again, there's someone who doesn't need help, and it takes so long getting used to that, because I rarely get to be around that kind of person.

(Definition of needing help is subjective, of course)