We don’t know if you’ve heard, but the world isn’t a very fair place. Justice isn’t always handed down where it should be. And far from everyone gets what they deserve. Bad things happen to some good people while some bad people seem to get to do whatever they please. But sometimes… sometimes the planets align and the Universe shows up with a big ol’ bag of karma and a can-do attitude.
That’s where the massively popular r/instantkarma subreddit comes in. Home to over 2.3 million members, the online community shares photos and videos of people who “experience karma that is instant.” Check out some of the most impactful pics for a taste of some of that sweet karmic justice.
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When you’re done with this list, Bored Panda invites you to take a look at our previous feature about the ‘Instant Karma’ page. You’ll find it right over here.
#1 God’s Work
Image credits: MuAlH
#2 Busted Not Paying For Your Taxi!
Image credits: Unitron07
#3 When You Steal From A Shop In Zelda
Image credits: Pnollie
The r/instantkarma subreddit has continued to grow by leaps and bounds since 2012. It went from 1.9 million members the last time that we wrote about the community to more than 2.3 million redditors now.
It seems like many people are fans of seeing justice being carried out, and awful, entitled, and arrogant people getting a taste of their own medicine. And, if we’re completely honest with ourselves, many of us enjoy that, too. Wouldn’t you agree, dear Pandas?
#4 Waitress Isn’t Playing Around With Sexual Harassment
Image credits: Master1718
#5 Armed Man Gets Tripped By Random Bystander
Image credits: SolbergAK
#6 That’s What You Get For Snooping
Image credits: criteriaz
The joy that we get from seeing someone else failing or being humiliated is called schadenfreude. It almost perfectly describes how someone feels when a jerk gets humbled for being mean or doing something really awful.
It feels as though there actually is justice in the world, and that everything’s working as it should. However, it might not be divine retribution that we’re seeing, but a mathematical and statistical inevitability.
#7 Guy Attempts To Steal Package But Gets Caught. When He Drives Away His Car Gets Stuck In Snow
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Image credits: froyoboyz
#8 Atlanta Police Fire Tear Gas At Protesters, Wind Blows It Back In Their Direction
Image credits: holyfruits
#9 Karma Bitch
Image credits: zeus0205
It makes sense that out of all the possible outcomes in any given situation, some of them happen sooner while others happen later. That, at least, explains the ‘Instant’ part of ‘Instant Karma.’
Furthermore, it’s only logical that many people would consider some of those possible outcomes to have a negative impact on the awful individuals who they feel should be punished. From a purely statistical standpoint, it’s practically inevitable that some jerks will get their comeuppance almost instantly, and that someone will be around to either take a picture or film what happened.
#10 Let Me Snatch This Girl’s Phone
Image credits: EngineerNGR
#11 Sharing Is Caring
Image credits: spook789
#12 Not The Normal Type Of Karma We See In This Sub, But Still Karma
Image credits: oddeagle123456789
Meanwhile, we shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that there are probably tons of situations where folks experienced karma, but nobody else was around to witness it. That’s not to mention all of those cases where justice took an incredibly long time to be carried out. Or all the cases where awful people didn’t have to deal with the consequences of their actions… or even ended up being rewarded.
#13 Twitch Streamer Kisses A Random Woman On The Cheek For The Sake Of Views Instantkarma
Image credits: NefariousnessFunny66
#14 No Easy Grandpa
Image credits: arbiass
#15 Knocks An Elder, Gets Chased By Civilians And Arrested
Image credits: motaf
Yes, it’s satisfying to see people getting what they deserve—whether for good or for ill—but we shouldn’t be naive to think that this happens all the time.
If it did, r/instantkarma probably wouldn’t exist as a community because instant karmic justice would simply be how the world works.
#16 Guy Refused To Wear Mask Then Fight With Customers And Promptly Arrested
Image credits: Satarn_27
#17 Driver Tries To Avoid Traffic By Driving On The Sidewalk. Meet A Bunch Of Gents That Teach Him A Lesson
Image credits: Space_Probe_One
#18 Kids Help Old Man With Walking Chair And Get Instant Karma
Image credits: [deleted]
The ‘Instant Karma’ subreddit is successful because human beings have a need for closure and fairness. We want to see complex situations being resolved. And we crave clarity: we’d prefer to know that action A leads to consequence X, instead of having to swim around in a soup of chaos and uncertainty.
#19 Throwing A Sign
Image credits: Dr_Apk
#20 Illegal Parking Karma
Image credits: Dr_Zol_Epstein_III
#21 Driver Slows To Allow School Bus And Bmw Driver Reacts
Image credits: mossberg91
It can feel comfortable to believe in concepts like karma, fate, and luck because they help make sense of the world and make us feel like there’s clearly-defined order and structure in the world. These ideas can give you hope and optimism for a brighter future. However, these very same ideas can leave us feeling like we lack freedom and agency. People can simply shrug off responsibility for their actions, as they blame ‘bad luck.’
#22 Instant Karma From A Squirrel
Image credits: Dismal-Storm-2928
#23 Guy Shoots Himself In The Leg, Trying To Break Into A House
Image credits: AristonD
#24 Creep Sneaks Into Woman’s House While She Dances
Image credits: KatzDeli
Believing in luck and fate is useless if you don’t put in the effort to move toward your goals. Previously, Bored Panda looked at how seeing yourself as a ‘victim’ of luck or fate should be avoided. For example, if we believe that bad luck ‘follows us around,’ we might start using that as an excuse not to try harder at school or work or at building our relationships with others. We tend to confirm our personal self-biases, as we look for evidence that would support our theories.
#25 Guy Gets Cheated On So He Removed His Ex’s Floor Since He Payed For It
Image credits: Sweetquack
#26 Karma X 10
Image credits: sandersd101
#27 Good Grip Strength
Image credits: Witty_Operation2486
Yes, luck does play a role in our success. Without a doubt! However, attributing all of our achievements in life to luck and luck alone essentially means that we ignore the need to make good decisions, work hard, and take ownership of our actions. Why bother being a good person who takes the high road if all you really need is just a run of awesome luck to have everything you want to achieve? You can’t rely on luck and karma and fate to get to where you want to go. However, the mature thing to do is to be humble enough to recognize that we can’t control all of the outcomes of our actions. Alas!
#28 0:15 Show Clerk Thwarts Robbers Using Flame Thrower
Image credits: Jelegend
#29 People From All Over Come To The Rescue To Catch Chain Snatchers
Image credits: d3333p7
#30 Man Pinched Random Women’s Ass Karma
Image credits: ZombieNips
#31 Instant Karma For Emergency Lane Abuser
Image credits: EuropeanGuy12
#32 0:32 Well, Well, Well… If It Isn’t The Consequences Of My Own Actions
Image credits: packylyons
#33 How To Dodge The Attack?
Image credits: Witty_Operation2486
#34 Breaktester Gets What He Deserves
Image credits: Anuri_DnD
#35 It’s All Fun And Games Until.. It’s Your Turn
Image credits: Agent_547
#36 Karma For Road Ragers
Image credits: [deleted]
#37 Crazy Chilean Karen Kicks Shopping Cart, Gets Hit Back
Image credits: RaionKohon
#38 Aggressive Driver Gets What He Deserves
Image credits: Quackquack1337
#39 Man Steals Woman’s Purse Right In Front Of Cop Then Throws Suicidal Tantrum Before Being Tazed
Image credits: MBMV
#40 Annoying Dad While He’s Trying To Grill
Image credits: iSlingShlong
#41 Throwing Your Soda At Someone. (Not Mine)
Image credits: 7OVO7
#42 Trying To Scare A Coworker
Image credits: BerliozRS
#43 That’s How Karma Works
Image credits: Witty_Operation2486
#44 He Deserved It
Image credits: saveturtles1
#45 Road Raging Camry Fake Swerves Into Hyundai But Over-Corrects, Crashing Into Barrier
Image credits: YanCantCook
#46 A Porch Pirate Caught Red Handed
Image credits: swat_08
#47 Guy On Bike Flips Off Driver Then Immediately Crashes
Image credits: LittleFart
#48 Well Deserved
Image credits: esberat
#49 Don’t Touch Her Boss
Image credits: esberat
#50 Road Rage Karma In Sunny Scottsdale, Az
Image credits: Dr_Zol_Epstein_III
#51 Trying To Squeeze Past A Truck While Being Chased By The Cops
Image credits: MrBonelessPizza24
#52 Package Theft Failed
Image credits: Recrush
#53 Guy Gets Caught Trying To Break Into His Neighbor’s House
Image credits: [deleted]
#54 Coward Tries To Spit On A Random Guy’s Car
Image credits: fibroma-
#55 Porch Pirate Pirating Has To Lie
Image credits: whatdyado
#56 You Assaulted The Wrong Person
Image credits: Gerazioio
#57 Cutting Someone Off In Traffic
Image credits: LittleFart
#58 Try To Kick Birds, Get Trashed
Image credits: AristonD
#59 He Deserved It
Image credits: EuropeanGuy12
#60 A Phone Thief Stopped In His Tracks By The Public
Image credits: KamilB1995
#61 Car Tries To Break Check A Tractor
Image credits: SolbergAK
#62 Dog Karma!
Image credits: youmaynotnowmyname
#63 Two People Dress Up As The FBI To Break Into People’s Houses, The Owner Opens Fire
Image credits: ExpertAccident
#64 Try & Humiliate Someone When They’re Vulnerable Aye?
Image credits: thepositivepandemic
#65 Driver Attempts High Speed Overtake For No Real Reason… Loses Control Very Quickly
Image credits: alphacentaurai
#66 Guy Tries To Punch A Woman But Runs Into A Car Instead
Image credits: TheAtheistArab87
#67 Trying To Ruin A Skate Park
Image credits: theguywhoisepic
#68 Gonna Race This Bozo’s Supercar With My Truck. ?
Image credits: In_Karma_We_Lust
#69 Robbing A House
Image credits: nandverh26
#70 Guy Gets Cocky On A Freeway
Image credits: Demonetized_Onlyfans
#71 Really Fast Instant Karma
Image credits: Megge06
#72 Gangbanger Wannabe
Image credits: Familiar_Big3322
#73 Armed Men Try To Rob An Off-Duty Cop
Image credits: LuisNTCx
#74 Starts Fight, Gets Knocked Out
Image credits: randomstuff789
#75 Guy Shoots A Fireworks On A Wedding Car, Ends Up Exploding In His Car
Image credits: UltraRadiation-X
#76 Idiot On A Motorbike
Image credits: soudec
#77 A Counter-Attack
Image credits: FullCloud
#78 Run Someone Over, Get Run Over
Image credits: NunyaBidnizz68
#79 A-Hole Driver
Image credits: Familiar_Big3322
#80 Dumbass Tried To Be Smart But Got Karma Instead
Image credits: Nilo258
#81 Shattered Ego
Image credits: perineumoan
#82 Money Can’t Buy You Status
Image credits: SnooCupcakes8607
#83 Gun Toting Gangster Gets A Big Surprise!!!
Image credits: Dr_Zol_Epstein_III
#84 0:47 Beware Of The Brazilian Off Duty Cop’s Wife!
Image credits: [deleted]
#85 Anderson Silva Get Cocky Only To Get Ko’d And Lose His Belt
Image credits: xxsimpx
#86 Chain Snatchers Accidentally Run Into Cops On The Road
Image credits: nooneknowsme9
#87 Keep Your Hands To Yourself, And Chances Are You Wont Need To Get New Eye Glasses
Image credits: Morty_Goldman
#88 Guy Picks A Fight With Absolutely Juiced Train Security Guard
Image credits: alphacentaurai
#89 Guy Gets A Bit Too Hyped Up Before Starting A Fight
Image credits: alphacentaurai
#90 The Karens Are Taking Overhand
Image credits: BoggertheNogger
#91 Shoulder Driving Passing Traffic Gif
Image credits: ns7250
#92 Road Rage Karma In Sunny Scottsdale, Az
Image credits: Dr_Zol_Epstein_III
#93 Dirty Police Got Put In Place
Image credits: [deleted]