damned if I/you/they do, damned if I/you don’t

Acting or not acting are equally harmful, an insoluble dilemma. This expression dates from the first half of the 1900s, and thus is older than the synonymous CATCH-22. For example, “If I tell Harry I’m going to John’s party and he’s not invited, both he and John will be furious—I’m damned if I do and damned if I don’t.”