It's Not Fair (589 hits)
Category: GeneralRating: 1.57 on 9 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by Furious George (View user info) at 2003-12-26 12:58:12 EST
For some reason I've been pondering the concept of fairness a lot lately, namely where it comes from and why human beings are so fucking tenacious about it.
Allow me to explain; life isn't fair. Plain and simple. I'm not complaining about it (at least not here), just stating a simple fact. Bad things happen to good people. And bad people. Some people are born rich, some die of some fucked up disease before they are even teens. Existence as we know it is essentially random, there is no rule book and no yard stick with which we can measure our lives against other peoples'. (Before I get all the -2's about this, I'm not bringing religion into the mix. I'm not beyond thinking that there is some higher order or sense to it all that we aren't meant to understand, and if there is a God it's totally plausible that he works in mysterious ways. My point is that life as we experience it ain't fair).
But what really confuses me is why, if life isn't fair, we're so hung up on the concept. It seems impossible for any of us to get over the fact that life isn't fair. No matter how many times something fucked up happens to one of us, we always say or think "it's not fair", at least on some level in our mind. We create governments and live by religions that are both meant to level the playing field in some way (ok so I kind of threw religion into the mix, but won't dwell on it). But in the end these things aren't sustainable, at least not in the absolute sense. Why? Because they exist in a world that, that's right, isn't fair. People can become corrupted and not follow the rules that they created, thus dissolving the sense of equity that they themselves created.
I'm actually not angry about this, and I'm not bitter (although looking back over my post it looks like I am, good thing I'm too old to pass for a plausible Goth kid). The point of this post is for me to see what other people think. Why is fairness, or a lack thereof, a concept that we simply can't get past? Why, if we've lived every day of our lives in an essentially unfair world, do we without fail allow ourselves to get hung up on it? Is it because trying to make things more fair is pretty much the only thing we can do to counteract it, to make it better for everyone? Or is this just a masked form of pessimism since people don't complain about unfairness when it benefits them (I definetly don't complain about not being born in a Third World country).
Or am I just oddly filled with a post-Christmas amalgam of bullshit and boredom?
User Reviews
Submitted by FuriousGeorge at 2003-12-26 19:34:35 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Four years ago I asked a Buddhist Monk, "Why can't I accept
that life is not fair?" He responded with.."You just did." Then laughed.
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That isn't accepting that life isn't fair. That's admitting that life isn't fair. By accepting it, I mean not acting all surprised and upset when it happens. I am completely willing to admit the unfairness of life (obviously), I just get stumped when I try to figure out why I can't get over it.
Submitted by kgbpasha (user info) at 2003-12-26 18:15:36 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
Fairness is taught to us at a young age. It's meant to protect the weak and
enlighten the stong. Four years ago I asked a Buddhist Monk, "Why can't I accept
that life is not fair?" He responded with.."You just did." Then laughed.
Submitted by Acarnis (user info) at 2003-12-26 17:27:13 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
I agree with you...but there's one thing I gotta say...
The world is fairer than most people think...
Submitted by FuriousGeorge (user info) at 2003-12-26 15:36:20 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
"The world is what you make it."
I see where you're going with that, beer-turtle, but I don't agree. The world is what the world is. The only thing we can change is our perceptions of it and how we interact with it. I can change how I view the world, and how I view the concept of fairness. But that only changes the world for me, but it doesn't change the world.
But I now see that I've accidentally veered myself towards an enormous philosophical discussion of what reality actually is and if it exists beyond our perceptions. Fuck. I don't want that. I was really just looking for some insight into why I'm unable to accept unfair things when they happen.
Submitted by beer-turtle (user info) at 2003-12-26 14:45:09 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
The world/life is arbitrary.
People themselves choose to be fair or unfair.
The world is what you make it.
-Turtle
Submitted by KoolMang (user info) at 2003-12-26 14:01:56 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
I'd eat out Keira Knightley's ass out.
"Intergalactic Superstatic!"
Submitted by Lady_Emily_03 (user info) at 2003-12-26 13:55:32 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
Yep.
Submitted by KoolMang (user info) at 2003-12-26 13:51:55 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Also, it's not fair that not many people are rating this
post :(.
"Intergalactic Superstatic!"
Submitted by KoolMang (user info) at 2003-12-26 13:01:59 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
I agree too.
I am bored too.
I think life in unfair too, for example, how come I'm the only one
in my entire family who's paying the most possible for insurance?
How come I've always been used and stepped on in life, and how
come I haven't snapped and killed someone yet? IT'S NOT FAIR!
But most of all, I'm bored, I'm waiting for my fucking car to come
out of the body shop, this is the FIRST CAR I'VE HAD IN MY LIFE!
The car shall be my wings, and I shall spread them, and run my
mom over, stupid bitch.
"Intergalactic Superstatic!"