Fairness just left the group chat.
We’ve always been told that fairness and righteousness were the bedrock of a sane society, that as long as you did what was right, then you won’t have to suffer more than you’re meant to. And by this, I mean man-made suffering, not the unavoidable ones that life brings your way. When we deal with other humans, when we deal with people of authority, we expect fairness from them, because that’s how things should be.
But then, we’re reminded that life itself is never really fair. As a matter of fact, the very idea of fairness is a human construct. Only humans know what fairness means, the lion doesn’t care if it’s fair to eat the goat and leave the young kids motherless. The eagle doesn’t care if it’s fair to steal the chick from its mother’s nest. What about earthquakes? Do you think Mother Nature cares that a single earthquake can wipe out thousands of people within seconds?
No, life has never been fair. That’s why some people come into this world with more privileges than others. Some come with even more problems and battles that they have to go with. But yeah, this disparity is something that we humans have come to accept. We all accept that humans can never be equal, but still, we expect fairness when humans deal with each other. And that, my friends, is usually where we go wrong.
Because fairness is something that it’s definition never really changes, if we’re being realistic. Fairness is not about what ‘should be’ but more about what ‘is’. And depending on the situation you find yourself in, fairness is decided and defined by the most powerful person in the room. If they want to be fair, or their idea of what fairness really is, that will be the reality.
This is why these days we have people flexing their powers, treating others anyhow they see fit for no reason at all other than it’s just what they want. There are people who will be shitty to everyone, but when you talk to them, they believe they’re doing what’s right for them.
And usually, there are rules and policies in place to protect against this very thing, but many times, those very rules could be the tool of outright unfairness. The law that should be fair could very well be used to imprison an innocent man because there is damning evidence against him, even though he was set up or framed. That won’t be fair. Just as it’s not fair when a simple typo in the spelling of your name could be the only thing that stops you from getting a life-changing contract or major life upgrade. That won’t be fair because policies are being upheld.
Sadly, it only gets worse in seemingly lawless areas where just about everything goes. In a place where the rule of law is not respected, or where the very people who make the policies are the ones who go against it, the very idea of fairness becomes open. Everyone gets to decide what is fair and what isn’t. If it sits right with you, then it’s good. If it doesn’t, then it’s not fair.
And so, this is my take; fairness shows us what the world should be like. But reality gives us what the world truly is. If you’re enjoying fairness, it’s because the people who have power choose to give it. Ask yourself, what happens the day the powerful people choose to stop being fair? Is there something that could be done against them?
Life isn’t fair. And apparently, humans aren’t fair to each other either.
