Have you been treated fairly?

[Robb]

Broad question. Very broad. Probably overbroad. Take all the nuance and specifics, and boil it down:

Do you feel, in general and on balance, you have been treated fairly in life?

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

1. Being white and male, I figure I got a better deal than most.

Even being hungry poor and sometimes homeless as a kid, I was better off than a helluva lot of people who got shat upon because they weren't.

[RandomThoughts]

3. That is a tough question.

Fairness is a compound question. It contains both concepts of what a person gets/loses, and what he deserves.

And what people deserve depends on what a person thinks is important, and what a person gets depends on how they value different things.

So my answer is that in some things I have been treated very fairly, in other not so much.

However those areas will be corrected.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvoeeq-BH4w
AC/DC - Thunderstruck

[XOKCowboy]

4. Yep same here... I had to work for everything I ever got but I expected that..

and I had it a lot better than a lot of people I know.

[Truth2Tell]

40. Yep, exactly

I figure as an upper middle class white male American I was born with a massive advantage over 99.99% of the other humans on Earth. So I really can't complain.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

2. Yes, I have been treated fairly...

Especially when you consider that I came of age in the early 60's...

I've never had roadblocks of any sort thrown up in my face, ever.

[Spazito]

5. Yes, I believe I have...

Life has not been one big, happy sojourn. Sometimes it is damn hard, other times not so much, but in general, I have few complaints.

[Odin2005]

6. Nope. people assume I'm a freak, or I'm making excuses to be lazy.

Because of my Asperger's I have had deal with a lot of shit and abuse by the rest of society my whole life. Anytime I tried to explain to people I was having a problem with something I was called lazy, accused of making excuses, and accused of "making a big deal out of nothing".

And don't get me started with the "needs people skills" requirement in jobs where you don't need people skills, that is a killer for those of us on the Autism Spectrum.

[KansasVoter]

9. I am sorry.....

And know the type. Most of my GOP "friends" are like that.

People are very selfish and judgmental.

[Odin2005]

12. Yep. I say "I hate that flickering florescent light" and they say "What flickering? Quit whining!"

:grr:

[pipi_k]

34. I hear ya....

My therapist says I don't have anything like Aspergers (although one of my sisters does) yet there are times when I feel like such a freak...

the flickering fluorescent lights...hate them. I can even HEAR them...feel them on my skin...

too much of any kind of sensory stimulation makes me want to run away and hide in a nice dark quiet room.

Too cold...too hot...

too anything


sometimes my thoughts take a detour and I make a comment that some other people find fault with. Well, actually that happens quite a lot. Like I don't know how to behave around others, even though I try so hard to "fit in". I just never do feel like I ever really fit in. The only living beings that don't judge me are my dogs.

Yeah...we should just quit whining...

People who say that don't have a clue what it feels like.

[Odin2005]

60. Ah yes, the Fluorescent Light Buzz, I HATE THAT!

It seems like I can hear higher frequencies then most people and it can drive me nuts. Oh, and humidity is EVIL, as is acrylic fabric!

[mrcheerful]

23. Don't forget how people over looked the things you were doing while rubbing your face

in the things they, in their medical opinion expertise, decided you could do, not that any of them ever had a medical degree or even made it past 12th grade, but they knew a person in a wheel chair or a blind person that had a wonderful career, you know to inspire you to get off your lazy ass and try to do more.

Besides they know of sheltered workshops that pay the disabled top wages because someone told them all about it, never mind facts like you did work at them and the top wage that you got was actually a percentage of minimum wage based on the percentage of production you put out compared to what production a non handi capped person could do an hour.

Because you felt putting nuts on bolts for 8 hours a day in order to earn a weekly wage of $20 wasn't worth the wear and tear on your body from standing or the infections your hands got from metal shaving splinters and dirty machine oil because the parts weren't washed until after they had nuts on the bolts, so that proves your a lazy fuck. Yeah life is fair and everyone gets the same fair breaks as others.

[Gidney N Cloyd]

7. No, I think I've gotten a better deal than many others and better than I necessarily had coming.

[KansasVoter]

8. Extremely fairly. More than fair. And been very lucky!

[blaze]

10. Yes, but I've had advantages

One, I'm white.

Two, I come from parents who were both college educated.

Both of those, I think, have given me huge advantages.

(caveat: I suck at school. Always have. I do physical labor for a living.)

[Stinky The Clown]

11. No, emphatically not. I have been treated VERY unfairly. **VERY, VERY** unfairly.

[Odin2005]

13. !!!

:hug:

[Name removed]

18. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Stinky The Clown]

19. Let me explain my answer, Mr. daemons

I am a straight white male.

I have lots and lots of advantages that many other people never had. I have more advantages than most women. I have more advantages than most black people. I have more advantages than most hispanic people. I have more advantages than most gay people.

Had I been treated "fairly", then I would enjoy no such advantages. Said more correctly, the people I mentioned would not have had the DISadvantages they did.

[tishaLA]

27. that's a great answer nt

[Robb]

41. I missed this. Quite clever.

[Stinky The Clown]

53. "Clever"? That implies an intent to mislead

"Sincere" is probably a better descriptor.

Once again, we're done. You've gotten my answer. You have your mic. You're free to use it any way you see fit. My ears, however, are shut off.

[Robb]

63. That would be an interesting discussion.

Perhaps you should start your own thread on whether "clever" is usually meant in a derogatory fashion. :shrug:

[Stinky The Clown]

20. Self delete - wrong place

[seabeyond]

14. yes. and then some. nt

[pitohui]

15. no i'm a woman

the only way a woman of my generation could be "treated fairly" would be to be born to the right dad or to fuck the right sugar daddy, i did neither

[Statistical]

16. Fair enough I guess.

Could be better but could be a lot worse.

[scheming daemons]

17. I'm a straight white male.. so the answer is yes.... TOO fairly

I see my wife, my sisters, my daughters, and my friends of other races and orientations being treated less-than-fairly all the time.

[Prism]

21. Some animals are treated more fairly than others.

Fortunately, the unfairness I face as a gay man is just a tiny single issue that is always very easily explained away, so I try to contemplate more pleasant things like the scampering of a puppy, raindrops, and President Obama's smile.

It gets me through my second class status, as so many here explained that it would.

[Robb]

22. Speaking of fairness, I should of course answer.

Yes.

I have seen enough body parts to tip the scale in the wrong direction. But I have a daughter who learned to hug. Amazingly, the latter wins in weight.

[L0oniX]

24. You expected life to be fair? That's naive.

[Robb]

31. I'll just mark that as a "no"?

:D

[slackmaster]

25. Not always, and that is why I'm in it for revenge

:hi:

[harun]

36. Now you're talking!

[woo me with science]

26. I'd like to see some of the "no" people

trade places with some people in Sudan or North Korea for a few years.

[mrcheerful]

28. Then we have people like this that use right wing talking points

about how third world countries are worse at unfairness. What is next? There are no poor people in america either because there are third world countries with real poor people that make americas poor seem rich because americas poor has cable TV and the internet. The homeless choose to be homeless too right. So the people of this country who feel they have gotten the short end of the american dream should be happy that they are in america and not some third world country.

I hate to tell you this but when your broke, hungry and living on the streets it doesn't matter what country your living in. When your living in a bug infested 2 room apartment in a high crime area because that was the only place rent is cheap enough for your income and you still end up going to bed hungry because you ran out of food 6 days before food stamp day because the store you buy food from decided to increase their food prices so it ate up your food money. Or your powers been cut off because of rate increases, it doesn't matter what country your from either.

That someone gets screwed over because they weren't born in the right family, went to the right schools and weren't able to bull shit an employer into hiring them or they became disabled and found out that no one will hire them, it's better then third world countries is Bull Shit too. Oh yeah don't forget when you live in a high crime area you risk life and limb every time you step out of your door just like third world countries. Thugs live in high crime area's not in gated communities just like third world countries.

[woo me with science]

37. My point stands, your whining notwithstanding.

There is a difference between being aware of what needs to be improved in our country and whining that your whole life has been "unfair" even though you live better than the vast majority of people on this earth. Some of us are capable of grasping this distinction and throwing a bone to what we actually do have once in a while.

The victim mentality around here is pretty sad sometimes.

[pipi_k]

45. I don't really see anyone playing Victim here...

and I'm a bit confused on exactly WHAT unfairness someone would have to suffer before he or she is allowed to say, "I've been treated unfairly".

Is there some sort of test people can take with points for each unfairness or tragedy in their lives? People get scores depending on how miserable their lives have, or have not, been?


I'm sure people here are intelligent enough, and compassionate enough, to realize that there's always someone worse off them themselves.

But I don't think there's any compassion in suggesting that a person's misfortunes aren't worthy of feeling badly about because they don't match the scope of someone else's misfortunes. We remember the misfortune, we grieve over it or deal with it however we can, then we go on and try to ease the pain of others.

[mrcheerful]

47. Exactly, there are people worse off then I am and I feel empathy for them

and can clearly see how life is unfair and not everyone gets a chance at the golden ring. Where as our friend here is taking right wing talking points right out of the right wing play book with as much feeling as the right wing. I still don't see where the poster gets this being poor in america is better then third world countries outside of the right wing talk shows. Being unable to feed yourself or your family is the same, being homeless is the same, being picked up by the police and imprisoned is the same, violence is the same, so where do they get that third world countries are worse to the poor then the US is?

[Lilith Velkor]

55. You have no fucking idea what others here have been through.

[woo me with science]

62. Awww.....

Another enthusiastic thread for the sole purpose of publicly proclaiming, "My life is so UNFAIR!"

How mean of me to roll my eyes at that... :hug:

[Lilith Velkor]

66. Butthurt much?

:eyes:

[alphafemale]

29. lol!!!

:rofl:

No.

Wait.

What?

:rofl:

[sufrommich]

30. I've been treated fairly. A normal life with ups and downs.

No complaints.

[deutsey]

32. Not since working where I do.

It's been 8 years. My how time flies. :evilfrown:

[ecstatic]

33. I feel lucky all the time

If anything, *I* have managed to screw up dozens of opportunities. I hope my luck continues.

[cliffordu]

35. As William Munney says at the end of "Unforgiven"

"Deserve's got nothing to do with it..."

And neither does fairness.

[yella_dawg]

38. You assume that life is supposed to be fair.

It is not.

The entire concept is ludicrous.

[Robb]

39. Where did I say that?

[yella_dawg]

48. When you used the word "fair".

So far as I can tell, "fairness" is a conceit rather than a concept. In my opinion, your asking implies some level of self-delusion.

[Robb]

49. LOL

Ooooookay. :D

[LanternWaste]

50. Could you expound on that statement, please?

"So far as I can tell, "fairness" is a conceit rather than a concept..."

You can of course, expound on that statement, yes?

[Odin2005]

61. Oh, yes, the typical argument for the conservative.

"life isn't fair so bend over and take it" = "know your role, you peons."

[mmonk]

42. Life is a mix. Therefore. one has to take it upon themselves

to do the best they can. Your question can be taken broadly or well defined as it seems open ended upon one's life experiences.

[rocktivity]

52. DING DING DING! Mmonk, you're our grand prize winner!

...(O)ne has to take it upon themselves to do the best they can...

I agree, and I believe that doing the best one can involves BEING fair--especially if you can't be right.

The vast majority of the "bad" and "unfair" things that have happened to me have been the result of my not choosing to do the right or fair thing. Life ISN'T fair, as the saying goes, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't strive to be.

:headbang:
rocktivity

[mmonk]

65. Thanks.

It's what me make of it. We won't always succeed but the alternative is failure.

[Iggo]

43. I've been treated better than others for no good reason...

...and that ain't fair.

[Lilith Velkor]

57. Good point.

[HipChick]

44. No...being female in a male dominated industry

Every day is a daily fight...if I'm too agressive, I get called a bitch...men get an attaboy..

[Tsiyu]

46. I'll tell you just one story and then ask: Is this being treated fairly?

I had just started working for an Episcopalian outfit, busting my ass for $9/hour. I had to borrow money from my daughter just to pay for gas to get to the job. I had no water at my home because the pump broke.

I was sick and hungry and downhearted and had yet to see a paycheck.

That weekend, some "guests" saw how hard I was working. Not knowing my situation, they nevertheless felt I deserved a couple hundred bucks they had collected as a tip.

An australian dude gave a speech and handed the envelope to my boss. My heart sang at the possibilities!


But I would soon have to walk outside to sob alone and quietly. That's becasue the board of directors of this Epsicopalian outfit - all rich motherfuckers - made a rule that all tips were to be made into donations for their business.

"We pay our help enough," they said. "They don't need tips, but WE do!" Whenever we got tips, they would take them and send the tipper a card stating that "a donation to our facility has been made in the workers honor. Thanks!"


They paid us shit, worked us to death and then kept our tips for themselves.


Was that being treated fairly?


BTW: The man who gave the donation has never returned to that business, he was so upset.

[LanternWaste]

51. If referring to some great Cosmic balance sheet...

If you're referring to some great Cosmic balance sheet, I have no idea. We often purposefully forget our own distempers whilst remembering to an extreme those of other people, so for me, it's simply too subjective to conclude one way or the other.

If referring to social mores and our place within, I'd say I've been treated the way I treat others more often than not.

:shrug:

[AngryAmish]

54. I get treated well.

Fair is another story. It helps to have money. People are nice to you.

[Soylent Brice]

56. compared to most in this world, yes. n/t

[JuniperLea]

58. "Fair" or "Well"

In reading the responses, I think many have these terms confused.

Life isn't fair, and no one promised you a rose garden. I've had a lot of things stolen from me in my life... that's not fair. Still, I'm doing better than half the people I know, so I think it fair to say I'm doing well.

[Obamanaut]

59. I 'believe' rather than 'feel' that life has been quite fair with me. I

had a good, enjoyable career in the Navy doing a job I liked; I have a wife who has stayed with me for 42 years and still tolerates me; I have two daughters on whom I can count when I reach the feeble stage of my life; I have five dogs who love me.

I believe I have been quite fairly treated.

[WingDinger]

64. Might as well ask, have you been lucky?