I have no idea if I have touched upon this yet, but I'm on a lunch-break time constraint and my numbers for blog-posting are upsettingly low for this year.
Must have something to do with that book I published...
More on that later.
What is it about "injustice" that gets us all worked up and in a tizzy? ("Injustice" is a word, here, meaning: an arguably strong term for such a subjective conclusion.) Who is to say what an injustice is? There are obvious ones, sure; like murder. If someone were to murder another; that now-deceased person - or victim - has been served a mighty injustice, for sure. Unless they deserved it. Or it was an accident. Or it all took place in Minnesota.
Who's to say someone is innocent or not? Why does this even matter? Does it? When did we start caring about "letting people get away with things"? Or "teaching someone a lesson"? (I suppose this would be "revenge" territory, but I would argue that the two are quite closely related. And I also wish none of us craved revenge. So... same side of the fence.) Does it spring from the typical: Insecurities? When/how did these insecurities start? I picture some big, burly caveman calling his cave-friend a pussy for letting that mammoth run off with his family. "And you didn't even wound him?? Oh, man. That is weak." And now the opportunity has passed.
Perhaps that is a piece worth mentioning; missed opportunities. We all know humans hate to miss those. How else would you explain blow-out sales? Nobody needs that much gardening accoutrements, but here we are. In our garage with piles of "THANK YOU FOR SHOPPING" bags, rustling violently in the crisp, Autumn wind. Where are we going to put all these gardening supplies? Never much liked the car being in here, anyway. There you are; plenty of room.
I feel as though often times we cater to the principal (of the injustice taking place) more than we actually even care about how we were "injustice'd". Whether or not the end result even really bothers us at all. Sure, I could buy another ice cream, but that kid stole mine, so I'd better find out where he lives. Which, by the way, brings up the concept of punishment: who is to say what is fair? The need for a punishment so disproportionate for such a tiny "wrongdoing" makes me so anxious. Some things you just can't undo. My coffee mug does not mean the same thing to me as my co-worker's favorite Looney Toons mug does to her. So if she were to break mine, I would hardly think it "fair" to smash hers. May as well go medieval and sever a digit, while you're at it.
Have we lost the ability to shrug things off? Sure I could buy another ice cream... Sure. I could buy another ice cream. I think I'll do just that.
And on with your day!
You've saved time, effort/energy, brain space... But! In doing so, you have inevitably ran the risk of being perceived as...
A PUSHOVER.
*queue dramatic violins and concert bass drum*
I must admit; although I do not typically give a rat's ass what other's think of me, this one does hit home. I recently was casually accused of being a "people-pleaser" and I just about snapped. (I nearly snapped because I have an insecurity about being weak. I can recognize when I am acting ridiculously sometimes. It just doesn't always cease the behavior.) It is frustrating being absolutely certain that most - if not all people - really have no idea how strong you are. Although I have no idea why because - truly - it shouldn't matter. The clown will always want to be taken seriously eventually.
It could be argued that you teach others how to treat you (at least in part) by how much bologna you "let them get away with". Although it could also very much be argued that some people are just shit. They are shit and their priorities are shit and as such: they treat others like shit. While we're on it: why is it that we polite individuals that have, one way or another, learned how to treat others respectfully are then left responsible for these shit people? We have worked on ourselves and learned from experiences and grown and dedicated time and energy and gotten things done the harder way so all loose ends were tied and everything was complete and no one was left with a mess to clean up... only to proceed to do the same exact thing for everyone else.
Is that an "injustice"?
Or is it just being spoiled, bitter and unenlightened?
