Injustice
Many times in our lives we are treated unfairly. It makes us feel helpless and vulnerable. We deal with it by getting angry, sad, or in many other ways. We wish so badly things went differently, that the other person could somehow understand where we are coming from, but that’s just not the case. They don’t want to listen, or they selectively listen to the parts they like, the parts that confirm the judgment they’ve already made.
Justice is about treating everyone equally. It’s about rules we all have to follow. We can’t get away with excuses or justifications in a court. You simply have to do the “right” thing irregardless of: how mad you are; how much you would enjoy vengeance; how justified we feel we are. When we say something hurtful to someone, does it really matter if we’re were mad?; Does it matter if we’re drunk?; Does lying and telling them we didn’t mean it afterwards take the pain away? I don’t think it does.
I believe that when we mess up we should own up to it. The guy who abuses his wife because “she had it coming” isn’t forgiven because he was mad. The drunk driver who kills a child isn’t forgiven because “He can’t stop himself from drinking.”. These are extreme cases I know, but the same defensive mechanisms are still used when people make mistakes in everyday life. We say “I couldn’t help myself”, “I couldn’t stop.” or “I was overwhelmed.” We don’t accept these justifications when it comes to big stuff, why do we accept them when it comes to smaller stuff?
It feels good to have power. It feels good being the one making someone else feel helpless. At a very basic level it means we aren’t the helpless ones. It’s a sort of vengeance against the people who’ve wronged us in the past. The feeling of power is very fleeting though, so we tend to repeat it. This is how a injustice against us in the past creates a cascading effect of injustices against others.
The person who wronged us in the past is likely untouchable. There is no way for us to “get back at them” or settle the score. That’s the reason they abused their power – because they felt we wouldn’t be able to stop them or defend ourselves. They had us at their mercy, and their mercy wasn’t kind. It’s very hard not to abuse power.
The old saying goes “Power corrupts”. I don’t believe it’s the power that corrupts, I believe it’s the fact that we aren’t accountable to anyone. It’s been proven in many studies that if we believe we can get away with something we want, we will do it.
Even though we consider stealing wrong, we have no problem stealing on our taxes or from big business. To me that’s proof positive that we, as a people, are only good when we’re held accountable for our actions. If we think we could get away with it or we don’t feel a personal connection, then we don’t have a problem doing something normally we’d consider morally wrong. The morals involved haven’t changed, in both cases it’s taking something that doesn’t belong to us.
My advice to the world is to work hard to put yourself in other’s positions. Abusing power gives us instant gratification, and gives the other person long term hatred. I work daily to keep from hurting other people’s feelings, and I suggest you do the same. This shows itself more greatly when we disagree with someone. Consider this, in a case of “us versus them” how easily are we mean or abusive for even the slightest infractions.
I’m not saying that we need to accept everything thrown our way. I’m just saying maybe Isaac Newton was wrong when he said “For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.”. I don’t think the reaction is equal, and I would like to see us, as individuals, strive for an equal reaction, rather than an overreaction.
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I’m going to do my best not to be listed with these fellow author’s for not giving an equal reaction:
Alice Hoffman called her critic “Roberta Silman in the Boston Globe is a moron” and “Now any idiot can be a critic,” reference Los Angeles Times.
Alain de Botton posted a comment to the personal blog of critic Caleb Crain ”I will hate you till the day I die and wish you nothing but ill will in every career move you make.” reference The New York Observer.
And of course the batty story of Candace Sams, who threatened to sick the FBI on a reviewer. Author WTFckery at play has the epic dialogue.
Isaac Newton was talking about physics. The 3rd law of motion actually lol
In your story about the murder of man and woman. why wasn’t the tooth found? was the reader to assume that he picked up the tooth? why would he have to pick up the woman and throw her on the couch. would have been earier to smear the blood where the tooth landed. good story thro
on abuse of power. a test was complied of leaving a woman’s purse on a bench with money visable. 9 out of the 10 picked up the woman’s purse and turned it in to mall seurity. never opening it. (this was caught on camera) as far as stealing from the goverment, most people view it as stealing from themselves. i stole a package of kleenex when i was in the 5th grade to see how it would feel. i was eaten up with guilt and had to go the bathroom and almost threw up, because the teacher asked me if i had taken it and i said no. of course lookin back i was the only one who could have taken it since i was sitting next to the girl. that teacher was the best teacher i had ever had and i felt that i had harmed her personally. but this did teach me a valueable lesson . i always pay for doing things i shouldn’t by never being able to forget it, and it pops into my head at the strangest times and makes me feel bad about myself.