You know, I used to think it was awful that life was so unfair. Then I thought, wouldn’t it be much worse if life were fair, and all the terrible things that happen to us come because we actually deserve them? So, now I take great comfort in the general hostility and unfairness of the universe.
– unknown
Dr. Crane! Your glockenspiel has come to life!
“Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast!” - the White Queen
Yes, I agree. If life were fair, I’d be in a lot of trouble right about now!
Aren’t those the opening words of “The Road Less Travelled?”
Esprix
Ah, perhaps life IS fair and we ARE getting what we deserve, but we just don’t know it!
Let THAT thought rummage around inside your head for a while :)!
The universe is neither hostile nor unfair.
It is merely indifferent.
Just thought I’d throw that into the mix. Don’t mind me.
Tawk. Discuss.
Life cannot be fair–there is no way that I deserved to be a middle-class American, and a billion starving third world children deserved to be a starving, third world children.
Amen, SingleDad–had we all what we deserved, we’d regret it.
I find it necessary to my emotional health (such as it is) to agree with Wally, which is always a good idea anyway. The universe is indifferent. If not, I’d be living with Satan, which is what I’m sure I truly deserve.
Always remember that you are unique, just like everybody else.
I’ve seen his picture and your pal Satan is a cutie. He’s nice to boot. Have you been that good?
P.S. Hi SingleDad! You don’t know me, but I missed ya.
Yeah it’s fairly obvious that the type of Karmic rebound alluded to in the opening post does not exist. If it did then everybody who gives everybody else misery would receive it back in spades. Unfortunately, it doesn’t always happen that way. This is not evidence that the universe is unfair, but evidence that supports Wally’s conclusion that the universe is indifferent. It reminds me of a Bloom county cartoon when Opus has to blow on a dandelion when he is overwhelmed by the enormity of everything. In other words everything is a coping mechanism. God, this is getting to be waaay to serious for here.
Keith
All: An interesting quote I received from a friend today.
Esprix: I’m definitely interested in the correct attribution if you know it.
Wally: I tend to agree.
Biggirl: I’ve seen you around; you haven’t gone unnoticed. 
<waves hello> How’s life treating you?
Dr. Crane! Your glockenspiel has come to life!
Life is fair only in that it is unfair to everyone.
http://www.madpoet.com
I am human, and I need to be loved
Just like anybody else does
I agree with MadPoet.
I don’t think life was ever intended to be fair, and with that, it’s as fair as it gets.
“Organs gross me out. That’s organs, not orgasms.”
-the wallster
According to this page, this exact quote was Marcus Cole to Dr. Franklin, in the Babylon 5 episode A Late Delivery from Avalon. The author of that episode is the creator of the series, J. Michael Straczynski.
Of course, I’ve heard and read similar sentiments before.
…this is another Moebius sig…b!s sn!qaoW jay+oue s! s!y+…
(adaptation of a WallyM7Sig™ a la quadell)
For business reasons, I must preserve the outward signs of sanity. - Mark Twain
“If you don’t get everything you want, think of everything you don’t get that you don’t want.” —sugar packet philosophy
I try always to avoid complaining. For instance, I live very near to an airport, and it’s not true that “after a while you don’t hear it any more.” But I don’t let myself say, “I’d give anything if I didn’t have to hear those planes any more,” because that might happen…but the trade-off would be living somewhere that I like much less than this apartment. Or a national crisis that grounds all planes, and also strands me at home. Or a closing of the airport, causing this fairly nice neighborhood to become a slum. I complain with caution, and always try to remember what a real problem is.
“Hush, village idiot!”
Okay, silly me, being the inexperienced poster I am. Accidentally posted a new topic for what I meant to say. Here it is in it’s appropriate place.
I think the question I have at this point is, “What do we really deserve?”
“I know that life is unfair, I just wish it were unfair in my favor”
Calvin & Hobbes
Yup - the opening words of M. Scott Peck’s bestselling book “The Road Less Traveled” are, “Life is difficult.”
From amazon.com:
Those were the words that grabbed me. I’d heard about it, saw it in the bookstore, and saw those first 3 words. I knew it was the book for me.
Now, I’ve bought it, but haven’t read the darned thing. Remind me and I’ll let you know how it is when I do. Maybe that’ll be my summer reading this year.
Esprix
Evidently, I rock.
Ask the Gay Guy!
“Use every man after his desert, and who should 'scape whipping? Use them after your own honour and dignity: the less they deserve, the more merit is in your bounty.”