There is a music/arts festival coming up that lasts from a Thursday to a Sunday. You generally have to pay for the weekend and most people do that and camp for the entire time. They sell one day passes for Sunday only.
Normally there is a day lot for the Sunday only people but the rains have made it unavailable for some reason. People who buy a Sunday pass this year have to take a long shuttle ride which is a complete pain in the ass. The exception is that they have a “senior” ticket for people 60 and over who can drive in. (You also get a price break but it’s only like $15). I am 59 and won’t be 60 until the end of the year. Is it ethical for me to get a senior ticket?
Bonus information:
-The median age of this fest is around 32. I will be one of the oldest people there.
-The senior ticket is not in any danger of being sold out so I won’t be taking one from someone in need.
-I am in pretty good shape so I don’t actually need this perk. I am just trying to avoid the hassle. That said, I probably won’t go unless I can go as a senior.
-The guy who runs this fest is an acquaintance of mine whom I have known for a few years. He’s a promotor and I go to a lot of his events during the year. I could message him and ask but he may not get to it because he’s busy af right now with the fest start looming. I am 90% sure that he’d be ok with it.
-They don’t ask for proof or even any kind of affirmation anywhere during the buying process. I did a test run but stopped at the point of paying for a ticket.
It’s unethical, but be that guy. The festival gets some money from you rather than no money and you inconvenience no-one else. Write a mea culpa email to your buddy explaining your actions and, to offset your financial advantage, donate $20 to the next busker that you see.
This is the ethical analog of the “little white lie.” IOW, from a philosophical point of view, it’s Impure and Wrong, period amen. From a practical POV, it’s a victimless falsehood. At least, per your own estimation, that you don’t crowd out some real senior or otherwise mobility-limited person who needs the upfront parking.
Some folks care deeply about the philosophical POV: Wrong is wrong, false is false, and that settles it. Do NOT do this thing.
Others care only for the practical POV: is the “crime” victimless enough? If yes, do it. If not, not.
My own leanings are towards the former, but modulo the reality that we engage in lots of inadvertent ethical harms that are collectively almost certainly larger. One’s white tunic of Ethical Honour is not quite so white as one might hope.
E.g. Life is sacred and all, but we kill a lot of bugs and other by-catch critters as we feed our way through life. To say nothing of the critters we deliberately raise and kill as food. So getting all bent out of shape about this particular field mouse the combine ran over or this squirrel that darted in front of your car is mostly overwrought hand-wringing.
In the OP’s specific case I’d suggest he critically evaluate his premise that “The remote parking shuttle is suuuuch a hassle I won’t bother going unless I can bypass it.” That seems mighty … pwecious. Either that or your commitment to the subject of the festival is pretty close to zilch.
What the fuck is your problem? I wrote that as neutrally as possible for a reason. The actual truth is that I am inclined not to take the discount but I don’t need anyone’s permission and if I did you would be the last one I would ask.
A friend mentioned to me last weekend that that’s what she is doing (she is two months older than I am) or the idea would have never occurred to me. I was curious what others thought about it.
Some maybe interesting data. I have asked a few friends and also posted this on a different forum that skews much younger. Generally, the younger the person is, the more likely they are to say to buy the ticket.
I had to start using the disabled parking before I retired and am officially a senior.
As long as you are sure you won’t be stopping someone who really needs parking accommodations, I say go for it.
I used to like to go to festivals and events like that back when I could walk without pain. Now I couldn’t even with the parking accommodations because I just can’t walk long enough to enjoy such an event. I suspect I am not the only senior with these issues and you did say that most folks attending will be young. I’d guess many of those parking spots will remain empty because making accommodations for us gimps makes it easier to attend some events, it doesn’t make it possible for us to enjoy everything.