What is Fair?
Asking myself about fairness in light of a crazy news cycle.
2024 is going out like an ex-boyfriend who hasn’t realized the relationship is over. He just keeps texting and calling and assuming you don’t feel well. The sheer volume of annoying news stories recently has only increased since we reelected the worst-ranked president in Okay History’s history.
We now know the accused suspect in the killing of Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare. Luigi Mangione, the child of privilege from Baltimore, is suspected of hunting Thompson on the streets of New York and gunning him down on a sidewalk as Thomspon entered a hotel to attend a board meeting where they would decide how to kill more people. I believe the meeting was postponed.
The next Trump administration is shaping up like a billionaire’s book club. Nine of them have been nominated for critical government positions, and those are good ones. In true Trump fashion, President Two Scoops has also proposed some non-billionaire doozies, like handing over the country’s defense to a guy who has promised to stop drinking if he got the job. Another one is nominating a woman who is probably upset that Assad was overthrown in Syria because they are BFFs.
Finally, we saw the sale of InfoWars, the online platform of a conspirator and the guy who looks like a screaming potato, rejected by a judge due to what he called a lack of transparency. You have to think Alex Jones got a laugh out of that one.
As we come to the end of the year and the beginning of a new one, I find myself frustrated with this particular news cycle and asking myself:
What is Fair?
I firmly believe we all want the world to be fair. At the same time, we understand that it is not and can not be. So we are constantly stuck in a place where fairness is desired and placed out of reach.
Let’s examine all three situations and experience their unfairness.
It’s going to be fun, okay?
First off, I am no fan of murder unless I see it on Law & Order—a show where people are gunned down in the streets of New York all the time. The Dick Wolfe television show is still around because they can come up with millions of ways people can die in that city. After all, it’s so large.
Except with the Thompson murder, New York didn’t stick the case to Lennie Briscoe and Anita Van Buren. No, the city of New York and the state of New York went full New York to find and bring this suspect to justice. They even got Pennsylvania involved, where they found Mangione in a McDonalds.
Is it fair that government officials seem to care more about the dead rich white guy from Minnesota, who is worth multimillions and led a company that saw profit soar as a direct result of not helping people cover their medical expenses?
I would say no.
Now that Luigi is getting his 15 seconds of fame, we will be overwhelmed with the stories of the kid who came from a wealthy family, attended private school, went off to get an Ivy League degree, and then, a few years later, lost his mind when his back went out. The media will be all over this kid, and the Election Geniuses will turn into the Homicide Geniuses because that’s the world we have always lived in.
Is it fair that Breaking Bad Back will most likely spend decades behind bars while others mourn the man responsible for the deaths of millions who never once had to worry about prosecution because killing in this vain is perfectly legal?
I don’t think so.
I’ll pray for Thompson because he is a child of God, even though he didn’t act like one. I’ll pray for his kids, and mostly, I’ll pray that the guy put together a sound will and testament because I just learned how horrible probate court is.
But one day, this story will pass, UnitedHealthcare will name a new CEO, and nothing will change. That’s also unfair.
The fact that Donald Trump exists is the prime example of the mystery of fairness. Born with bone spurs in his ruby shoes, his privilege helped him avoid getting his head blown off in Vietnam and instead went on to live a life where even the wind couldn’t blow his hair around.
Like his second marriage, Trump is planning on screwing around while in the White House for his enjoyment. The guy who fights for the middle class has put forward nine billionaires to do jobs that will certainly not benefit the middle class.
Do you remember back in 2020, when Elizabeth Warren was like, “We need to eat the rich,” and then Michael Bloomberg and Howard Schultz began running for president? Can you imagine running for president as a hobby?
That isn’t fair.
But we are stuck with this setup for at least the next four years. Remember, we live in a world where the narrative tells us to be scared of populists!
The Sandy Hook massacre anniversary is tomorrow, December 14. It’s the deadliest elementary school shooting in the United States, and it’s disconcerting there are now categories for these tragedies.
Isn’t it unfair that Alex Jones can make bank by being a complete prick and proclaiming the entire thing was a hoax?
You better be shaking your head, yes.
Jones, who read the book None Dare Call It a Conspiracy as a kid, then decided it would be cool to become a conspiracy theorist at the highest level because it was so financially lucrative.
Until it wasn’t. He lost his case against the victims of Sandy Hook for the lies he spread and needed to pay them a trillion dollars in damages. One way to do that was to sell off his media empire InfoWars, and in a brilliant ending, the satirical magazine The Onion won in an auction.
Only this week, Judge Who Cares decided that the process was flawed and that, in fact, the auction could have produced more money for the families, which I guess is fair.
Unfairness touches our lives in every respect. Is it unfair that I am devastatingly handsome, have a fantastic wife, and the best dog in the world?
Or how about the second-rate baseball team in New York landing the best player in a generation, who happened to win the World Series with the team down the street from me?
Is it fair that every story I share in this essay involves people who make an absurd amount of money?
What is fair?
I don’t know.
Do you?
Portgual was a lot of fun. I recommend you go sometime if you haven’t. Anonymous gave a great talk in the middle of the trip, and spies from around the world descended in Lisbon to hear it. I was very proud.
We might retire in Lisbon because the weather is awesome, the food is delicious, and it is the most affordable European country.
Thank you, Ireland!
Alright. I hope everyone had a good week. I’ll see you on Monday. Thanks for supporting Okay History!
Okay,
Chris
Chris, we do understand that life isn't fair.
Except it taught us even more to value the people in our lives that care about others and make us smile along the way. Count you as one of those on that list.❤️