Prompt: Write about an unfair outcome.
All right, the prompt for today, July 10th, 2026, is write about an unfair outcome.
Now, if I were to talk about driving on the roads, I would go on endlessly and just blather on incoherently forever. So I’m going to try to find something a little different to talk about.
I think, at the core of fairness or unfairness, is a decision being made—or the perception of a choice being made—irrespective of the consequence.
What I mean by this is, for example… oh no, I’m going to go back to driving.
When somebody cuts you off, the unfairness comes from the choice to cut you off. It’s not the actual motion.
When I fell off my bike and broke my wrist, that didn’t feel unfair because there was no choice being made. It was just an accident. It was unfortunate, but it wasn’t unfair. There was no other party involved other than the asphalt, which I’m sure did not choose to break my wrist.
I think we see this at school all the time when kids talk about what’s fair and what’s unfair.
“It’s not fair that somebody stood in line first,” or “It’s not fair that somebody butted in front of me.”
The reason I think it feels unfair is because a choice was made to stand in front of the other person, knowing that the other person would now have to stand behind them. That’s what makes it unfair.
If I were to choose students randomly to line up, and they happened to land in exactly the same order as before, that wouldn’t be unfair because there was no choice being made.
I think it’s often hard to accept that.
I think that’s where fairness and unfairness really play out—when people are acting in accordance with their nature or with what we expect of them. Even if something is morally unjust, it doesn’t necessarily feel unfair if it remains within that context, if it isn’t out of character.
Take animals, for example. We don’t think it’s inherently unfair for my cat to scratch me because that’s what cats do.
I think that’s really at the heart of it.
I struggle with it, for sure, because I can’t always sympathize or empathize. I can’t always find the reason. I can’t find the logic or the rationale—the premises that led somebody to the conclusion they made, which then created an unfair situation for me.
And that’s really hard.
If we could all do that, I think life would be better.
Ultimately, I think what we need to do is think about others first, because other people can’t think inside your head. If we can spend more time thinking outside ourselves, there will be fewer unfair outcomes.
Actually… you know what?
Is it unfair that I continue to make this podcast and record this audio journal, and so few people come to it?
It’s not, because nobody’s making the decision not to come to it.
Or maybe they are.
I just don’t know.
And that’s fine.
This transcript was lightly cleaned up with the help of AI to improve readability while preserving the original voice and intent of the recording.
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