Our Broken World: A series of ever-changing opinions

What do we Think When we Hear the Word 'Injustice'?

     When people hear the word 'injustice', they may think a variety of different things; racial injustice, social injustice, and political injustice being among the most common. When we say that something is unjust, it means that it is in the state of no longer just, but what does 'just' even mean? Does it mean that everything is equal? Does it mean that everything is fair?

     The problem with society now, is that it is very clearly unequal. We have grouped people based on the class/social status they were born with, and given them a path of life based on that alone. Children of well-known and respected figures are more likely to get into good colleges because of their name, while people with names native to cultures that have been discriminated against in the past (and present) are less likely to be offered an opportunity for jobs, housing, and financial security among other things. We can clearly see that this system is unfair, due heavily to the ever-increasing wealth gaps and disproportionate amount of people of color being thrown into jail for minor crimes that have a far too severe punishment, if a crime was even committed at all.

     Look at it from this perspective, first. You have your own life, and in this scenario, you are privileged, whether that is because of the color of your skin, the class you were born into, etc. you have more opportunities presented to you then the immigrant who has the same job as you. You both have degrees and work the same hours, but suddenly, the company you work under has to let some people go. Naturally, everyone would immediately scramble to keep their job, even if they had some degree of a cushion or back up plan to fall onto. You, yourself probably do not want to loose this job either, and they end up letting your immigrant co-worker go and keep you. This is a huge relief, yes? You have a job, stable housing, and you are safe. It is not likely that you would risk your job to help someone keep theirs, because heck, that's a total stranger, not someone you know.

     Now look at it from the immigrant's perspective. They just got told that they would be unemployed for the next who knows how long expanse of time. They came here on a full-ride scholarship to some college and they were not likely to be carrying much with them when first came here. They return home, rent is due, bills are piling up left and right, and now they're out of a job. Their options are limited. Finding a job to pay enough for their needs was difficult enough as it is, and now, it's almost as if they never had a reason to dream in the first place.

     Back to the first perspective. You know nothing of this other persons life, and you can go on and ignore it happily, knowing that you do not have to go and live with your parents for a short expanse of time or get a gig at a fast food chain to tie you over to your next job. Heck, you may even just start looking at new jobs just to make sure you have a plan the next time something goes sideways, or invest more into savings. But the thing is that you can do that. You have the option to go ask for help from a guardian, or you have other places that you could easily secure a low-income job at before working someplace else. Sure, you might have had a small hiccup in your life, but nothing too major.

     Looking at this story from the outside seems so wrong. But what the heck was the privileged person supposed to do without knowing the problem? A big issue is that we as a community do not talk about what comes of these people when their world falls apart for possibly a second time, if it was ever together in the first place. Not knowing makes us weak and unable to fix some of the problems that we can easily observe from the outside, but when we are actually there and living it? Not so much.

     In another scenario, lets imagine that the company had to let both of the people go. This is equal, is it not? Two employees at the same level of work with the same qualifications are let go. Simple as that. But is it fair? Many would beg to differ, as two people who have somehow made it to the same spot in life are being stripped of the same job, but the amount that is lost along with it is significantly different.

     An even more simple way to look at this is imagine you are an older sibling (even if you already are) and you ask for a phone, at the age of about twelve or so. Upon your parents agreeing, your (hypothetical) younger sibling asks for one, too. Say that they are roughly nine. They too, get a phone. It is equal, because you now both have a phone, but it is far from fair, as you had to wait through twelve years of existence to get a phone, whilst your younger sibling only had to wait nine.

     It was a far more simple example, but it still gets the point across, I hope. So what is justice to you? Equality? Fairness? The world needs to change, and people claim to want it, yet, when you look around the room, do you see anyone that is willing to change? Are you willing to change? Think about how you can incite change to build towards our future, and fight in the now, knowing that any action taken recently should have been sorted out long ago. We are the future.