It Ain't Fair

Last week’s post on envy and jealousy triggered numerous memories. A significant dynamic or component of envy and jealousy is, in part, related to the perception of fairness. Developmentally, kids begin learning about fairness at a young age, as result of experiential actions and interactions with parents and siblings. So, according to the definition of fairness “Impartial and just treatment or behavior without favoritism or discrimination,” fairness is about the perception of the beholder. Further, it doesn’t mean that the beholder, King or consensus makes it right. A few examples of fairness or unfairness follow: 1. King Solomon allegedly was confronted by two women who claimed the baby in question was their own. Cleverly, King Solomon’s solution was to cut the baby in half and present each woman one half of the child. The biological mother, horrified of that idea, told the king, “Give the child to the other woman.” It was at that juncture, that the wise King knew the true mother. 2. Jim Brandstatter was the radio voice of the Detroit Lions for 31 years. Without warning, he was abruptly terminated by the WJR radio station. Jim didn’t mention fairness or unfairness, but he did say he was shocked and” that’s the nature of this business.” 3. Mike Keller, as an adolescent, was large for his age. “By the time Mike reached junior high, he had really grown. He was disallowed from playing competitive football because of his size and weight. [As an eighth grader, he was about 6 feet tall and weighed about 160 pounds.] The football coach allowed him to practice with the team, and placed him on defense against the first-team offense. Mike indicated that even though he was bigger than everybody else, he did not attempt to hurt them. He did admit that he made most if not all of the tackles.” 4. Thom Darden made second team all Pro in the NFL with the Browns. He thought he was better than the Dallas player who made first-team all Pro and was paid $40,000 a year more than Thom. Darden went to the team owner of the Cleveland Browns and told him of the discrepancy. The owner said something to the effect “you signed a contract and go pound nails.” 5. Reggie McKenzie, while playing for the Buffalo Bills, was told by management that they were not going to trade him, despite the rumors. They in fact did trade him to the Seattle Seahawks. Reggie was mad at owner of the Bills, Ralph Wilson also from Detroit. Reggie said some uncomplimentary things about Wilson and the Bills management in the newspaper. This news angered Mr. Wilson. It wasn’t until Wilson died that the Bills honored Reggie by inducting him in their Hall of Fame. Reggie said that Wilson was probably turning over in his grave with that event. 6. A freak accident interfered with Jim Betts potential NFL career. “Jim was drafted by the New York Jets in the 10th round of the 1973 NFL draft and signed a contract to play backup quarterback and safety. Before reporting to camp, Jim was rehabilitating from ankle injury [an injury suffered in the blue and gray game], and was student teaching at Scarlet, junior high, in Ann Arbor. There was a tradition at the junior high that the student teacher would be thrown into the swimming pool by the students at the end of the school year. So, a great number of students started to drag Jim toward the pool. Unfortunately, Jim had a whistle around his neck, and one of the students hand’s got stuck on the lanyard, while Jim was going into the water. The metal whistle got pulled out, striking him in his left eye…. He has a black spot when using his left eye, and lost 70% of the vision, in the eye….. No matter how good you are you can lose it in the blink of an eye-no pun intended.” To Be Continued