Should you treat others fairly?

Welcome back!

This seems like an odd question doesn't it? I mean society teaches us that if you want to be treated fairly then you should treat other people fairly but consider the phrase "Treat others the way you want to be treated." It is commonly understood that it symbolizes equality and is based on the assumption that the average person would not like to be treated badly. If you don't want to be treated badly than in theory if you show others respect they should show you respect. However what if someone wanted to be treated differently that goes against the norm? Based on the phrase above would it be okay for someone to treat another person badly if they preferred if others treated them the same way?

You probably asking yourself "what kind of individual would want to be treated badly?" One prime example that is regularly seen on the Internet is trolling. The act of trolling means that someone posts with the intent to steer a discussion off-topic, start a pointless flame war or generally disrupt a community. Why such action is relevant in this situation is because some trolling posters are positively enforced by others ignoring them, trying to stop them, restricting their posts or playing their own game. In this situation they expect that you will treat them differently and thus return the gesture. However social norm would contradict this kind of behaviour from other posters.

In an average community it is expect that all members of the community are welcome to participate and should generally respect the opinions and contributions of other members.Using the "treat others the way you want to be treated" notion does not help maintain community respect. The way I see if someone actually wants to be treated differently than they would have the right to treat others the same way. I'm not saying they would but this phrase is not a symbol of good intention and should not be used to show strictly good intentions. It means equality. With equality comes the possibility for bad intentions as well as good intentions.

So the ultimate question, should you treat others fairly? Fairness is subjective. What is fair to me may not be fair to you or someone else. For example I may think it is fair for every person no matter what build, age or gender should get the same amount and kind of food as everyone else in a household. However you may argue that it would be fair that the person who is trying to diet should have either less food or more healthier foods and the pregnant woman who is eating for two should get more food. Another example could be a prisoner versus someone who is not a prisoner (both are citizens of the same nation). Should the prisoner have the same rights as the other person? They may have broken the rules but they are still a human being and a citizen of the same country.

In my perfect world I would say that by treating someone fairly you would be following social norms and rules. Which is great and works out sometimes but it doesn't really give you much choice. Treating everyone equally means that there is a possibility that you will be treated badly, which I think you might agree is not usually the most favorable.

In my perfect world I would treat others based on their actions. At first I would be friendly, welcome others and generally be helpful. However as time goes on my actions would change based on their actions. If they show that they are willing to return the gesture than I do more for them. If they show that they are not willing to return my gestures than I would do less for them. I guess this is mix of equality of and fairness. I'm not entirely being equal because even if the first impression is negative I would still be neutral until I experience more of their actions. At the same time though I am not really being fair because I would not be following someone elses rules.

Like some of my other posts I don't know if I entirely made sense, but these posts may not always make sense as the purpose is for me to share my thoughts. That said hopefully this post got you thinking about fairness and equality a bit.

For my next post I am considering What is classified as a sport? and Shouting When We Can't Hear. If you have a preference be sure to leave it in the comments below!

Bye for now,

Superskull85 - The Dark Skull