Tag: fairness

The Definition of Robin Hood Depends on Who You Ask

Vince Gray’s election on Tuesday night as mayor of Washington, DC, was met with a curiously nonchalant response among city residents.  No one seemed much inclined to celebrate.  A city that is famously buttoned-up and all business, all the time, was precisely that.  The prior mayor, Adrian Fenty, was widely seen as a temperamental prima donna, but this election was less a vote about specific District issues as it was a referendum on his leadership.  The results, a decided victory for Gray, were a backlash among many towards Fenty’s perceived stance in favor of more affluent parts of town, particularly those in the Northwest quadrant of the District.  This is far from an uncommon phenomenon.    

Friday Night at 8: Riffin’ offa Robyn

I like to write this series spontaneously so that it is timely.  I usually write it on Friday right before it publishes on the Front Page of Docudharma.

Tonight I read Robyn’s Friday Philosophy essay right when I logged on to the intertubes.

She speaks of fairness and games and such.

I think that’s an interesting conversation and I’d like to continue it here.

Robyn writes:

To many people I suppose that makes me appear to be a fool. If that’s how you see it, so be it. I still believe it is more important that a good game played fairly is more important than who wins or loses. I revel in Tiger Woods and Ernie Els going stroke for stroke in the President’s Cup until it is too dark to play anymore…and then calling it a draw. To me, the view of life as an exercise in trying to be a winner rather than a loser is nearly the very definition I have for labeling someone a loser.

I’d like to riff off that notion.

Both in high school and for the two years I attended college, I was a member of the debate squad.  I was brought up listening to my brothers and father argue and search for what was real when it came to whatever topic arose.  It was always an education for me.

In debate we were told we had to back up everything we said when we made our case.  What made it even more interesting was that we all had to argue both sides of the issue, depending on which “round” of the debates was in session.  So my partner and I would argue the “pro” against another school and the next round we’d argue the “con” against another team.

Sure there was all the snark and obnoxiousness one could imagine among us all, in a way it was very similar to the blogs.

But then Kirby Boner came along.

Yep, that was his real name, and I am putting it out there deliberately as praise for him is long overdue.