"" bshawise: 5-Minute Theory: Justice = Snipe Hunting

Friday, September 3, 2010

5-Minute Theory: Justice = Snipe Hunting

Crank that kitchen timer. I have five minutes to stew my juicy theory.

Wise-ass uncles trick anyone they can with old dodgeries like, "Hey...wanna go snipe hunting?" Then they get you all fired up for chasing the elusive snipe through the woods. Then they laugh in between sips of Budweiser about snipe not being a real thing. Classic.

Our relentless desire for justice is like hunting for snipe. It's silly because we can run through endless woods and we'll never find it. We have a insatiable need for justice. Fairness. When we're kids we're constantly clamoring about something not being fair. As adults we experience jealousy, depression, anger, bitterness, apathy when so and so gets something that we feel they don't deserve. We want things to be right. Every one of us has a tiny Judge Judy living in our stomach who bangs that gavel around when we see or experience something that isn't fair.

Well, life's not fair. It'd be sweet if it was. Just like it'd be sweet if every little kid had a hat made of snipe and mouth full of chewing tobacco. Davey Crocket style.

Man that time went fast. I should consider making it a ten minute theory.

7 comments:

Steve Fuller said...

Good point. I sure wish someone would have told Martin Luther King, Jr. that life's not fair. Would have saved him a lot of trouble. Or how about the Jews. Or women who have been blabbing about equal pay for years. "Life's not fair, Sugar, now go make me a sandwich."

One of my favorite scenes from an average movie, Contact:

Dude Who Screwed Over Jodie Foster: I know you must think this is all very unfair. Maybe that's an understatement. What you don't know is I agree. I wish the world was a place where fair was the bottom line, where the kind of idealism you showed at the hearing was rewarded, not taken advantage of. Unfortunately, we don't live in that world.

Jodie Foster: Funny, I've always believed that the world is what we make of it.

ylmurph said...

Fuller,
I've watched Fight Club several times and I'm not sure that scene is in there.
Brad,
our small group was talking about this very thing last night. We were thinking through all of the great stuff that comes with our relationship with God not being fair - meaning we don't necessarily earn/deserve all that he's given us.


unfair = good sometimes...and not so good sometimes

bottom line - my uncle never took me snipe hunting and that's not fair...

bshawise said...

that's clearly what i'm saying, fuller. you're not reading stuff into it at all.

ylmurph said...

no Brad, I think he is reading into it. I've read it twice now and I'm pretty sure that's exactly what he's doing.

for example - he said that...
(I'd like to keep this up, but you get the hilariousness)

John Arns said...

I'd like for snipe hunters to be able to actually catch 'something' if for no other reason than to mess with the oppressor's head. Wouldn't it be cool for injustice to not have its desired impact ? I believe that perpetrators of injustice enjoy seeing the fruits of their labor so what better way to frustrate them than to deny them that satisfaction.

Daniel Kalbach said...

I've gone snipe hunting 3 or 4 times, which reminds me of a little diddy I like to call The Prodigal Son...

Scotty Mo said...

ah yes, the snipe hunt... I've fell for it a number of times