History Main / LifeIsntFair

-->'''Doctor''': I'm so sorry. I know this is hard and she was so young. Sometimes it just doesn't seem fair.
-->[[spoiler:'''Fred:''']]: Miss, I had almost forty years with the most amazin' woman in the world. If life is unfair, it was unfair in my favor.

--> '''Cartman''': That's not fair!
--> '''Mr Hat''': Life's not fair, tubby, get used to it!
--> '''Cartman''': Stupid puppet...

* Almost anyone dealing with someone that is complaining about whatever is bothering them will tell the person to deal with it, much to the annoyance of the person doing the complaining.

--->'''Chiana''': (pleading) I want to go to him.
--->'''John''': I know... But since when do people like us get what we want?

--->'''Blackadder''': But you know Baldrick, the world isn't fair. If it was, things like ''this'' wouldn't happen, would they?
---> ''(smacks Baldrick around the head for no reason)''

-->'''Tiger:''' You're a very brave, and very ''foolish'' little human. You rush in head first not bothering to even think of the consequences. You don't understand that sometimes, bravery isn't enough. Life can be ''hard'', little human, hard and ''unfair''--and you must know this. Don't. Be. Reckless. You're young, brave, and you have a good heart--but in this world, that isn't enough. I know that better than anyone.

** In ''Discworld/SoulMusic'', CrustyCaretaker Albert explains that Susan is the only eligible replacement for [[TheGrimReaper Death]], and being a typical teenager at heart Susan eventually resorts to complaining "It's not fair!" Albert retorts, dripping with sarcasm, that she can go explain that to the universe at large and see how far it gets her. This gets referred back to at the end of the book, when she's trying to save Buddy:

* "Big Gay Al's Big Gay Boatride", the fourth ever episode of ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' brings this up when Mr Garrison gives Stan an A- for an incredibly half-assed oral report on ancient cultures (he literally made it up on the spot and said that "ancient cultures has plagued our fragile Earth for many years"). Cartman, who turned in an equally half-assed report but got an F, complains bitterly, and Mr Garrison says that Stan gets preferential treatment because he's the star quarterback of the football team.

** Ironic since TheSocialDarwinist oft perpetrates [[YouFailLogicForever the "Just World" fallacy]].

"Life isn't fair. Deal with it." FictionIsntFair and neither is RealLife. Another one of those StockPhrases, usually particularly irritating to the character it's being told to. Another way of saying "deal with it". Sometimes used to respond to an accusation that the character wasn't fighting fair. Often said by a character guilty of going out of their way to ''make'' things unfair, as their way of '''gloating''' and rubbing the victim's nose in their plight.

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* Commonly used by parents and authority figures... usually to excuse {{Jerkass}} behavior.

-->-- '''Bill Gates'''

* Used and abused to hell and back, [[UpToEleven then back to hell and back again]]. {{Troll}}s, {{Griefer}}s, and '''especially''' TheSocialDarwinist, using either this or [[ParodyRetcon "satire"]] to excuse JerkAss behavior.

* Commonly used by parents and authority figures... usually to excuse JerkAss behavior.

--> '''Cartman''': Thats not fair!
--> '''Mr Hat''': Life's not fair tubby, get used to it!

** Butters bitterly complains about this to himself in the episode "Professor Chaos", after he's been "fired" as the boys fourth friend, thinking about how he did all the humiliating, painful things they asked and they still rejected him. As such, he decides to take on the mantle of TinTyrant supervillain Professor Chaos (and is joined by the equally mistreated Dougie as General Disaray) as a way to take revenge on the world. Unfortunatly for Butters, he really IS just as lame and and wimpy as the boys think, and all his evil plans just amount to pathetically minor acts of vandalism like switching around soup orders in a diner or trying to flood the world with a garden hose.

* "Big Gay Al's Big Gay Boatride", the fourth ever episode of ''SouthPark'' brings this up when Mr Garrison gives Stan an A- for an incredibly half-assed oral report on ancient cultures (he literally made it up on the spot and said that "ancient cultures has plagued our fragile Earth for many years"). Cartman, who turned in an equally half-assed report but got an F, complains bitterly, and Mr Garrison says that Stan gets preferential treatment because he's the star quarterback of the football team.

-->You know, I used to think that it was awful that life was so unfair. Then I thought, wouldn't it be much worse if life ''were'' fair, and all the terrible things that happen to us come because we actually ''deserve'' them? So, now I take great comfort in the general hostility and unfairness of the universe.

"Life isn't fair. Deal with it." FictionIsntFair and neither is RealLife. Another one of those StockPhrases, usually particularly irritating to the character it's being told to. Another way of saying "deal with it". Sometimes used to respond to an accusation that the character wasn't fighting fair.

* A line from the song "Empath's Ballad" in the ''Fanfic/EmpathTheLuckiestSmurf'' novel.

* In {{Transmetropolitan}}, when Spider meets with The Beast before the election, The Beast invokes this in spirit when Spider points out how unfair some of The Beast's views are.

* A suicidal woman tells this to {{Superman}} in the Grounded storyline. Much to her surprise, Superman agrees with her, but then adds that it isn't "unfair" either.

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-->'''Tiger:''' You're a very brave, and very ''foolish'' little human. You rush in head first not bothering to even think of the consequences. You don't understand that sometimes, bravery isn't enough. Life can be ''hard'', little human, hard and ''unfair''—and you must know this. Don't. Be. Reckless. You're young, brave, and you have a good heart—but in this world, that isn't enough. I know that better than anyone.

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--->''[[AC:There is no fair. There is no justice. There is just [[TheGrimReaper me]].]]''


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-->And this life sentence that I’m serving\\
I admit that I’m every bit deserving\\

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* Lampshaded in ''ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes''

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* In the ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' episode "What is Reality?", the Riddler's final challenge to Batman before his virtual world shuts down is: "If the planet were equitable, I'd still have my old job." This actually has a double meaning; since he previously had told Batman that his criminal career was a personal matter (in the previous episode he appeared in), he's saying if life were fair, his old employer would never have cheated and fired him. But it's also a riddle that tells the hero where he is: [[spoiler:The sentence can be rephrased to say, "If the world was fair, I'd still have my ex-position", meaning he's at the World's Fair Exposition.]]

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* Anita Blake from ''AnitaBlakeVampireHunter'':

* Carlton in ''Series/TheFreshPrinceOfBelAir'':

* Used and abused to hell and back, then back to hell and back again. {{Troll}}s, {{Griefer}}s, and '''especially''' TheSocialDarwinist, using either this or [[ParodyRetcon "satire"]] to excuse JerkAss behavior.

* On the more positive side of things ''wanting'' life to be fair and thus striving to towards an admittedly impossible ideal is seen as a virtue of our race.

* Often told to those suffering from depression. To those who know someone who is depressed, saying this is a ''bad'' idea.

* Inverted in ''SomethingPositive'' when [[spoiler: Faye]] [[http://www.somethingpositive.net/sp01282006.shtml died]]:

* Invoked and played with in [[http://www.arthurkingoftimeandspace.com/1757.htm this]] ''ArthurKingOfTimeAndSpace'' strip. To Arthur and his crew "life isn't fair" is a reason to work at making it fairer.