When Inequality Means Equity

Last week, I was confronted by the most perplexing question from my younger sister. She asked me innocently,“P100 lagegihatag ni mama nimuteunyaagako kay P10 ra?” That really left me dumbstruck because that was thought she perceived to be unfair. It is like an inquiry of injustice aided with her little idea that all should receive things equally. So as the matured one, I gave her the simplest and subtle explanation I had. Letting her understand that I need much bigger amount since I’m already a college student and there’s a lot of things I need to pay like the excessive handouts and photocopies unlike her who only needs enough amount to buy her snack. What did happen is not inequality though, its equity.

Equality, by simplest definition means the state of having the same thing but equity, on the other hand is all about having things that are appropriate and suitable with your current situation. When we saw someone was given more than what we received, we immediately whine and get jealous. How could life be so unfair? But the thing is, we should recognize the very fact that unfairness really do exist in this world and it is very unfortunate to say that it is necessary and already an element of life. Yet we should also make sure never to confuse equity and inequality. I am not trying to brag here that I am a know-it-all about this stuff but experience had taught me.

I grew up in a barangay where the main source of income of the folks are farming, fishery and carpentry. It is not uncommon seeing children without slippers walking a couple of kilometers everyday just to get to school. At a very young age, I really felt an acute anger towards the world and it’s just normal. And now, as I grew some maturity and had gained more sophisticated way of thinking, I realized: someone has to do the job. Someone had to do the farming, the fishing and the repairs of my antique cabinet. Because if we’re all receiving the same privileges, then society is non-existent since it involves different institutions working together to achieve a certain goal. There will be no equilibrium because there will be no yin and yang.

I am not saying that witnessing the ill-fated lives of these individuals is good nor praying it to happen to someone I despise. I won’t even brand them as unfortunate. Apparently, we are both fortunate and unfortunate, a victim and the guilty.  All we have to realize is that it’s not inequality really, it is equity.

Equity in the sense that you might not have the luxury of a millionaire, the fame of your favorite artist, the talent of an NBA player or the beauty of a queen; we both exist in the same world, breathe the same air and see the same sky. We both have different duties and functions to fulfill. So please don’t be ashamed if your father is a farmer and your mother is a helper, because their job is not an easy one and someone out there cannot do what they are doing. We were made to be like this, born to be like this and destined to be like this because God knows before He created you that there’s no other living creature that is fit for that life and capable to endure the possible setbacks than you.

Frankly, I also had such awful syndrome of self-pity because I just can’t have the things that others get without even giving a sweat and as much as possible, I use all my imaginary superpowers not to blame God. In a worse situation, I also feel like a small a dot. But come to think of it, a sentence even how sophisticated its structure and how the words are creatively entwined, is still not a sentence without a period.