Thursday, December 18, 2008 . 1:16 AM

I've been starting to hate the word 'deserve' lately when one uses it in the negative, condemning sense, in that it is really just an additional way to impose views and thoughts onto someone else. It is, by very definition, a generalist word of personal measure, which says absolutely nothing on it's own, for it is really impossible for there to be a universal definition encompassing everyone's views of who should deserve what and not. Poetic justice is one attempt at it, but even so, it's merely popular morals and beliefs taken form, which not everyone agrees with. I hate the dramatic perversions of it by some people to fit poetic justice for their needs, though. For example,

"You deserve to die for killing my daughter"

is pretty much fine and accepted thinking for many people, having firm foundations in the idea of revenge as a form of justice, as popularized in Shakesphere, popular belief, and Hollywood. And

But things like...

"I think your method of studying sucks and you don't deserve as many marks as the person who does things the conventional way, even though practice seems to say otherwise."

"You didn't sign up for Math Remedial while the smartest guy in class did! You deserve to get very low marks this exam"

"You have no outside interest for maths outside of textbook syllabus, you're only doing this for bland necessity, and obviously, you don't deserve to get as high as me.

"You took the shortcut around the mountain while I had to climb to the peak, endure dangerous perils, mosquitoes, avalanches, frostbite, and an amputated arm. I don't care about what you think, the fact remains that I endured more suffering while you hardly suffered any; obviously I [b]deserve[/b] to win the race more than you do. Because suffering is good. "

... are things I really find issue with, especially the above two. Who speaks for the perpertrator? Himself! Whose views that blind suffering and effort should always prevail over a good sense direction are they? The person speaking! Then why use the word 'deserve' to signal softly, the empty chorus of a hundred voices backing the person up? Why use the word 'deserve' to signal a dark omen, a dark presence waiting to smite people down for the 'sins' they have caused? It is so offensively dumb, that I don't know what else to say, and I hate it especially when I'm used in front of the word itself. It is used as a balloon for closed-minded people to scare people and play offensive, but such fascades wouldn't (and shouldn't) last for long, for a balloon is forever far smaller than it seems.

So yeah, emphasize the "me and myself feel that you deserve to die in a smelly pit" aspect of any such condemnation instead of words such as 'deserve' now. I'm not really speaking of religion and more obvious moral sensitivities among the public, I'm speaking of things that are obviously legal, obviously alright and acceptable, that people can't stand due to jealousy, emotional impassioned fervor, or simple hatred, resorting to eupherisms such as 'deserve' to push forward their point without much reason. Also, I'm sad for no reason, but yay, got that out of my system.