I was strolling through my limited social media channels and came across a ‘discouraging older quote’ that made me laugh. I thought it was worth sharing.

“You are the sand in the swimsuit of the organization.”

It got me thinking about its meaning to me. I’m not very much of a rebel but more of a thorn in the side of things that bother me. When I can create the opportunity, I try to change my world that is within my arms’ reach.

This discouraging quote prompted me to identify a few of those moments.

I once owned a 14-foot-wide mobile home in a trailer court in Yellowknife, NWT. As part of my ownership responsibilities, I had to pay the city an annual ‘mobile home licence fee.’ I thought it was the same as a tax levee but without the associated rights to vote on municipal money bylaws. Many small towns only give this right to landowners within the municipal boundary. The fee I was legally required to pay felt like a tax without the related rights.

So, I refused to pay the $400, or thereabouts, given the years of memory involved. I was subsequently charged and went to court, accompanied by leading headlines in the local paper. The details of the court process fail me now, but we ended up in the Supreme Court of the NWT. I still remember sitting in the court with my lawyer, listening to the judgment read out in full – it was many pages.

I won.

Subsequently, the Legislature of the NWT unanimously changed the law to give fee-paying citizens and landowners equal rights. I didn’t feel a seismic shift in the world, but I did nudge it toward a fairer status.

Another quick example, I was in my late teens at Expo 67 and stopped at a pop stand to buy a large Coke – 25 cents! In my naivety of youth, I didn’t realize a 2-cent tax was added. I only had a quarter handy and thought it was so unfair that the advertised price didn’t show the final price. I asked the manager to add the final price to the sign, but he refused.

So I did the only thing I could think of in my still-developing brain. I staged a spontaneous protest in front of his beverage stand. I spoke to incoming customers about the actual price of the drinks. In a short period of time, the manager came out with a black marker and added the word “plus tax.’

Job done.

Please give this a bit of a think. Have there been any situations where you stood up for a minor principle of fairness and transparency?  What happened? Are there times when you didn’t have the courage or time to take a stand?

I am curious about your thoughts. Please share your bit of a think in the comment section below. It will come to me for approval before posting.

Photo by Wesley Tingey on Unsplash

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glenn.walmsley@icloud.com