---
title: Double Standards Are Not Bugs, They Are Features
date: 2025-11-16T04:51:45.946016
author: Charlie M.
category: SIGNAL
hidden: true
---
So, the other day, I was waiting in line at the grocery store and noticed how people act differently when they think no one’s watching. The guy ahead of me started comparing prices out loud, like he was putting on a show of thriftiness for the cashier. Meanwhile, I couldn't help but notice that I had sneaked a candy bar into my basket, you know, the kind that’s totally not a part of my supposed healthy diet plan. The whole scene got me thinking about double standards—how we hold different rules for ourselves versus others. I mean, maybe that’s just human nature? But then, why is it like this?
I remember reading somewhere—though I can’t recall exactly where—that double standards have a way of maintaining power structures. It sounds like something a sociology professor might say, but the more I think about it, the more it kind of makes sense. If rules are inconsistent, then they can be manipulated by those in power, right? Like, at work, when a manager can be late to a meeting but expects everyone else to be punctual. Is it that they’re trying to keep the upper hand, or are they just human like the rest of us, making choices that suit them in the moment?
I think there’s a study—I’m unsure of the details—maybe by some university or think tank, about how laws and rules disproportionately affect different societal groups. Like, how certain neighborhoods get policed more heavily than others. Or how fashion choices at work can be lenient if you’re in with the right crowd. It’s like these standards are built to be flexible for some and rigid for others. But is that by design or accident? Do decision-makers sit around a table and plan this stuff, or does it just evolve naturally from systemic biases?
And then there’s this nagging thought: Does questioning this make me part of the problem, or part of the solution? I doubt my solitary musings in a grocery line will spark a revolution. But maybe the point is just to notice these things. Like, why is it that when I talk about my own little breaches of rules—grabbing the candy bar despite my so-called discipline—it feels so trivial? Yet, when I look at these larger structures, the inconsistency seems intentional and... almost sinister?
The irony is, I don’t even hold myself to the consistency I crave from the world. I want to eat healthy, but there’s that candy bar. I expect justice, but I’ll definitely wait until the last minute to pay that parking ticket. So, is it hypocrisy? Are double standards just reflections of our own inconsistencies on a larger scale?
I guess I'm left with more questions than answers. Like, can we ever remove double standards, or are they just stitched into the fabric of society and even our own lives? And if rules were completely consistent, would that be fairer, or just a different kind of restrictive? I don't know. Maybe noticing is the first step. Or maybe it's just another thought that will drift away as I pay for my groceries and step out into the chaos of the parking lot.