The Ignored Inequality: Affective Inequality
We live in a world where inequality permeates all aspects of our lives, where we are indifferent to the emotional burdens of others, where we are victimized by fear, anger, resentment, and hatred. Economic, cultural, and political inequalities widen the gap between the rich and poor, and unemployment rates remain high in many countries (e.g., the United States and Taiwan). Such inequalities result in affective inequality which, in a vicious cycle, exacerbates these economic, cultural, and political inequalities (Lynch, Baker, & Lyons, 2009). While slogans of fighting for justice have become ubiquitous, emotional depletion has been ignored (Lynch & Lyons, 2009b; Lynch, Lyons, & Cantillon, 2009b; O’Brien, 2009; Stevenson, 2015). We are asked to pretend that we are not wounded (Enright, 2015b). A seventh-grader’s spoken word poetry entitled “Behind My Smile” gives us a vivid expression (Fiore, 2015, p. 817): Some wear fake smiles Behind those is pain How do I know?
