Is telling people "life isn't fair" really just a nicer way to tell them to shut up and accept injustice?

No.  It is saying there is no such thing as fair.  Better to learn this early.  We aren't all born with the same talents....it starts right there.

Nice or not, it's simply a straightforward statement of reality.

Life is not fair, nor is it necessarily safe, inherently good or rational. This post was edited by Don Barzini at July 12, 2018 11:50 AM MDT

HaHaHa, the brush off.  Don't go away mad, just go away... This post was edited by Beans/SilentGeneration at July 12, 2018 7:41 AM MDT

Aye, indeed. More or less.

Life may not be fair but there is justice if you can afford it.

Yup, that's what it means.

Why be nice? Just tell them the latter. They'll leave you alone.

  Some people just complicate things too much: 

~

I think the message is more "stop being so self-centered and overly sensitive and expecting everything to go your way and just get on with your life".  If all you look for is "injustice" you will certainly find it under every rock. 

Yes. That's exactly what it means. 

No, it's a way of telling people that even when you do all the right things, you can still have bad stuff happen to you.

If you want fair you have to be merger rich and buy it via the the legal system....:(

No.

While fairness sometimes equals justice ... the two are not always the same.

Some may think it's "unfair" that I am naturally gifted towards math, and didn't have to study it as hard as they did to get good grades.
However, that doesn't make my grades "unjust" compared to theirs.

I'd say that it doesn't always mean that.. for instance, I say that a lot and what I mean by it is... don't feel bad, these things happen, and not just to you, you are not alone.. I am trying, I guess to empathise and say, I understand. 

Depends on what context, if a parents had enough of their child going on and on, then yes it is said to shut them up. However, life being unfair is a good lesson to learn, and the reasons as to why it will never be fair, this is what drove people to fight for human rights, equal rights, women's rights, black rights etc.  However, some of these fights have been meaningless if one doesn't accept some basic facts, such as the physical differences between men and women, or between races, shouting equal rights, without accepting a dose of fact and realism is nonsensical.