After all the XRPs are given away, how will new users acquire them? They will have to buy them. That means they had to forgo consumption of something else in order to get XRPs. This is no different than the energy consumed for mining; They had to forgo the consumption that the energy could have allowed, in order to create XRPs.
It's hugely different. In one case, resources and energy that exist only in finite supply and could have gone to productive uses are wasted. In the other case, there is no waste at all.
But anyway the definition of "fair" and "wasteful" is going to be rather subjective and really there's no way for someone who works for the company that owns all the currency to answer in an objective fashion.
I'm making reasoned arguments, not offering opinions. Arguments are valid or invalid regardless of who makes them.