Justice

[marjaerwin]

Justice is restoring what is right. It's not revenge and adding to what's wrong. It's not institutional immunity and continued abuse. It's not following the procedures of the injustice system, which sometimes calls itself legal, sometimes civil, sometimes criminal, sometimes justice but is rarely more than one of these things.

So many people appeal to the legal system. It horrifies me. One claimed that "Justice is what you get from a jury in a courtroom. Do you have any better ideas?" but when people are framed and falsely convicted, as happens, that's an injustice. when people aren't framed but are convicted under unjust laws, or convicted for something they had to do to survive, as happens, that's an injustice. those things come from juries, and they're not justice. and when you get into the rest of the legal system, with people being beaten and raped while awaiting trial, with crooked plea-bargains, racism, ableism, bribes, prison labor, prison profiteering, v-coding [forced prison prostitution], and so on, there are too many injustices.

Justice is not an institution. Justice is an aspect of peace/justice/freedom, and one of the things we measure institutions against.

Comments

[daisydeadhead.livejournal.com]

I always tell people that "no justice, no peace" is not simply a bumper sticker slogan, nor is it (as the right wing likes to say) a 'threat' -- it is just a fact. It is the logical end result of no justice.

Dunno if you ever saw this post: http://daisysdeadair.blogspot.com/2010/12/on-feminist-collaboration-with-state.html ... but it sure wasn't popular. I probably should have given my conspiracy theories a rest, but I find that impossible to do. Once a Yippie, always a Yippie. When you're a Yippie, you're a Yippie all the way (we actually had alternate lyrics to that West Side Story song, which I have now forgotten) ...

The liberal feminists kinda turned against me after I wrote it. The idea that they actually believe anything the govt says about Assange, nearly drove me around the bend. Do they believe the Scottsboro Boys were guilty too? BULLSHIT ON ALL OF IT. Using women's victimization to manipulate judicial outcomes (like in your last post!) is a tried and true method of the prison industrial complex, and rather than RUNNING TO COPS all the time, we need to learn to recognize when that is the sought-after reaction and we are being collectively manipulated. I think black women, trans women, latina women, etc have a 'leg up' in recognizing this when it happens... but too many middle class white women think Mr Policeman is their Friend. Arghh.

Anyway: Yes.

[daisydeadhead.livejournal.com]

And hey, watch those comments. Got a transphobe, who turned out to be a candidate I had once worked for. Damn, I hate when that happens.

I think he was deliberately trying to be outrageous (thats how he is), but of course that doesn't excuse him. I just know that when little boys stick peas in their nose at the dinner table, the best thing is to ignore them and not give the negative attention they seek. He never forgave me for allowing the commentariat to beat him up though... he later refused to get involved in our local Occupy group, all due to his wounded ego over this thread. Do you BELIEVE?

If women sat out everything over our wounded egos... well, we'd be sitting out our whole lives.

[marjaerwin]

Thanks. I've got a splitting headache, fatigue, and lightheadedness, so I am falling behind on reading, though. I have looked at the thread and plan to read through it soon.

[marjaerwin]

I wish I could contact Thene. I want to share her post there, about why, bu I don't want to do that without her permission.

[daisydeadhead.livejournal.com]

My last email address for her turns out to be expired. Sorry!