"Until justice rolls down like waters"

[sheshe2]

As I mentioned the other day, I've been thinking a lot about what "justice" means. And I was particularly struck with this statement about it from Al Giordano.

There are times when “The Law” is dressed up in liberal language in a way that masquerades the bloodlust behind witch hunts and impulses to scapegoat individuals for crimes or taboos that, in a democracy, we’re all responsible for having enabled.

The photo above was taken at the Civil Rights Memorial at the Southern Poverty Law Center. It was created by Maya Lin (the same women who created the Vietnam Memorial Wall in D.C.) and features the biblical quote used by Martin Luther King, Jr. at the beginning of the Montgomery Bus Boycott and again in his I Have a Dream speech..."Until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a might stream."

Its clear that Dr. King was a man committed to justice. But I can't think of a time when that included a call to punish those who committed heinous crimes against him or others involved in the movement. He certainly had ample opportunities to do so. There was no shortage of brutality in the beatings, lynchings, bombings and assassinations of his day that might have stirred a call to implement the "rule of law" for the perpetrators.

But take a look at the powerful words he spoke when four little black girls were killed at the bombing of the church in Birmingham, AL.


SNIP:

Its clear that Dr. King was a man committed to justice. But I can't think of a time when that included a call to punish those who committed heinous crimes against him or others involved in the movement. He certainly had ample opportunities to do so. There was no shortage of brutality in the beatings, lynchings, bombings and assassinations of his day that might have stirred a call to implement the "rule of law" for the perpetrators.

Read the rest here:
http://immasmartypants.blogspot.com/2013/04/until-justice-roll-down-like-waters.html

[patrice]

1. When one calls punishment down upon others, it's being called down upon one's self.

The logic is: If justice is punishment, then, since all of us need justice, then all of us need punishment and the problem with that is:

There are times when “The Law” is dressed up in liberal language in a way that masquerades the bloodlust behind witch hunts and impulses to scapegoat individuals for crimes or taboos that, in a democracy, we’re all responsible for having enabled.

[sheshe2]

2. Yes, exactly, patrice.

and

Notice that the focus is all on punishment as the appropriate response. The only question then is its proportionality to the crime. The victim in this situation simply receives the "psychological benefit" of knowing the criminal will be punished. This tends to blur the lines between justice and revenge. Gandhi warned us about this kind of justice when he said, "An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind."

http://immasmartypants.blogspot.com/2011/11/what-is-justice.html