too funny

Reparative Justice



Every prisoner behind bars was once some one's baby.

   Justice is a crazy concept.  We've read recently the story of the boy shot in the head in California, Scottie has shown us the stories of numerous people being chased and chastised even after fulfilling the punishment set out by the judge, and you've all seen my banner for young Jordan who is still fighting for his life in jail.   The thought of putting someone in prison would seem to some to be the ends of Justice, but in most cases it's simply the end of caring.
  If you look into a criminal case, the report will read "We the People of _____ vs. Mr. ABC".  It is always "We the People...", as if the prosecutor, the people's champion in this particular little joust, really cares and is truly representing the injured party.  This is the classic adversarial process, in which the people of the community have felt the injury and are therefore seeking redress, and yet most victims and their families will tell you that they feel completely forgotten in the process and no one really seems to care what they think.
  Justice can become the faceless machine process where little is cared for the why and the who, only the what.  In some cases, perhaps that is necessary as the painful process of dealing in such waters would quickly take a toll.  Of course, it would:  These are lives at stake!  And yet, a disheartened and detracted approach survives the morality of the situation when the expediency takes center position.
  Truth be told, it's hard to care.  It's difficult to be human in situations where humanity has failed and hard choices are necessary.  Ask any parent who has ever spanked a child and they will tell you there have been times when hurting the child to avoid allowing a greater hurt to develop has been the hardest thing they've ever done.  Ask another question and you'll find that parents who have grounded a child feel themselves as the ones being grounded as they are quickly become the gaoler and forced to enforce their proscription of justice.  Jail guards, judges, prosecutors, all are people and all have hearts.  In the end, if they don't harden their hearts to the inhumanity of the process they soon begin to see the defendants and prisoners as actual people
  The interesting thing about the adversarial process in justice is that sooner or later, the defendant....and this is going to sound really crazy here....becomes very defensive.  He begins to realize that he is not looking at some utopian  mommy or daddy who care about him and want to simply teach him a lesson to avoid further problems.  He begins to quickly realize that this is his life in jeopardy, be it a short stint in the pokey or a life long change of residence.  He begins to realize he is in a corner, in a box if you will, and there are a whole group of people hungry for his blood.  He begins to put up walls, become aggressive, change his views of the situation and seek to find ways out of it.  The concept of accepting the consequences of his actions pale beside the instinct for self preservation.  If this soul is in such a position, he garners a champion of his own to fight the system and the system's champions who placed him here.
 
  I imagine you are thinking 'so what' about now.  Well, I thought it might be necessary to lay all of that out to get to this point:  Restorative Justice. 

  We don't use the concept of RJ in this country, no to really speak of.  It's time consuming, it's hard because it has no crazy little political slogans like "zero tolerance", "mandatory minimums" and such.  It's heart-wrenching as it forces people to open themselves to the humanity of the tragedy and lose the shield of vengeful wrath.

  I hope I've interested you in the notion.  I'd like to speak further on this over the coming posts and such.  In the mean time, check out this link as a beginning primer for the concept and let me know what you think.
RESTORATIVE JUSTICE

If it walks like a duck, if it talks like a duck,

If it suppresses and subliminates it's issues of being, uh, a duck....hey, might this just be a duck?

Identity. The core me.

Hi friends, cotravelers, and my volunteer psychotherapists;

  Yes, that is an unpaid position.  Sorry.

  Reading Scotties recent post, I began to think about gender identity, and perhaps the identity that is really core to us all. 
  Most researchers believe that children develop a general understanding of themselves as boys or girls around three years of age.  That's likely due in great deal to their exposure to other boys and girls, as I'd imagine that a child in a less experiential environment would learn this issue at a different time.  But, point is, they learn fairly young, and then we spend a lifetime understanding this basic lesson of life.
  What does it mean to be a boy?  Or, in a more adult case, a man?  A woman?  How does that follow towards a future in our culture?  Do we define our gender by our actions, our likes, or our equipment?  Is it more in line with our desires?
  I will be honest; I've met some women who were very "masculine" and it took me back a bit.  I've met some men who were very "feminine" and it also surprised me a bit.  I say this in terms of how they presented themselves to others, how they reacted, acted, dressed, groomed, spoke, inflected, moved, and expressed their image to others.  I think it was because the image didn't match the package.
  We expect a great deal of our environment.  If you ask a soldier coming home from war, he will tell you that his reactions to everday stimuli are in conflict with his recent training.  If you ask a person who goes to another country, even with no language impediment, the culture is different and that traveler will tell you that he feels out of sorts with others.  We stereotype stimuli and expect things to be similar in most arenas, freeing our mind of the constant observations so that we can move out on other issues.  It is this mis-file of information that stops the mind, requires a recheck and in some cases a whole new file. 
  My thought is this:  What defines a man as a man ~ what defines a woman as a woman ~  what if what's on the outside may not meet what beats on the inside?  You know, it's all really irrelevent because all are people.  In the end, it's just me.  It's just you.  And while we have roads to travel, understandings to come to, hang-ups to release, we are as we are, as we will be, as we once were.  We are our hopes, our dreams, our laughs, our cries; we are our loves, our fears, our likes and our dislikes.  I hope that I am brave enough to love me.  I hope I am wise enough to love you.  And I hope I live long enough that such a hope is not a lone concept but is held in common when we all can look to another and say:  "You are beautiful".

An interesting statistic

  Hi Friends, Neighbors....was' up Junebug?;

  So, in my reading, I've seen some interesting things today.  I read the "Focus on the Family" stance regarding homosexuality - this came about after reading Scottie's note regarding the Bachman bordello of boogiemen receiving federal funding for what the APA and the AMA describe as being not only unnecessary, but ineffective and dangerous, counseling on changing one's attractions.  "Focus on the Family is in that same sinking boat....they say that those who want to change unwanted attractions may do so through intense religious education and prayer.  They base this statistic on a group studied - of which 40+% were diligently seeking "relief" years previous to this group given therapy.  And, of this group, they found that some 60% were able to change their unwanted attractions.  (margin of error evidently somewhere around 59%).  In thier literature, they speak on this being the "healing effect of Christ", though in every tent revival I've ever seen the healing was immediate, as was it in the Bible.  Why it takes years (three) and more if you include the prior work many of those studied is not addressed, nor are the concepts of undue influence, wishful thinking, or brain washing.
  Oh, they did remove their section under "What to do if you think your teenager is gay".  I would have loved to read that.  I'm sure 'dunking in a pond', 'feeling for ice-cold nipples', or 'burning at the stake' would have been in there somewhere.
  I read that Michelle Bachman officially announced that she is unofficially officially running for president.  She made this while at a presidential candidate debate, in which she was a participating debater.  I'm sure everyone was offically surpised.
  I also read a recent gallup poll that said that the "pro-gay marriage" numbers are raising.  Especially for those in the younger groups, 35 or less, and in all groups holding a college education - and evidently not believing everything that is said on wrestling shows.  It's right there about 50%.  The republicans have used this poll and others for years to show how they should not allow the rights and privileges of all americans...sorry, of heterosexual americans to be given to those not heterosexual.  Isn't there a civil rights law on this?
  Ironically, Gallup also rates the approval ratings for congress.  77% -87% believe they aren't doing thier job, which in my book means they should be fired.  I guess congress isn't worried about that poll.

so, tell me, what have you been reading today?