What Does Justice Think
What justice does authority display
when it kills the killer? When it imprisons
the robber? When it descends on a neighbouring
country and slays its people? What does justice
think of the authority under which a killer
punishes the one who kills, and a thief
sentences the one who steals?
source: Kahlil Gibran, Tears and Laughter
Advertisements
Its all about looking in the mirror… We are all too quick to judge 🙂 And fail to look at ourselves… Thank you Eddie 🙂
Good point Sue and nicely presented, thanks so much for this
🙂 Hugs Eddie
hugs and smiles too!
😍
Very provocative ideas. It is a rare person, who has not stolen something.
You are certainly right on all counts. Thanks for stopping by
“A killer punishes the one who kills;” meaning the killer: one who has already killed, punishes anyone else who kills?
and a thief (who has already stolen) punishes the one who is about to steal?
I agree with you. Mr Gibran is asking us all to examine our hearts when justice ‘kills a killer’.
The ‘people’ become the ‘killers’. Wherein then do the ‘killers’ have the right to ‘kill’ the ‘killers’?
Becoming that which you punish is not necessarily justice, but it does definitely smack of hypocrisy. An eye for an eye is not the best way to correct a behavior, as it leaves everyone blind. An eye for an eye is an invitation to critical thinking, to realize balance does not have to be achieved with the exact same actions. Does more hate balance out hate? Or does love weigh enough to bring the scales even? It is far more difficult to think about justice from a long term point of view, looking at what behaviors teach the populace. Like children, we absorb these messages without even knowing.
Those are my thoughts on this quote. =)
I totally agree with you. Mr Gibran is asking us all to examine our hearts when justice ‘kills a killer’.
The ‘people’ become the ‘killers’. Wherein then do the ‘killers’ have the right to ‘kill’ the ‘killers’?
I don’t think that killing a killer equates with descending upon a neighboring country and slaying innocent people. The first example is exacting a price for a crime and the second is randomly killing anyone in sight!
I had to read it several times to make sure I understood what Mr. Gibran was saying here.
You might want to read it again. Think hard about ‘his’ words.