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Transitional justice is needed in the US.
TJ requires structural reform, acknowledgement & repair for victims, accountability for perpetrators.
Transitional justice does not require forgiveness or relinquishing anger. A thread explaining why. 1/
TJ requires structural reform, acknowledgement & repair for victims, accountability for perpetrators.
Transitional justice does not require forgiveness or relinquishing anger. A thread explaining why. 1/
If you want to know why transitional justice is needed in the US, I explain that in this thread
https://twitter.com/drcolleenmurphy/status/1267404860313481219?s=20
2/
https://twitter.com/drcolleenmurphy/status/1267404860313481219?s=20
2/
Anger is a justified response to wrongdoing and injustice. It can be ‘apt’ in the words of @amiasrinivasan. Anger is communicative act drawing attention to wrongdoing and calling for a response and engagement. For excellent work on the importance of anger see also @myishacherry 3
Forgiveness is the overcoming of negative emotions like anger.
There are 4 core problems with making forgiveness an objective of any government response to #GeorgeFloyd #BreonnaTaylor, the protests we are now seeing in 50 states, or broader pushes for transitional justice. 4/
There are 4 core problems with making forgiveness an objective of any government response to #GeorgeFloyd #BreonnaTaylor, the protests we are now seeing in 50 states, or broader pushes for transitional justice. 4/
Problem 1: forgiveness as the goal misdiagnoses the problem. Anger is not the problem, the sources of anger are.
In the US these include police violence, racial disparities in health, the racial wealth gap (some of the many legacies of chattel slavery and Jim Crow). 5/
In the US these include police violence, racial disparities in health, the racial wealth gap (some of the many legacies of chattel slavery and Jim Crow). 5/
Problem 2: forgiveness does not address the underlying structural reform needed to reduce pervasive inequality along racial lines & stop normalized wrongdoing.
Even if anger is overcome, structural racial disparities and the normalization of wrongdoing will still be present 6/
Even if anger is overcome, structural racial disparities and the normalization of wrongdoing will still be present 6/
Problem 3: calls for forgiveness risk wronging Black Americans again.
The anger of many Black Americans is very deep. There is anger over indifference to Black suffering, callous disregard for Black life & lack of priority on racial justice by many white Americans. (con't) 7/
The anger of many Black Americans is very deep. There is anger over indifference to Black suffering, callous disregard for Black life & lack of priority on racial justice by many white Americans. (con't) 7/
To call for forgiveness risks duplicating this indifference. It can communicate (1) insufficient acknowledgement that anger is justified and (2) a failure to take seriously the injustice present in American society and the lived experience of Black Americans. 8/
Problem 4: forgiveness places the burden of relational repair on victims of wrongdoing or groups subject to structural inequality and injustice. On this view, if anger is the problem then the solution requires those with anger to overcome it. This is unjust. 9/
To be clear: I reject forgiveness as a goal of government responses to protests or policies of transitional justice pursued.
Forgiveness is of course a choice open to victims of wrongdoing. Victims have a right to forgive or not. But that right and choice is theirs. 10/
Forgiveness is of course a choice open to victims of wrongdoing. Victims have a right to forgive or not. But that right and choice is theirs. 10/
Shout out to @ProfYolonda conversation with whom inspired this thread. 11/
