This Restorative Justice Life

"Someone" got indicted, what's a Restorative Justice response?

March 31, 2023 David Ryan Castro-Harris
This Restorative Justice Life
"Someone" got indicted, what's a Restorative Justice response?
Show Notes Transcript

Learn more and connect at tiny.cc/ARJlearn

Support the show

Send us feedback at media@amplifyrj.com

Join our Amplify RJ Community platform to connect with others doing this work!

Check out our latest learning opportunities HERE

Rep Amplify RJ Merch

Connect with us on:
Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Threads, YouTube, and TikTok!

SUPPORT by sharing this podcast, leaving a rating or review, or make a tax-deductible DONATION to help us sustain and grow this movement

So a certain former president was recently indicted and as a restorative justice practitioner, here are five reasons I think this person should be engaged in a restorative justice process.

Yeah, I can't think of any, but jokes aside, I do believe in people's capacity to change. But given the circumstances, it's really hard to imagine a world where this person is willing to engage in taking accountability for the harm caused in this or any situation. In the unlikely event that this indictment results in a conviction and a conviction results in any kind of meaningful punishment, it still won't be justice.

With a restorative justice lens, I define justice as meeting the needs of impacted people and communities, and accountability as taking responsibility for harmful behavior and taking corrective actions to repair and make sure this doesn't happen. But what we're witnessing now is a public shaming and media circus that probably won't result in meeting the needs of anyone involved except maybe a certain someone who craves any kind of attention.

So what's an abolitionist restorative approach to this situation? I have no fucking clue and honestly it's not my, or probably your responsibility to figure this out. I do know that my, and probably your time and energy is better spent building capacity to embody restorative ways of being in your everyday life in your communities.

So future generations won't have to deal with this. That's not to say that we're building a perfect future where conflict or harm, never. When we embrace ancestral values of interconnection focus, our time and energy on building and strengthening relationships rooted in equity and trust harm is much less likely to occur, and we'll have ways to more effectively address harm when it happens.

So if you wanna learn how to use restorative ways of being to build a more just and equitable world for future generations, take the first step in your restorative learning journey. Today we have three free trainings, restorative Justice as a way of being, restorative justice in the workplace, and restorative justice in schools.

For you to check out  link in the show notes. And as always, help us amplify this work by sharing with your family, friends, colleagues, and community. Hope to connect soon.