"A book, too, can be a star, 'explosive material, capable of stirring up fresh life endlessly,' a living fire to lighten the darkness, leading out into the expanding universe." - from Madeleine L'Engle's Newberry Medal Acceptance Speech

Thursday, November 29, 2012

812 notes on society, justice, and fairness


Society and social issues:
-          Group that goes through experiences together
-          How people interact
-          Community where people rely on and trust each other
-          Not just your immediate community but a combination of all communities
-          Hierarchy of people based on class/money
-          Society is made up of many different groups
-          Judging each other happens all the time; natural instinct to compare and contrast people
-          Sometimes “groups” create barriers, separate people, may make you lose your identity and uniqueness, limit you, make you afraid to be “different”, sometimes pressure to act in the wrong way
-          Peer pressure is another negative effect ; it’s hard to identify right from wrong when you are being pressured
-          People in society unfairly resort to stereotypes
-          Naturally, people tend to join groups based on who they can relate to or feel comfortable with
-          Positive elements: organization, meet new people, helps guide our actions and behavior
-          Find a positive community for yourself
-          We move through different “mini-societies” such as school, camp, etc.
-          Just because you are accepted into a community doesn’t mean that community is doing the “right” thing
-          You should want to be part of several groups, have options;
-          It is up to you, to make the right decisions and not do things just because society or a community tells you to do it
Issues: problems
-poverty/hunger
- bullying and suicide
Gaybashing
Sexual harassment
Cyberbullying                                                
Peer pressure
Drugs
Domestic violence
Animal abuse
Immigration
Sexual orientation
Divorce
Littering
Racism
Child abuse
Terrorism
Obesity
Illness
Debt
Discrimination
Health/
Child soldiers
Depression
War
Teen pregnancy
abortion


Fairness

  • equality for all
  • having the right to speak your mind
  • right and wrong based on personal opinion
  • unique to each person, but when many people think something is unfair, then it's not just
  • getting what you want?
  • very individual
  • state of mind, an emotion
  • analogy: fairness is like a rule whereas justice is like a law
  • knowing and recognizing that someone receives what they deserve
  • not everyone gets equal power or uses power in a fair way


Justice

  • being fair
  • people getting what they deserve - 
    • ex. perpetrator is punished for wrong actions/crime
  • karma?? 
  • speaking your mind when something wrong happens
  • what people do to achieve fairness
  • fighting for what's right
  • right consequences
  • right or wrong for a community or society
  • more technical; has certain standards - laws 
  • justice is sometimes not fair  
  • who chooses what is right or wrong? Who has the power to determine? - king, etc.
  • "eye for an eye"??/revenge
  • Is justice doing the same to the perpetrator? 
  • Is the death penalty just?
  • How we perceive "deserve" changes
  • To have justice, you consider many factors 

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