Justifying Justice by Pranav

If you’ve been wronged, know someone who’s been wronged, or want to fight against being wronged, the thing that you need is justice. 

Throughout my life I’ve witnessed how many people are treated unfairly. This happens because of looks, skills, grades, financial situations and other factors. 

Injustice isn’t just just a small problem that a few people have; it’s a massive issue that occurs at global scale.

People need help standing up for themselves and speaking out, and that’s where justice comes in. Fair treatment gives people the confidence and courage to do these things. I’ve seen first hand people being bullied or ridiculed. This mostly happens when people don’t stand up for themselves; instead they just take whatever people throw at them.

One time I noticed some kids making fun of another kid at school, but the kid who was getting bullied wasn’t doing anything at all. He didn’t run, he didn’t respond, he didn’t retaliate. He just stood there, taking in everything that the other people were saying about him.

 This isn’t okay!

The victim may not have realized it at the time but failing to defend himself could have many negative effects on his mental health. 

If you don’t believe me, keep on reading because there’s scientific evidence that proves me right.

A study done by Columbia University shows that 57% of people who were judged by others for being under-assertive didn’t believe they were under-assertive. Still, they didn’t defend themselves or argue back. This reveals not enough people fight for themselves.

As Jennifer Lawrence said, “You can have millions of dollars and a dream career, but if you’re not willing to stand up for what you believe, or if you see wrongdoing and don’t talk about it, then you have nothing.”

Justice is vital to thrive in this world. It gives people equal opportunities, rewards and accountability regardless of race, gender or wealth.

An example of this is the Dred Scott Supreme Court case in 1857. The verdict of this case was extremely unfair and discriminatory because Dred Scott’s owner moved from a slave state to a free state. After that, Scott still wasn’t freed. The Supreme Court ended up ruling against him. This is considered as one of the most arbitrary decisions that the supreme court has made. If Dred Scott received the justice he deserved, he would have been freed and lived his own life.

Another important factor of justice is that it promotes equality and fairness. People who advocate for equality also advocate for justice. These people include Martin Luther King Jr., Malala Yousafzai, Rosa Parks and Nelson Mandela.

According to the World Justice Project approximately five billion people across the world have unmet justice needs.

If these people were to gain access to fairness, their standards of living would significantly improve. Unfortunately, lack of justice shatters confidence, causing victims to restrict themselves. 

People’s only limit is themselves. If they lift the restrictions they can achieve more than they ever thought possible.

You may think justice and punishment are the same thing, but that would be incorrect. Although punishment may be a small part, justice also involves compensation.

This is why people who have been wronged hope for justice while people who have done wrong fear it.

Justice aims to restore balance and rehabilitate, while punishment is intended to inflict pain. The main difference between the two is that justice involves healing. Compensation is when a victim of injustice receives the healing they need. Although both are necessary, it’s important to know the difference.

As I said before, injustice happens everywhere. There are ways to combat it, but only if the whole community comes together and cooperates.

One way is to organize a rally and speak about the importance of justice. Another way is to peacefully protest against the person or event that caused the injustice. It doesn’t matter how you do it, only if you decide to. This is because the only thing worse than injustice is ignorance.

Like people are nothing without justice, justice is nothing without people.

To go from being wronged to being righted, people must stand up for themselves, accept the fact that they need justice and finally understand that justice and compensation differ from punishment.