The Meaning of Justice

The Meaning of Justice

Watchin’ the tely this last while with all them homicides occurrin’ or havin’ occurred in the past got me to suddenly take notice of recurrin’ statements of wantin’ justice to be done. It got me to thinkin’ about what justice actually is, so I looked it up in the dictionary. It says; ‘quality of being just; fairness; judicial proceedings;’ ad infinitum. Well that leaves us pretty well at the startin’ point. If that committee o’ buck passers can’t decide on the meanin’ o’ things, I guess we then gotta figure it out for ourselves.

The way I see it, justice is viewed as an instrument of the law an’ the courts. It’s got very little to do with the crime and/or the victim/s. Basically it’s a chess game of lawyers. The crime becomes the chess board around which the players manoeuver to deliver a verdict upon the perpetrator. Any participation by the perpetrator and/or his victims in it is purely for the purpose of manoeuverin’ the game. That’s as close as I can come to it. There ain’t no humanity attached to any of it.

Well what about the victims then? In the case of murder, the dead person or people don’t really count. They’re already dead so they don’t care. But they’re not the real victims. No, the real victims in the case of murder are the families and friends of the dead people, and incidentally the families of the perpetrator/s too. They’re the ones justice must serve. But does it? I mean, how do you un-kill somebody? Or how does one un-rape somebody? I can’t see how it’s possible for justice to be served with the outcome of any trial.

Oh sure, you have your victim impact statements they’re makin’ a big deal out of these days. These are necessary, and a step in the right direction, but they fall far short of what is needed. What we have to do is to turn again to our Indigenous community and their traditional Restorative Justice system. That involves the perpetrator, the victims (all of them), and the community at large.  Of course it’s a lot of work and a lot of involvement, but it does work. If ever justice is to be served, this is the way it must be done, or at least that’s how it seems to me from up here on the top shelf.

Just sayin’.  

Twenty - Nine Elephants

Twenty-Nine Elephants 

Have we got elephants in the room or have we got elephants in the room? Well, I’ll tell ya = we got elephants’ in the room. There’s twenty-nine o’ them to be exact. Let me put this into a little bit o’ perspective. See, a number o’ years ago the Missus came home from overseas with the statue of an elephant she got from her mom that she’d admired. Well, people figured she liked elephants so every occasion like birthdays, Christmas, an’ other days when they didn’t know what to bring her, she’d get another elephant until she had quite a collection. First thing ya know, she’s got a whole herd o’ them things. An’ they’re all over the place too. Ya can’t turn around without runnin’ into one or more o’ them critters. It’s frustratin’ to say the least.

“We need a shelf”, says the Missus. “We gotta gather them all together so I can see ‘em”, she says. Well, fine! We go to the shelf store an’ sure enough we find just the thing. That was the easy part. Knowin’ where to put it, now that’s a different story all together. Of course, I know exactly what to do in puttin’ it up too. That is, I put it exactly where the Missus told me to, an’ I was done. The rest was up to her.

I should’a known better. The shelf goes up directly behind my desk an’ it’s big enough to hold the whole gaul danged herd o’ them critters so that every time I turn around, they’re all sittin’ there starin’ down at me! Can you imagine twenty-nine pairs o’ elephant eyes zeroed in on the back o’ yer neck while yer tryin’ to work? Well neither can I, but I guess I’ll have to. At least that’s how it seems to me from up here on the top shelf.

Just sayin’.

Wasp Update

Wasp Update

 

I've never paid much attention to the wasp situation around our place. I've got sort of a non-interference pact with them. Well, it's more or less like ignorin' one another. An' we seem to co-exist quite well that way. As I said, I didn't pay it much mind until up comes a memory on facebook about what? Turns out it's about the thing we had about wasps last year - exactly at this time. I guess it's the season.

The Missus on the other hand pays a whole lot o' attention to them miserable little critters. She becomes highly agitated at the site o' the pests, an' defends her territory with a ferocity as fierce as if she's battlin' giants. Much like Zorro, she swash buckles her way across the patio with an agility that only a yellow jacket wasp can avoid. You wouldn't catch me laughin' at a dance like that! No siree - not me!

Well, havin' chased a little varmint away, the Missus sits down to read her book. Surprise, surprise! The wasp sneaks back an' lights on her arm, just under her sleeve,-- an' panic sets in. The result of course is that the wasp plants his stinger squarely in her arm an' takes off, thumbin' his nose at her as he disappears outa' sight.

Okay, now it's getting' serious. The Missus puts a poultice on where the sting is an' continues readin' - in the house. She's had it with them insects. In the meantime I gotta find a solution to these "Missus attackers". So I go on the internet an' some guy says to put some apple juice an water in a bowl an' put it out fer the wasps to sip at. They'll go right for it. Well, he's right! They buzz right past us an' past the bloomin' flowers an' go straight for the apple juice. I figured they'd slip in an' drown. Oh, they do slip in but manage to get back out again, shake their little bodies an fly off. Nobody drowns! Not only that, but they start bringin' their buddies to the party.

Well, I'll fix them Yellow Jackets! I pour out the apple juice an' replace it with anti=freeze. That'll kill about anythin'. Four days later, I got one dead wasp - but there's hardly any visitors, so that's a step in the right direction. I guess the best way to deal with them critters is to give 'em a place they don't like, an' they'll go bother somebody else. At least that's how it seems to me from up here on the top shelf.

Just sayin'.