Justice or Retribution

Almost every blog has its post on the Imus issue and every news broadcast is discussing it. What I find disturbing is that there is little discussion of how to bring about justice in this situation. Those who advocate his dismissal from employment and revel in his humiliation are talking about punishment and retribution. By demanding Imus be fired, they are hoping to create an example to others or perhaps hurt Imus in return for hurting others with his words. But in my view, retribution and punishment will not bring justice, a goal much more difficult to achieve but certainly one more worthy of our efforts.

What is justice? The Greeks viewed justice as both a personal virtue and a goal for society to achieve. The dictionary defines it as, “The principle of moral rightness; equity. Conformity to moral rightness in action or attitude; righteousness”. As I’ve discussed at length in my previous post, this whole society has a problem with moral rightness in action and attitude, and the acceptance of ridicule and shocking remarks that demean others in the guise of humor is only the tip of the iceberg. On CNN this morning Rutgers coach, C. Vivian Stringer aptly pointed out,” It's not about the Rutgers women's basketball team, it's about women. Are women hos? Think about that. Would you have wanted your daughter to have been called that? It's not about they as black people or as nappy headed, it's about us as a people, black, white, purple or green.

And I want to suggest that as much as I speak about that, the truth of the matter is, that it is not even black and white; the color is green. The color is green. You see, because if we can tolerate as a society what has just taken place, the remarks that have been directed toward young women. I don't know how anyone could have heard this and not been personally hurt and offended.

When there is not equality for all, or when there's been denied equality for one, there's been denied equality for all. “

I think that the young women and the coach of the Rutgers basketball team understand justice as opposed to retribution or punishment. It would have been easy for them to give into anger and demand the figurative head of Imus on a platter, but they chose instead to use the opportunity to let the world and Imus know who they are as individuals. The coach has taken the opportunity to use Imus’s remarks to address the injustice in our society, not just a remark by a third-rate talk show host, but the larger injustice and moral bankruptcy of a society that values money over treating each other with respect and equality.

To have justice, we need to do more than demand that Imus resign or be fired. We need to look deep within ourselves and our society and ask for divine guidance to restore “moral rightness, equity. Conformity to moral rightness in action or attitude.” Maybe a beginning of justice would be for Imus and his sponsors to host a weekly program that would let us know each other and the pain that we cause each other through our thoughtless speech and action. Maybe they could discuss the greed that pervades our society and causes us to treat each other as objects instead of human beings. They could make us aware of the many people who deserve our respect and our attention for their achievements, like the Rutgers basketball players and their coach.