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Jul. 30th, 2011 07:01 pm(xposted from LJ)
I am not fond of the court of public opinion as a medium for justice. Talk is cheap, gossip is malicious and to quote Mark Twain, "A lie will go round the world while truth is pulling its boots on." The best advice I've found, and it has sustained me through dark moments when I've been slandered (links reluctantly redacted), is a line from Lois McMaster Bujold, "Guard your honor. Let your reputation fall where it will."
I am also not fond of the criminal courts. The burden of proof is steep, justice is expensive and not very blind, one must rely on the sense of the average person (!) and the system says from the start that they'll let a guilty person go before they mistakenly convict an innocent (they do anyway!). Punishments are severe (and more often than not deservedly so) but essentially random.
I'm going to throw the gauntlet down to the entire alternative community. This includes but is not limited to the science fiction fandom. SMOFs take note.
We need to come up with a justice system within the community, that is responsive to the needs of the community, that functions according to and within community standards, which protects us from the asshats yet has safeguards against abuse.
Oh, wait. Wikipedia's done that. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Arbitration_guide
We need something like this for former fen who should no longer be welcome to purchase a badge, because they have abused the trust of the community by committing serious offenses.
Added 1: I'm comfortable calling the accused an asshat. That does not mean I know whether or not the accusations are true.
Added 2:
Here's an example of what I'm fumbling in the direction of:
"The Revolution Starts At Home: Confronting Partner Abuse In Activist Communities"
http://incite-national.org/media/docs/0985_revolution-starts-at-home.pdf
"I’ve also been fascinated by feminist and other radical utopian fictions since I was a kid, and one big thing I’ve always wondered is, what will we do with perpetrators? If we agree that the cops and courts are not our friends; if they do not work to keep us safe; if perpetrators are not ‘out there’ but ‘in here’ - what solutions do we magic out of our guts to create safety, justice and healing?" –Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha
Thank you to ravan for links to various journals in which I discovered the gem above.
I am not fond of the court of public opinion as a medium for justice. Talk is cheap, gossip is malicious and to quote Mark Twain, "A lie will go round the world while truth is pulling its boots on." The best advice I've found, and it has sustained me through dark moments when I've been slandered (links reluctantly redacted), is a line from Lois McMaster Bujold, "Guard your honor. Let your reputation fall where it will."
I am also not fond of the criminal courts. The burden of proof is steep, justice is expensive and not very blind, one must rely on the sense of the average person (!) and the system says from the start that they'll let a guilty person go before they mistakenly convict an innocent (they do anyway!). Punishments are severe (and more often than not deservedly so) but essentially random.
I'm going to throw the gauntlet down to the entire alternative community. This includes but is not limited to the science fiction fandom. SMOFs take note.
We need to come up with a justice system within the community, that is responsive to the needs of the community, that functions according to and within community standards, which protects us from the asshats yet has safeguards against abuse.
Oh, wait. Wikipedia's done that. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Arbitration_guide
We need something like this for former fen who should no longer be welcome to purchase a badge, because they have abused the trust of the community by committing serious offenses.
Added 1: I'm comfortable calling the accused an asshat. That does not mean I know whether or not the accusations are true.
Added 2:
Here's an example of what I'm fumbling in the direction of:
"The Revolution Starts At Home: Confronting Partner Abuse In Activist Communities"
http://incite-national.org/media/docs/0985_revolution-starts-at-home.pdf
"I’ve also been fascinated by feminist and other radical utopian fictions since I was a kid, and one big thing I’ve always wondered is, what will we do with perpetrators? If we agree that the cops and courts are not our friends; if they do not work to keep us safe; if perpetrators are not ‘out there’ but ‘in here’ - what solutions do we magic out of our guts to create safety, justice and healing?" –Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha
Thank you to ravan for links to various journals in which I discovered the gem above.
