ViaFaith McCullough- "Just Mercy" Blog #6 Post
This past weekend, I had the pleasure of being able to discuss the book Just Mercy by Brian Stevenson with my EYA cohort. Our reactions were raw and visceral, as we tried to reason how the American criminal justice system came to be how it exists today. No doubt, we know that the inequity of the criminal justice system has a devastating impact on individuals, families, and communities. In under a system that professes pursue justice, it is clear that pursuit is not promised to everyone. It is still baffling how uncontrollable characteristics such as pigmentation, sex, age, and mental state are an admission ticket to whether people are treated as first or second-class citizens. If people have any characteristic that is deemed unsuitable for society, they are second class/subhuman. It then becomes okay to devalue them as human beings and subject them to atrocities that any first-class citizen would be revulsed by.
While reading the book, I was immediately intrigued by the title Just Mercy. It is so simple, yet so powerful. The wordplay intrigued me the most. There are common meanings for the word just. 1) Just is commonly used as an adjective referring to what is morally right and fair. 2) Just is used as an adverb describing what is exact or complete. Mercy refers to compassion or forgiveness shown to someone whom it is within one's power to punish or harm. While reading the book, I found this title plays out in various ways. One was the idea that mercy is what was rightfully due. Walter McMillian was falsely convicted of murder by the "criminal justice system." While, like me, he made mistakes in life, but the mistakes did not equate to the charges brought against him. He was locked away in a system that would have kept him in a cage if Stevenson had not intervened. Mercy in the immediate dismissal of charges is what he was fairly entitled to, but he was denied this just mercy for six years. The second idea is that complete compassion is all one needs. This is evident when Stevenson encountered the correctional officer who was a blatant racist and bigot. He violated protocol in an attempt to humiliate Stevenson by having him strip naked. In the beginning, he was a proud racist who arguably deserved some repercussions for his morals and actions. Because he saw the mercy and compassion displayed by Stevenson, he was able to his heart change. He received mercy and in turn gave mercy. Had he received what he justly deserved this might not have happened.
This story is powerful and shows how everyone deserves mercy in legislation and mercy in compassion. It reminds me of what Christ did for me in atoning the worst parts of me. The parts that morally deserved a form of repercussion. Even in my human and error-filled ways and my characteristics that make me "unfit" for society, God finds me valuable and deserving of just mercy. Just like the Creator give me mercy, I am called to do so for others.
While reading the book, I was immediately intrigued by the title Just Mercy. It is so simple, yet so powerful. The wordplay intrigued me the most. There are common meanings for the word just. 1) Just is commonly used as an adjective referring to what is morally right and fair. 2) Just is used as an adverb describing what is exact or complete. Mercy refers to compassion or forgiveness shown to someone whom it is within one's power to punish or harm. While reading the book, I found this title plays out in various ways. One was the idea that mercy is what was rightfully due. Walter McMillian was falsely convicted of murder by the "criminal justice system." While, like me, he made mistakes in life, but the mistakes did not equate to the charges brought against him. He was locked away in a system that would have kept him in a cage if Stevenson had not intervened. Mercy in the immediate dismissal of charges is what he was fairly entitled to, but he was denied this just mercy for six years. The second idea is that complete compassion is all one needs. This is evident when Stevenson encountered the correctional officer who was a blatant racist and bigot. He violated protocol in an attempt to humiliate Stevenson by having him strip naked. In the beginning, he was a proud racist who arguably deserved some repercussions for his morals and actions. Because he saw the mercy and compassion displayed by Stevenson, he was able to his heart change. He received mercy and in turn gave mercy. Had he received what he justly deserved this might not have happened.
This story is powerful and shows how everyone deserves mercy in legislation and mercy in compassion. It reminds me of what Christ did for me in atoning the worst parts of me. The parts that morally deserved a form of repercussion. Even in my human and error-filled ways and my characteristics that make me "unfit" for society, God finds me valuable and deserving of just mercy. Just like the Creator give me mercy, I am called to do so for others.
Hi ViaFaith, thanks for your reflection on the various meanings of the title just mercy. I was intrigued by mercy being what is deserve but not giving. You also showed in your unpacking the title how mercy and compassion relate to you.
ReplyDeleteGlad you found meaningful and connection in this reading.
Katie