Should injustice be a
reason for revenge?
Firstly how will one define revenge, well crime
according to the English dictionary context is
known as an action taken in return for an injury
or offense whilst justice is a judgment involved
in the determination of rights and the
assignment of rewards and punishments.
In today’s society, many go through a lot of
injustice. Injustice has been a problem right
from the ADs, when ancient Babylon and
Greece had to take measures to stop the rate of
vengeance by bringing in a system of fair
justice, where you receive what you give.
Arguments
Base on research on cases of crime and
injustice. There have been many diverse
perspectives as some say revenge should be a
reason for injustice whilst others say justice
can’t be paid by revenge. Gwen Adshead an
editor from the Guardian talks about life
«The dead cannot cry out for justice. It
is a duty of the living to do so for
them»
Lois McMaster Bujold
•
About life sentences of prisoners being
prolonged for a longer period of time with no
parole (/pəˈroʊl/ /pəˈrəʊl/ (law) a conditional
release from imprisonment that entitles the
person to serve the remainder of the sentence
outside the prison as long as the terms of
release are complied with), just so they can die
in prison for their offenses bringing back the
“eye-for-an-eye physical penalties and state
killing”.
•
Law professor Thane Rosenbaum talks
about a nonexistent line between justice and
revenge on “The Opinion page. “We tend to
think of justice as noble, revenge as unworthy wrong, argues”
National view on
justice
On the national view of justice, it is seen that
justice is given by the law authorities and the
state. The state sees revenge as the inverse of
justice, not one that embraces it, but an act that
defiles justice. Justice is a virtue, it is done for a
good reason, to bring peace and harmony,
while on the other hand revenge is “a plate
which is served cold”. Cold because it is said to
be a heartless act, one that doesn’t compile
with the forces of the law. American former
president once said, “Justice consists not in
being neutral between right and wrong, but
finding out the right and upholding it, wherever
found against the wrong”. This statement is
dubious, as President Roosevelt talks about
finding what is right and upholding it against
the wrong, but is that what’s happening today?
America has one of the highest crime rates and
levels of injustice. Today’s stories from National
Geographic speak about people who were
wrongly accused and were bailed without
enough evidence for crimes they did not
commit. They still survived their prolonged stay
in prison. A young man named
Authorities condemn the act of revenge whilst
they are still implicated in it. Money now our
days is what speaks most in some parts of the
world, an example is South Africa, where in a
minute about 2 or 5 females are raped. Cases
have been brought to court but none of these
issues have been addressed. The authorities
and forces of the law state claim to stand for
the victim but they stand for the state as the
offense is being committed against the state so
what they do is they try to keep a system of
justice where everyone doesn’t go around
avenging each other. Bringing in a system of an
eye for an eye can be of
help, a system of an eye for an eye doesn’t mean being bloodthirsty but seeking equality, meaning if an
individual commits an offense, he doesn’t receive less than an eye nor more of an eye. This makes
justice fair and exact. The law authorities have an interest in maintaining order and justice so there
aren’t any forms of an eye for an eye system, as Gandhi famously said if this policy is applied the world
will be blind, whereas that is already happening. Imagine being the mother to a lone son who is
murdered and dismembered in the most gruesome manner by an individual who just grew an
insignificant hatred for your son, and when brought to court he is condemned to 2 years imprisonment
for his act. This was just an example. One real-life account I came across concerned Bharat Kakicharan,
also known as Akku Yadav, a well-known Indian gang leader who allegedly carried out over 40 sexual
assaults and terrorized the people living in a poor neighborhood with threats of sexual violence. Yadav
was supposed to show up in court in Nagpur, India, in August 2004 for a bail hearing. Women in the area
decided to act independently after rumors circulated that the court might release him. They marched in
their hundreds to the courthouse and took seats in the courtroom. One woman allegedly hit the
defendant in the head with a sandal after he made fun of a woman he had sexually assaulted. Others
pelted him with stones and threw chili powder in his face. The female vigilantes grabbed
Whilst on the other hand, some civilians see revenge as unhealthy, Gwen Adshead speaks on The
Guardian page to seek the opinions on her point if harsh retribution for violent crimes might feel right,
but does it do more harm than good? In her opinion, this will cause more harm than good as a
community that is obsessed with revenge isn’t a healthy and resilient one. Being obsessed with revenge
kills you faster than it does to a criminal, “I think revenge may also be a way of dealing with grief. I
vividly remember a patient I worked with who had killed a stranger when mentally ill and was sent to
the hospital for treatment. His victim’s family were indignant that he wasn’t in prison, perhaps believing
that secure hospitals are a softer option. They barraged us with phone calls and threatened legal action
against us if we released him (a decision that was not even down to the hospital).
Perhaps their strength of feeling was linked to a kind of survivor’s guilt, a sense
they would be letting the victim down if they did not try to ensure the murderer
suffered as much as possible. I suspect such feelings will only have made their
bereavement worse – as the adage goes, hating someone else is like taking
poison yourself and waiting for them to die. But as a response to trauma, it is not
inevitable.
“AS THE ADAGE GOES,
HATING SOMEONE ELSE
IS LIKE TAKING POISON
YOURSELF AND WAITING
FOR THEM TO DIE”
Local perspective
Cameroon is undergoing a war that began at least four or five years from now. There are many sources
and stories behind this war, but apparently, it originated due to the Anglophone regions of the country's
place as a minority and also the fact that these regions had barely any say in the country’s affairs. This
was a form of injustice against them which led to a riot. Young men and boys decided to form a group
called the Amber Boys, these boys became a main source of problem for the government and law
authorities of the country, and they carried out a lot of bloodthirstiness in their acts. From gruesome
murders to the burning of tens of people. Injustice was the main cause of this riot, if the government
and law authorities had come to an end the two different parts of their country would be seen equally
no matter the size of the population, I think none of this would have happened. These boys decided to
take revenge but as they say “revenge is a plate which is served cold” and so their hearts became cold
and wicked, as the days went by more gruesome acts were discovered, these people killed both the
francophone and Anglophones showing they have no aim, no word on which they stand for. You can’t
kill those you are standing for and those you are against. About a thousand people have lost their lives in
this riot. I remember an event that took place in the northwest where a father and a man were killed in
a market square by these terrorists for reporting them to the army men who were shot by a gun and left
disposed for the view of everyone. This doesn’t make this group of terrorists any different from
criminals even though they fight against a certain injustice
Revenge has caused a lot of death and grief in this area of Cameroon, the country is largely corrupted
and even the law authorities who are supposed to maintain a system of justice are no longer reacting.
Debates have been set on the topic many high bodies have spoken but nothing is changing. The
population sees this act of revenge as barbaric and inhuman, I can’t stand the news on how people are
being killed like animals, in 2023, a group of terrorists (amber –boys) attacked Mamfe and killed about
20 women and teen youths. The circumstances in the South-West (SW) and North-West (NW) areas
continue to be alarming. Reports of armed conflicts, targeted killings, armed extortion, and arbitrary
arrests continue to be common. The populace is displaced as a result of being caught in the middle and
exposed to violence. Over 875 people were compelled to leave the villages of Kajifu 1, Kekeukessim 1,
and Kekeukessim 2 in Akwaya subdivision (Manyu division, SW) as a result of deliberate attacks by nonState armed groups (NSAGs). In the course of those assaults, NSAGs set fire to 33 homes and 7
motorcycles, leaving 4 people dead and 25 injured. Due to the attack and ongoing threats, the residents
of these villages as well as the majority of the villages in the Akwaya subdivision have fled, either to
Mamfe, nearby bushes, or villages in neighboring Nigeria.
Personal perspective
Throughout this essay I have expressed my views and points, justice to me is to be given by the states,
and I am speaking about one that is corruption-free, where everyone is heard and no one is left aside,
no one is unlooked. This will imply using the eye for an eye system where you receive what you give, this
will be a form of state revenge for the victim. Revenge to me is human and faulty but it doesn’t mean
people should just kill anyhow because of it, showing it as a form of bloodthirstiness. So in conclusion
revenge has both its good and bad side, if it is just like what is happening in my country then this is
healthy but if the victim of a crime is avenged fairly without implicating family or close friends of the
criminal
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/aug/22/the-big-idea-should-revenge-ever-be-a-part-ofjustice
https://www.npr.org/2013/04/08/176583581/op-ed-the-nonexistent-line-between-justice-and-revenge
https://allthatsinteresting.com/revenge-stories/3
https://history.howstuffworks.com/historical-events/10-biggest-cases-of-revenge.htm
https://www.unocha.org/publications/report/cameroon/cameroon-north-west-and-south-westsituation-report-no-57-august-2023