Friday, October 5, 2012

Populist Dialogues on Restorative Justice and Social Inequality

Two recent shows focus on the role of restorative justice in healing the harms done by criminals, and on the effects of growing social and economic inequities in the US.

In the first show, David Delk talks with Gina Ronning, of the Insight Development Group and the Pacific Green Party. Gina describes restorative justice and advocates for its use in parallel with our current criminal justice system.

That system, she explains, locks both victim and offender in damaging roles: it separates the victim and the offender, then assumes the interests of the victim, thereby not allowing the victim a seat at the table except as victim. As for the offender, the state never asks that he/she admit fault and responsibility for the harms done.

Restorative justice, on the other hand, seeks to give victims an active role in addressing the harm and encourages the offender to accept his or her responsibility for the results of their actions. As a result, the people involved as both victim and offender are "healed" in the process.

In the second show, host David Delk talks with Kate Lore, Social Justice Minister for the First Unitarian Church in Portland. The detrimental effects of ever increasing economic and social inequalities  in the United States today are expressed through Kate Lore's personal experiences as well as scientific studies. Thoughts on what we do to address these issues are presented.



 If you watch the shows on Populist Dialoges's Youtube channel, be sure to like the shows, leave a comment, and share with friends.  Don't forget you can also rebroadcast these shows on your local cable station. Is there an issue that's key for your community? Check here to see if there's a show that will shed some light on progressive solutions!

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