Justice the Victim

Written in front of the Canadian Parliament on the 6th of April, 2008

As I walk past the Parliament building, I watch a Serbian/Kosovo protest that declared an artificial border had been created by the United States and professional public relations firms. That some combatants were herded off to a camp to have their organs harvested. Cameras abounded. Reporters tripped over themselves and each other.

Is justice a victim of choice? Is justice only as good as the options that seem to be available? And is justice, then, something which the media can skew by what it publishes and decides not to publish? And by extension, doesn't justice get skewed on the Internet by who links to what, how many link to what and how solid the links to what are?

There are no questions there, just a rhetorical question to bring the obvious out in contrast.

Do I know more or less about Kosovo or Serbia? I simply have more questions.

But what struck me was that near the flame in the front of the Canadian Parliament there were 2 Chinese women who carefully adjusted their signs about organ harvesting. No cameras. No microphones. No loudspeakers. A silent dignity in contrast to the Serbia/Kosovo protesters on the steps of the Canadian Parliament.

Stepping back, I looked at the altar upon which all these words were sacrificed. The symbolic parliament - symbolic of a belief in democracy, of human rights, of voices to be heard.

Even as those with microphones condemned the actions of the Canadian government they supported it with their presence.

Stepping back, I wondered how often justices are sacrificed only because one voice screams into a loudspeaker more loudly than another. And, unlike most other injustices, there is no one to speak out about the relativity of justice.

So I wrote this.