Restorative Justice: This week's hope tank topic!

[Stephanie]

Dear Community,

Tomorrow's hope tank discussion will be about restorative justice, and
the nonviolent worldview.

Here is a short description of principles of RJ:

Restorative Justice

-builds community by providing a constructive framework to guide our
responses to crime, conflict, offensive behavior, violations and
injustices
-is needed in our homes, schools, workplaces, churches and criminal
justice system
-values all people
-seeks to repair damages, (re) establish dignity, and (re) integrate
all who were harmed and alienated.

Does anyone have any experience working in RJ, or have any comments,
or any questions about it? Post it to this discussion, and let's get
talking online!

Warmly,
Stephanie

[Lorraine Norby]

I have been to a meeting today in San Rafael which included
description of restorative justice programs at Davidson Middle
School. There were 3 programs. One for conflict situations, a second
for bullying situations and a third for suspended students called Peer
Court. In all cases there is not just the specific resolution but
also a transformative process through the activation of empathy and
the traits that are engaged because of a sense of safety and non-
judgment.
Lorrie Norby

Lorrie Norby
12A Grove Street
Mill Valley, CA 94941

(415) 381-2157 H
(415) 999-7502 C

Northern California Campaign for a Dept. of Peace

[Olek Netzer]

Dear Lorraine

I was very pleased to be informed about the restorative justice program in that school, particularly about the Peer Court.  That has been my basic idea for some years now, as part of Democratization of schools; I had sent a memorandum to two different Ministers of Education in my country (Israel) but nothiing happened. Allow me to forward that Memorandum to you and others in this group. Perhaps you could do better on it. -  Olek Netzer  

--

Toleavethisworld abitmorefavorableplace tothefullflowering ofeachandeveryindividualinit

[michaeln]

Hello everyone,

RJ is so obviously the way. I regard it, as you may know, as very
likely a 'keystone issue' that could really break up the present
system's oppressiveness and open the way to change. But, how to get
it installed? Does anyone have any ideas about that? I look fwd. to
our discussion tomorrow.

Michael

[Olek Netzer]

Hi' I may want to take part in the forum today. How is it done? Is it
going by Scype? How? II - Olek Netzer

[Mary Jo Berner]

I was actively involved in RJ in my community for about four years in early-mid 2000's...starting as a VOC (victim offender conferencing) facilitator. If I had my way, the criminal justice system's default option in all cases would be restorative, not retributive. But as you note in your message, RJ can be and should be a way of life, how we relate to each other.

Mary Jo Berner
Many Ways of Peace
Www.manywaysofpeace.org
Eagle River, WI

On Dec 1, 2011, at 5:28 PM, Stephanie <stephanie...@gmail.com> wrote:

> Dear Community,
>
> Tomorrow's hope tank discussion will be about restorative justice, and
> the nonviolent worldview.
>
> Here is a short description of principles of RJ:
>
> Restorative Justice
>
> -builds community by providing a constructive framework to guide our
> responses to crime, conflict, offensive behavior, violations and
> injustices
> -is needed in our homes, schools, workplaces, churches and criminal
> justice system
> -values all people
> -seeks to repair damages, (re) establish dignity, and (re) integrat

> all who were harmed and alienated

[Lorraine Norby]

I had too much happening here and didn't manage to get on; although if
I had, I don't know how we would have been able to be with you.
Please elaborate. Lorrie Norby

[Daniel]

Hi, My name is Daniel Cornwall and I am a librarian who lives in
Juneau Alaska. I've been interested in nonviolence for several years
and first encountered the Metta Center after listing to the webcasts
of PACS 164A&B. I blog at alaskanlibrarian.wordpress.com on a number
of issues. I can do a more detailed introduction if desired.

I'm sorry I missed today's Hope Tank. In case it's handy later, I
wanted to point out the US Dept of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice
and Delinquency Prevention guide on restorative justice at
http://www.ojjdp.gov/mpg/progTypesRestorativeJustice.aspx. It links to
studies of eight different restorative justice interventions,
including one you might have had experience with in the Bay Area, the
Oakland Victim-Offender Reconciliation program.

- Daniel

[Stephanie Van Hook]

Dear Everyone! 

Thank you all for joining the Metta group for Hope Tank. 

The idea, if it wasn't clear in the invitation, is that for those who cannot be in Petaluma for our official hope tank, you can engage with this list-serve, with one another, to discuss in this e-forum our topic of the week. 

FYI: Brief notes from the hope tank: 

We had a very productive and focused discussion on Friday in person. Some ideas merged forward about the basis of restorative justice, withe the essential element as the unity of life. But there were other elements as well such as the corruption of the retributive justice system in the US (including its corporate take-over, it replacing institutions for mentally ill and its entanglement with the pharmaceutical industry, and its inability to rehabilitate offenders). We also discussed the dehumanization of offenders and prison guards and how restorative justice works to essentially rehumanize all involved. We also brought up the problem of getting offenders to the table to talk about their offenses, and how one can practice engaging in reconciliation in the present as a way of healing past trauma of having offended. Finally, we looked at globalization for the people and a new system of justice fitting into a new worldview of interconnectedness across the globe. 

One thought of particular interest was formulated as we were washing dishes in the kitchen afterward: "I am not the worst thing I have ever done; I am not the worst thing that has ever happened to me." We are neither victims, nor executioners, to steal a line from Camus...

Let's keep this discussion going until the next topic! 

Warmly, 

Stephanie

--
www.mettacenter.org

To post to this group, send email to mettah...@googlegroups.com

--

Stephanie N. Van Hook

Executive Director, Metta Center for Nonviolence

Current opinion pieces

Nonviolence is the greatest power at the disposal of humankind. (Gandhi) 

Contact information: 

The Metta Center for Nonviolence 

Box 98 Petaluma, CA, 94953 

(707) 774 6299 

stephanie...@gmail.com

step...@mettacenter.org 

[Michael Nagler]

Super, dear.  Glad you're doing this.  Wish it had been my idea :).

Michael Nagler

President, Metta Center for Nonviolence

Current opinion pieces

Nonviolence is the greatest force at the disposal of humanity.  (Gandhi)

[Linda Sartor]

I'm sorry I couldn't be there.  Did anybody take notes?
Linda

--
Click here to learn about the next vision quest I am leading in March 2012.

[Sage Keaten]

Hello Friends, most of whom I have not met, yet,

This is a very pertinent topic for me. I was subjected to ritual abuse as a child, including being made into a perpetrator (as well as a victim).  Humongous amounts of expert therapy have revealed that every perpetrator within, began in a situation that created extreme helplessness and shame. In these situations, the best available option was for a part of me to become a perpetrator, to deal with the intensity of shame that was [intentionally, in my case] created. Conscious access to those memories was only gained pains-takingly in the context of an ongoing, nonjudgemental therapeutic relationship. The ego-parts that became "evil" were/are actually young children placed in overwhelming situations for which they could not form any reasonable context. 

Sociopathic personalities might be an exception, possibly; but in my experience perpetrators are born/created in situations that make their behavior not only understandable, but adaptive for survival.  I suppose most people here might know that new functional brain imaging studies are documenting gross structural  brain changes that result from severe childhood trauma.  The resulting brain changes and subsequent "dysfunctional" behaviors, neuropsychological problems are related of type of trauma, and age-window at which it occurred. These relationships have been demonstrated with longitudinal studies.

The emerging reality is naturally resisted by people who "need" to blame (a defense mechanism against feeling shame).  The scientific basis is now readily available to demonstrate that psychological dysfunctions, including the so-called personality disorders and even schizophrenia, are based mostly in severe, if unrecognized, childhood traumas.  Restorative justice, I believe, requires empathy for the "victim/s" of crimes on the part of the "perpetrator."  Science now demonstrates adequately that equal empathy is due "perpetrators."  At least in my own experiences, the pain of having been a perpetrator far outweighs the pain of being a having been a victim. I take this to be an indication of our shared, innate goodness.

Looking forward to the rest of the conversations with you all!

Warm regards,

Sage Keaten