[lbo-talk] Tell them we are democrats

[Miles Jackson]

Shane Mage wrote:
> And to the question whether if *you*, having done nothing at all, were 
> to be "beaten, arrested, tortured, convicted, and imprisoned for 
> terrorism" you--like everyone sane--would be right to protest that you 
> are the victim of injustice, you reply that "In fact, I do deny that 
> harsh treatment [ie., having done nothing at all, to be beaten, 
> arrested, tortured, convicted, and imprisoned for terrorism] is always 
> unjust."
>
> Do you really?
>

Yes.  I don't know why that's so unfathomable.  Doug jokes about who's 
going to be lined up against the wall and shot, come the revo; I can 
honestly think of cases in which that paramilitary tactic would be 
just.  Harsh treatment, granted, but just.

We can't determine whether or not an act is just by considering the 
behavior in isolation of the social context in which it occurs.  Is 
lining people against the wall and shooting them a just act?  Is 
beating, arresting, and torturing people a just act?  Well, it depends 
on the social context.  I can give examples in which those behaviors are 
just or unjust, depending on the social situation and the events leading 
up to the behavior.

Miles