One of the things that pains me is we have so tragically underestimated the trauma, the hardship we create in this country when we treat people unfairly, when we incarcerate them unfairly, when we condemn them unfairly.
Interpretation
The quote highlights the significant pain caused by unfair treatment and injustice in society.
Bryan Stevenson emphasizes the deep emotional and psychological harm that arises from systemic injustices, particularly in the context of unfair incarceration and treatment of individuals. He urges society to recognize the profound impact that our actions have on the lives of others, advocating for compassion and fairness in our treatment of all individuals, especially those marginalized or wronged by the system.
In practice
During a speech at a social justice rally, this quote could be used to highlight the need for reform in the criminal justice system.
That's my mission: I really want to get in the heads and hearts of kids and persuade them that they can believe things they haven't seen, they can do things that maybe others haven't done before them, that they are more than their worst acts.
We all have a responsibility to create a just society
Somebody has to stand when other people are sitting. Somebody has to speak when other people are quiet.
I grew up in a segregated community: I couldn't go to the public schools, beaches, certain parts of town.
If we had done the work that we should have done in the 20th century to combat our history of racial inequality, no one could win national office after demonizing people because they're Mexican or Muslim. We would be in a place where we would find that unacceptable.
The opposite of poverty is not wealth. I don't believe that. I actually think, in too many places, the opposite of poverty is justice.
Most states in the union where the death penalty is theoretically on the books don't have executions.
The reasonableness of the agency of the national courts in cases in which the state tribunals cannot be supposed to be impartial, speaks for itself. No man ought certainly to be a judge in his own cause, or in any cause in respect to which he has the least interest or bias.
Lack of lawful access certainly affects our ability to do our jobs, but we know where the harm really falls when evidence is kept unavailable - it falls on innocent people, the people we're sworn to protect.
Evil must be attacked by. . . the day to day assault of the battering rams of justice.
All the rights secured to the citizens under the Constitution are worth nothing, and a mere bubble, except guaranteed to them by an independent and virtuous Judiciary.
We black men have a hard enough time in our own struggle for justice, and already have enough enemies as it is, to make the drastic mistake of attacking each other and adding more weight to an already unbearable load.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.