Is justice really attainable?

BY: BRITTNEY CHANNER 

Hello Readers!

We have finally come to the end of the year and essentially my last article for the year 2018. I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for reading my articles every edition and inspiring me to keep in tune with social justice as it occurs within Canada and around the world. When I received the opportunity to write for the Toronto Caribbean Newspaper, I knew instantly that I wanted to use my platform and educate those of social injustice, and how it affects civilians around the world.

To those who can remember my first social justice article for the newspaper, I questioned the return of real social justice and posed the question if justice can be attained. In that article, I concluded that real justice is practised when we implement it every day with the choices we make. This is seen with how we treat our neighbours, friends and our family. Furthermore, I concluded that justice is truly effective when it is practised not only for self but for everyone else. However, I pose this question to myself and most importantly to all readers and ask, do you still believe real social justice can be attained in today’s society?

In the heavily flawed world that we live in and with the regular occurrences of injustices around the world, can Martin Luther King’s dream of living in a society where people are judged by the content of their character and not the colour of their skin exist? As I remember the particular headspace I was in when I wrote that exact article, I was hopeful to the idea of attaining justice if we as individuals think of our fellow man through our actions. However, as the year comes to an end, I do have to be honest with my readers by suggesting that this idea of social justice and change may not be as easy as I suggested in my first article. 

Practicing social justice by thinking about our fellow man may seem easy on paper, but due to recent events in the news around the world, successfully achieving this objective may seem a lot more difficult. For example, in world news, we have seen how major issues surrounding Mexican migrants at the U.S border have been developing within the last couple of months. As of recently, tragedy and a horrific example of injustice occurred when a 7-year-old migrant girl who was taken into custody by U.S Border Patrol died due to dehydration and exhaustion. It was reported that the young child had gone several days without food or water and her, along with her father and other migrant families, who were crossing into the U.S in hopes of asylum, were held in a detention center under scorching and unbearable conditions which ultimately contributed to her death.

As a social justice writer, events such as the example provided above, I find to be very alarming. It seems that inequality and the disregard for our fellow man, woman, and child continues to be an ongoing trend within society and the idea of social justice for all, seems to be nothing more than an unattainable figment of one’s imagination.

Throughout the year of 2018, there has been more than a few instances where justice was called into question, having many people such as myself ask, “Are we trying to draw water from an empty well?”

Whether you have an answer to such a mind-boggling question or not, I think what many may agree on is the fact that what we are doing to combat social injustice, inequality, discrimination, racism etc… is not enough and a deeper look at why such injustices continue to increase in occurrence and severity is required. So, as the year comes to an end, I ask the same question that I started my first social justice article with; how does modern day society attain real social justice that works for all? My response? Through constant work and dedication. By accepting the fact that change will not come overnight and potentially may not be seen during our lifetime, if we continue to seek what is right for humanity, with constant social action and much needed time, I do believe it is possible for true social justice to be attained. But for now, the real work continues.

Have a Happy Holiday and a Prosperous New Year!