Luke's Thunder

Candidly, I put very little stock in what the Bible has to say. I do not begrudge anyone who finds comfort within the pages, but for me it was weaponized, and I will always see it that way. Surely, my sentiments are not for lack of familiarity with its contents. In fact, it could be that familiarity breeds contempt. That being said, I have been pondering again about justice... particularly the INjustice of our criminal justice system - demonstrated for all of us in the obscene Facebook post from Attica's Corrections Officer Gregory C. Foster, happily condoned by several other COs... and how true, worthwhile justice repairs, restores, and heals. To my chagrin, my familiarity with scripture brought to mind Isaiah chapter 58. At first I chided myself for reverting to trauma pathways. Then, I started thinking more about the actual content of the chapter (and how the Irwins interpreted it for their own gain and control.) I began to wonder at the irony of our current political climate. W

 NOTE: Originally published 5/6/22 142 days. [09/26/2022] 726 days. [05/02/2024] 1395 days. [03/02/2026] 5419 days. [03/08/2037] Days. What happens in a day? Can the mere passage of time tip the scales closer to justice? What will happen in the next 142 days? At the end of that time, Joseph Irwin will be released from prison. What will he have learned? I have little doubt that he will have learned to be shrewder in his dealings, so next time he won’t have to pay for his crimes. What has his mind concocted during his time behind bars? Has he been introspective, recognizing that he fully embraced all aspects of the privilege into which he was born to dominate, brutalize, and even kill? Or will the evil in him have had a chance to develop more, to mature into an all-consuming cancer ready to absorb more victims? I do not feel safer knowing that Joseph will have spent nearly 7 years incarcerated. I have zero confidence that any transformative justice will come about as a resu

The judge declares, "I am sentencing you to 10 years in state prison..." OK, but what does that really mean? What does that look like? Is it simply that you are released from one cult only to be imprisoned by another? Well, kinda. Is it like The Blip that is part of the Marvel Avengers storyline? After 10 years of absence, you can return to the life you had before you went in? Definitely not.  10-year sentence. Some say it's nowhere near long enough. Some would have sentenced the convicted like Doc Hudson wanted to do with Lightning McQueen. "All right, I wanna know who's responsible for wrecking my town, Sheriff. I want his hood on a platter! I'm gonna put him in jail 'til he rots. No, check that... I'm gonna put him in jail 'til the jail rots on top of him, then I'm gonna move him to a new jail and let that jail rot." But in Pixar's Cars , what actually plays out is transformative justice--a realization and demonstration that active