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.
A jury too often has at least one member more ready to hang the panel than to hang the traitor.
Those labeled felons may be denied the right to vote, are automatically excluded from juries, and may be legally discriminated against in employment, housing, access to education, public benefits, much like their grandparents or great grandparents may have been discriminated against during the Jim Crow era.
Mere access to the courthouse doors does not by itself assure a proper functioning of the adversary process.
Justice, not expedience, must be the guiding light. The orator must fix his eye on the polestar of justice, and plough straight thither. The moment he glances toward expediency, he falls from his high estate.
Find out just what any people will quietly submit to and you have the exact measure of the injustice and wrong which will be imposed on them.
Almost one in three Americans has had some contact with the criminal justice system. When you reach that saturation point, people begin to understand, in a very visceral way, the difficulties of reentry.
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