The Justice Project
Overview- This project started off with going over what justice actually is, and all of the underlying categories within the greater sphere of justice. We cut justice into various different theories-each based on valuing certain principles of justice more than others. One example was equity vs equality or a case study such as Thomas Rawls' veil of ignorance. Within this, we examined how these theories of justice apply to our environment and we we use it. We discovered that marginalized communities are often victimized within our current environmental ethics system. With this framework, we posited the question "What is the most just way to use our environment?"
During the course of this project, we examined the concept of justice through many lenses. We wrote a justice monologue on our own personal philosophy of justice, based on readings and case studies of a variety of philosophies. My personal philosophy aligned most closely with John Rawls and the Dalai Lama. Next, we watched a film titled "True Justice" on the efforts of an African American lawyer to provide proper representation for clients of death row who are treated poorly by our justice system. We then watched a second film, "Beyond Standing Rock" about different native communities' approaches to environmental justice. We looked at push back against environmental exploitation and taking their resources back into their own hands. We delved deeply into the Bears Ears National Monument issue, a controversial topic between many stakeholders. We then made a second justice monologue, this one was video based. This was a case study looking at an environmental incident and the ethics behind it. I looked at the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and the questionably ethical clean up that followed.
During the course of this project, we examined the concept of justice through many lenses. We wrote a justice monologue on our own personal philosophy of justice, based on readings and case studies of a variety of philosophies. My personal philosophy aligned most closely with John Rawls and the Dalai Lama. Next, we watched a film titled "True Justice" on the efforts of an African American lawyer to provide proper representation for clients of death row who are treated poorly by our justice system. We then watched a second film, "Beyond Standing Rock" about different native communities' approaches to environmental justice. We looked at push back against environmental exploitation and taking their resources back into their own hands. We delved deeply into the Bears Ears National Monument issue, a controversial topic between many stakeholders. We then made a second justice monologue, this one was video based. This was a case study looking at an environmental incident and the ethics behind it. I looked at the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and the questionably ethical clean up that followed.
Justice Monologue 1
An important concept in determining if a society is just or not is the veil of ignorance. The veil of ignorance questions whether, knowing nothing about your own traits or the traits of your family, which society you would choose to be born into. Rawls is illustrating the importance of a just society being even for all members. The highest and lowest members of society must be provided with enough “stuff” that, without knowing which group a person falls into, they know that their baseline life will be livable. A central tenet of Rawls’ theory of justice is thinking about what a society would look like if everyone entered a social contract based on fairness. This philosophy would do away with concepts such as social classes or judgments of personal qualities such as intelligence or physical strength, and replace those ideas with cooperation based on equality and freedom.
I connect this with the Dalai Lama’s concept of justice as compassion. The Dalai Lama argued that compassion must be shown in the course of criminal justice, that one must still view a wrongdoer as a person. I believe this can be extended to a general society. We must show compassion to the other members of society, regardless of their position. A nation that shows compassion from top to bottom is a nation that is appealing to someone observing from behind the veil of ignorance.
Howard Zinn discusses a fascinating concept of justice versus law and order that resonated with me. As we witness the turmoil our country is currently going through and the racial tension present, the ideas of justice and law and order are polarizing. But it is not acceptable to sit idly by and choose the comfort of law and order, when justice is not prevailing, and fairness is not existent to large segments of society. I already fear that our country is becoming unjust. Zinn pointed out the story that in the 1960’s a Harvard student delivered Hitler’s words to a crowd, which got them cheering scares me. The student said Hitler’s words, “The streets of our country are in turmoil! The universities are filled with students rebelling and rioting!...We need law and order! Without law and order our nation cannot survive.” And it made me cringe as I see history repeating itself. We have a government and a society that is losing its way and failing to give justice to all of its citizens. The most egregious example of that came out recently- that our own Department of Homeland Security was ordered to speak positively about 17 year old Kyle Rittenhouse going vigilante, killing protestors seeking justice. This murderer is being glorified as upholding the ideals of law and order, while people seeking justice are vilified.
An important concept in determining if a society is just or not is the veil of ignorance. The veil of ignorance questions whether, knowing nothing about your own traits or the traits of your family, which society you would choose to be born into. Rawls is illustrating the importance of a just society being even for all members. The highest and lowest members of society must be provided with enough “stuff” that, without knowing which group a person falls into, they know that their baseline life will be livable. A central tenet of Rawls’ theory of justice is thinking about what a society would look like if everyone entered a social contract based on fairness. This philosophy would do away with concepts such as social classes or judgments of personal qualities such as intelligence or physical strength, and replace those ideas with cooperation based on equality and freedom.
I connect this with the Dalai Lama’s concept of justice as compassion. The Dalai Lama argued that compassion must be shown in the course of criminal justice, that one must still view a wrongdoer as a person. I believe this can be extended to a general society. We must show compassion to the other members of society, regardless of their position. A nation that shows compassion from top to bottom is a nation that is appealing to someone observing from behind the veil of ignorance.
Howard Zinn discusses a fascinating concept of justice versus law and order that resonated with me. As we witness the turmoil our country is currently going through and the racial tension present, the ideas of justice and law and order are polarizing. But it is not acceptable to sit idly by and choose the comfort of law and order, when justice is not prevailing, and fairness is not existent to large segments of society. I already fear that our country is becoming unjust. Zinn pointed out the story that in the 1960’s a Harvard student delivered Hitler’s words to a crowd, which got them cheering scares me. The student said Hitler’s words, “The streets of our country are in turmoil! The universities are filled with students rebelling and rioting!...We need law and order! Without law and order our nation cannot survive.” And it made me cringe as I see history repeating itself. We have a government and a society that is losing its way and failing to give justice to all of its citizens. The most egregious example of that came out recently- that our own Department of Homeland Security was ordered to speak positively about 17 year old Kyle Rittenhouse going vigilante, killing protestors seeking justice. This murderer is being glorified as upholding the ideals of law and order, while people seeking justice are vilified.
Project Defense
1. Our project was running a donation drive to purchase supplies for Durango’s local homeless population. We linked up with a local non-profit that assists homeless people, and set up a GoFundMe to raise money. In addition, we asked friends and family members to donate any supplies they could spare. My specific role was heavily in communications and community outreach. I found and contacted Community Compassion Outreach, and worked with them to determine a list of supplies to donate as well as a place to donate them to. I also created small COVID-19 infocards that we can hand out alongside other objects.
2. My personal philosophy of justice is similar to that of Rawls and the Dalai Lama. This philosophy focuses on the importance of equity in a society, and that all members are viewed as equals. An important concept in determining if a society is just or not is the veil of ignorance. The veil of ignorance questions whether, knowing nothing about your own traits or the traits of your family, which society you would choose to be born into. Rawls is illustrating the importance of a just society being even for all members. The highest and lowest members of society must be provided with enough “stuff” that, without knowing which group a person falls into, they know that their baseline life will be livable. A central tenet of Rawls’ theory of justice is thinking about what a society would look like if everyone entered a social contract based on fairness.
I connect this with the Dalai Lama’s concept of justice as compassion. We must show compassion to the other members of society, regardless of their position. A nation that shows compassion from top to bottom is a nation that is appealing to someone observing from behind the veil of ignorance.
Our project addresses the significant injustice of homelessness, especially during a pandemic. Obviously, being homeless in a rich society is evidence of a pervasive economic inequality present in the United States. To me, housing should be a right, similar to health care. But, addressing homelessness in a community requires collaboration and cooperation of many stakeholders within the community- city government, law enforcement, and nonprofit groups working together to find solutions for unhomed members. During the Covid-19 pandemic, this population is even more vulnerable, as they can not safely isolate while still having access to community resources of need, such as food and water. Our project was 2-pronged. We held a donation drive for needed food and winter weather supplies, and for Covid prevention supplies, namely masks and hand sanitizer. Working through a nonprofit, Community Compassion Outreach, our project of donating needed supplies addresses the injustice of safety for unhomed individuals, both during winter months and during the pandemic.
3. My group did quite a lot of background research on this topic. We read through the newly developed City of Durango and La Plata County Strategic Plan on Homelessness, in addition to articles from the Durango Herald on the establishment of the camping area at Purple Cliffs. We discovered the nonprofit Community Compassion Outreach by reading those sources and reached out to them about which supplies are needed so we could do a donation drive. We also thought about how to help during the Covid-19 pandemic and researched that through the CDC website. From that background research, we decided that the best thing we could do would be to provide education, hand sanitizer and masks. From the information on that website, we created info cards and plan to print those and give with the masks and hand sanitizer. I also reached out to Cedar Diagnostics to ask about the possible of a Covid 19 testing site at the purple Cliffs camp, but they said that is something that is already being done by San Juan Basin Public Health. A few things that stood out to me during my research which compelled me to act with more urgency in this area were:
While trying to figure out something we could do to help, we felt that we wanted to focus on Covid response for this vulnerable population, and supplies to help withstand the winter weather. This research helped us narrow down our idea to creating a donation drive and gofundme as a way that we could positively impact members of our community in need.
1. Our project was running a donation drive to purchase supplies for Durango’s local homeless population. We linked up with a local non-profit that assists homeless people, and set up a GoFundMe to raise money. In addition, we asked friends and family members to donate any supplies they could spare. My specific role was heavily in communications and community outreach. I found and contacted Community Compassion Outreach, and worked with them to determine a list of supplies to donate as well as a place to donate them to. I also created small COVID-19 infocards that we can hand out alongside other objects.
2. My personal philosophy of justice is similar to that of Rawls and the Dalai Lama. This philosophy focuses on the importance of equity in a society, and that all members are viewed as equals. An important concept in determining if a society is just or not is the veil of ignorance. The veil of ignorance questions whether, knowing nothing about your own traits or the traits of your family, which society you would choose to be born into. Rawls is illustrating the importance of a just society being even for all members. The highest and lowest members of society must be provided with enough “stuff” that, without knowing which group a person falls into, they know that their baseline life will be livable. A central tenet of Rawls’ theory of justice is thinking about what a society would look like if everyone entered a social contract based on fairness.
I connect this with the Dalai Lama’s concept of justice as compassion. We must show compassion to the other members of society, regardless of their position. A nation that shows compassion from top to bottom is a nation that is appealing to someone observing from behind the veil of ignorance.
Our project addresses the significant injustice of homelessness, especially during a pandemic. Obviously, being homeless in a rich society is evidence of a pervasive economic inequality present in the United States. To me, housing should be a right, similar to health care. But, addressing homelessness in a community requires collaboration and cooperation of many stakeholders within the community- city government, law enforcement, and nonprofit groups working together to find solutions for unhomed members. During the Covid-19 pandemic, this population is even more vulnerable, as they can not safely isolate while still having access to community resources of need, such as food and water. Our project was 2-pronged. We held a donation drive for needed food and winter weather supplies, and for Covid prevention supplies, namely masks and hand sanitizer. Working through a nonprofit, Community Compassion Outreach, our project of donating needed supplies addresses the injustice of safety for unhomed individuals, both during winter months and during the pandemic.
3. My group did quite a lot of background research on this topic. We read through the newly developed City of Durango and La Plata County Strategic Plan on Homelessness, in addition to articles from the Durango Herald on the establishment of the camping area at Purple Cliffs. We discovered the nonprofit Community Compassion Outreach by reading those sources and reached out to them about which supplies are needed so we could do a donation drive. We also thought about how to help during the Covid-19 pandemic and researched that through the CDC website. From that background research, we decided that the best thing we could do would be to provide education, hand sanitizer and masks. From the information on that website, we created info cards and plan to print those and give with the masks and hand sanitizer. I also reached out to Cedar Diagnostics to ask about the possible of a Covid 19 testing site at the purple Cliffs camp, but they said that is something that is already being done by San Juan Basin Public Health. A few things that stood out to me during my research which compelled me to act with more urgency in this area were:
- People who are unhoused – in Durango and beyond – experience serious impacts on their health with life expectancy shortened by approximately 20 years. Just last week, a homeless man froze to death camping in the Purple Cliffs area. Last year, a man had to have both feet amputated after they froze overnight.
- 84% of unhoused people across the United States have pre-existing health conditions, making this population at extreme risk of death due to Covid 19. As stated in an article in The Atlantic, “The connection between housing and health is coldly logical. The sick and vulnerable become homeless, and the homeless become sicker and more vulnerable.” (17 Hayashi, “How Health and Homelessness are Connected—Medically,” The Atlantic, January 25, 2016)
- According to the CDC, communities need to act to help their homeless residents during the pandemic. Connecting people to stable housing should continue to be a priority. However, if individual housing options are not available, allow people who are living in encampments to remain where they are. Encourage people living in encampments to increase space between people and provide hygiene resources.
While trying to figure out something we could do to help, we felt that we wanted to focus on Covid response for this vulnerable population, and supplies to help withstand the winter weather. This research helped us narrow down our idea to creating a donation drive and gofundme as a way that we could positively impact members of our community in need.
Project Reflection
- My group knew we were interested in helping marginalized communities with Covid relief. Covid does not discriminate, but there are still populations that are more vulnerable to the virus, mostly due to living conditions. Originally, we wanted to support the Navajo Nation with Covid relief because of how hard they were hit by Covid early on, and we wanted to offer support for this second wave. We proposed making artistic masks to encourage and improve upon mask wearing rates. However, after doing some preliminary research, we felt that this proposal would not be successful. A few reasons for that are we did not have time to research to find out if not wearing a mask on the reservation is a problem, and if so, why. So we weren’t sure if making cool artistic masks would even address a problem. Also, time and budget were a concern for making these kinds of masks. We decided to pivot and propose helping our local homeless population here in Durango instead. We knew that they are vulnerable to Covid, and had other safety and health needs as well. So, once we switched our project proposal to do something to help out our local homeless community, we were pretty successful. We were successful because we were able to connect with a local nonprofit who works closely to support the community that we wanted to help-Community Compassion Outreach. Through CCO, we were able to get a list of items needed so we could do a donation drive, and a gofundme campaign to try to collect those donations. We were moderately successful. Mostly we were able to get family and family friends to donate. We were not very successful in marketing our campaign to a large audience. We did collect some food, long underwear, tarps, blanket, surgical masks and hand sanitizer. We decided to also write up some info-cards about Covid prevention and what to do if you are sick, to help educate the community as well.
- In our first proposal, we would not have been successful. We did not have the market research to know if our proposal would have even addressed a need. Switching to working locally with a nonprofit helped us be much more successful. However, our campaign did not reach very many people. We did not have a very good approach to marketing. We were able to get our gofundme into the News for the Nest to try to reach Animas families. But our supply drive was just word of mouth requests to people we knew. If we could have come up with a better approach to get the word out, perhaps we could have raised more. However, I think there has also been a lot of donation fatigue recently, and people are being asked to support various causes all the time, so while it is a time of high need for a lot of people, it is also a time of burn out for people as well, making fundraising a bit difficult.
- For this project, I did commit to do some things that I am very comfortable doing, and some things that stretched me because they are a bit anxiety producing for me. I was comfortable brainstorming ideas with the group, expressing ways I thought some ideas were solid and worth pursuing, and saying that other ideas did not seem feasible. I was comfortable researching and making info cards. I was comfortable trying to help edit the wording for our gofundme campaign. I volunteered to contact Community Compassion Outreach on behalf of our group, which I was not comfortable with. I initially tried to call them by phone, and that made me nervous. Not gonna lie, I was relieved when they did not answer. This led me to email them instead, which is easier, but still made me worried that I would word things awkwardly. It ended up being fine. After our donation collections are complete, I will need to contact them again to set up a time to bring the donations to them, and that will be a bit intimidating again, but I know improving my phone skills is a need I will have in my future. I think fundraising in general is not a strength of mine, and I am not comfortable with it. Even asking my grandparents and some family friends if they would be willing to donate made me uncomfortable. I did really want to make a contribution to this community, especially after researching and finding out that a homeless man recently froze to death in the homeless camp. So while doing this kind of work does not feel like a strength of mine, I definitely felt compelled to help and proud that we were able to collect some donations.
- One lesson I learned from this project that I can apply to my senior project is that I enjoy the researching process. Because my senior project will be math based, it will take a lot of background research to learn both the mathematical techniques and coding skills necessary to pull off my project. I feel good about my ability to do that research. And I feel good about my ability to carry out a multi-step project over a long term and to stay organized with it. A second lesson that I learned is that it can be intimidating for me to contact people that I do not know well for assistance. I have a couple of contacts in sports analytics and computer science that I do not know well, but I have thought about reaching out to for my project. This will be difficult for me to do, because since I do not know them well, if they agree to help, I feel like I have to have very specific questions to ask in order to not waste their time. However, I think I work better with other people when we are more casually collaborating and the discussion evolves toward an answer. So these contacts I have may be valuable, or I worry I may ask a silly question that does not ultimately help me with my project.
