Went to see her talk last night in Brooklyn. Got to talk to her after. I asked her who’s obligation it is to address the shunning, the punitive (in)justice, and the rejection/exclusion of members of society.
Her answer: it is the obligation of the friends of the shunned. It’s the obligation of those who care to initiate community intervention and conversation.
The community would rather hope that time can heal wounds that are actually unable to be healed alone, or the community relies on institutions to resolve conflict which reinforces the same old power play of relying on an assumed power of the State to balance power.
Look deeper behind the failures of the individuals in a community, and you will often find a failure of their communities.
