I asked Gemini-ai about this
and it answered in a way
that I really resonate with:
Question:
Can I be on everyone’s side
and still have a sense of fairness and justice?
Gemini:
Yes, absolutely.
In fact, one could argue that a true sense of fairness and justice requires you to be on everyone’s side.
This is a profound and important distinction.
Here’s how they fit together:
Being “on everyone’s side” does not mean condoning everyone’s actions.
It means you are on the side of everyone’s humanity, their inherent worth, and their potential for healing and growth.
When you combine this with justice, you get a much deeper, more compassionate model than simple, cold impartiality:
For the Victim/Harmed Party: Being “on their side” means you fully validate their pain, see their experience as real, and affirm their right to safety, respect, and restoration. Justice demands that their harm be acknowledged and addressed.
For the Perpetrator/Harm-Causer: Being “on their side” does not mean excusing their actions. It means believing in their capacity to understand the harm they caused, to change, and to make amends.
Justice, in this loving sense, isn’t just about punishment (retribution); it’s about accountability as a tool for growth and rehabilitation. To not hold someone accountable for their harmful actions is, in a way, not being on their side, as it allows them to remain in a state of causing harm to others and, ultimately, to themselves.
Fairness as Deep Understanding: True fairness requires the empathy to see the situation from all perspectives.
It asks:
What led to this?
What does the victim truly need to heal?
What does the person who caused harm truly need to change?
Think of it this way:
Neutrality + Justice might say: “You broke the rule. You get the pre-defined punishment.” It’s impartial but cold and detached.
Love + Justice says: “Your action caused real harm, and that is not acceptable. We must address that harm and we must also address the reasons you did it, for the well-being of the person you hurt, the community, and yourself.”
This approach is the very heart of concepts like restorative justice, which focuses on healing the harm rather than just punishing the offender. It can be far more difficult, but it’s rooted in the idea that everyone matters, even when they have done wrong.