Philosopher, writer and editor Martha Nussbaum explored the role of anger in movements led by Martin Luther King Jr., Ghandi, and Nelson Mandela in a lecture titled “Anger and Revolutionary Justice” on Wednesday as part of the 10th Christian Culture Lecture at Saint Mary’s.Nussbaum began the lecture by reflecting on an ancient Greek story in which Athena persuades the Furies in a city to re-orient themselves and adopt attitudes of benevolence, thus liberating the city with justice because of the transition, she said.“Political justice does not put a cage around resentment, it must ultimately transform it from something barely human, excessively bloodthirsty, to something human,” she said. ” … Anger with all its ugliness is a very popular emotion. Many people think it is impossible to carry out justice without anger.”Nussbaum said many people believe anger is a necessary component in supporting one’s beliefs and defending self-worth and often involves the idea of ‘payback,’ or retribution.“The most popular issue in the sphere of criminal justice today is retribution, that is, the view that the law must punish transgressions in a manner that embodies the spirit of justified anger,” Nussbaum said. “ … Anger is at the heart of revolutionary transformation.“We think about payback all the time,” Nussbaum said. “It is very common to think that the proportionality between crime and punishment somehow makes good. Only it doesn’t.”Nussbaum described three paths to deal with anger: the path of status, which is self-focused, the payback path, which results in the offender suffering, or the better, more rational spirit of looking forward and ‘do what makes sense’ option.This third rational option requires a stage known as the “transition stage” and is the stage used by the three leaders in the transition from anger to passionate hope, she said.One must take courage and learn from the legacies of three noble, successful freedom movements conducted in the spirit of non-anger — those of Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela, Nussbaum said.“Now there is indeed anger in King’s [I Have a Dream] speech, at least at first … but King gets busy reshaping it to work and thought for how could it [anger] be made good,” Nussbaum said.Nussbaum said a strategy of transition anger is necessary, which she defined as a movement from anger with all its defects into a forward constructive form and work.“Anger towards opponents is to be transformed into a mental attitude that carefully separates the deed from the doer. … After all, the ultimate goal, as King says, is to create the world where all can live together,” Nussbaum said.Mandela also embraced this method, Nussbaum said.“Payback was natural and easy, Mandela took the difficult course. … A generous spirit was far more useful for the nation,” Nussbaum said. “Mandala asked, ‘How shall I produce cooperation and friendship?’ It is this remarkable capacity for generosity that was Mandela’s genius.“It’s a difficult goal, but it’s that goal that I’m recommending for both individuals and institutions. Anger is a prominent threat. … I hesitate to end with a slogan that will portray my age, but it really is time to ‘Give Peace a Chance.’”Tags: Christian Culture Lecture, martha nussbaum
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AVB expects twists and turns
Fifth-placed Spurs twice came from behind to draw 2-2 at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night, but their fate is no longer in their own hands ahead of matches with Stoke and Sunderland. Villas-Boas’ side are one point behind Arsenal and three behind Chelsea and have a far inferior goal difference to their London rivals. “The destiny’s not in our hands any more,” the Portuguese said. “What we have to do is what we had to do also, to win the next fixtures and hopefully see if somebody can slip up and change our position.” Villas-Boas expects the next round of fixtures – Chelsea’s match at Aston Villa on Saturday, Spurs’ Sunday contest with Stoke and Arsenal’s Tuesday clash with FA Cup finalists Wigan – will determine the top-four battle. “This next fixture is decisive for everybody,” he said. “Arsenal has had this whole time to rest (since playing at QPR last Saturday). It won’t be an advantage for Wigan to play after an FA Cup final so early, but that’s the reality. Chelsea have a difficult game at Villa, we have an extremely difficult game against Stoke. I think anything can happen.” Villas-Boas praised the contribution of Emmanuel Adebayor in a match he described as one of the games of the season. “Adebayor’s performance was absolutely outstanding,” the Spurs boss said. “He’s been struggling with knee pain and he put himself forward for the team with a great game and a great performance.” Chelsea must wait to secure their Champions League return after being pegged back twice by Spurs. Interim boss Rafael Benitez was frustrated by his side’s failure to net a third and end the match as a contest and lamented the defensive failings which contributed to Spurs’ equalisers. “We had the chances on counter attacks to score the third goal and finish the game,” Benitez said. “It was an open game. We were in control and we didn’t win. “Adebayor was offside, but still we have to defend a little bit better. The tempo of the game was too high. It was massive for both teams. We didn’t have legs. We had players that were tired, especially in the wide areas. We had a problem with the (Spurs) full-backs going forward.” Andre Villas-Boas expects twists and turns in the final two matches of the Barclays Premier League season as his Tottenham side hope to sneak into the Champions League at the expense of Chelsea or Arsenal.
Press Association