Restorative terminology: A modest proposal

by Dan Van Ness

Howard Zehr suggests that at the core of restorative justice are the values of respect, responsibility and relationship. Respect for others, genuine responsibility that acknowledges the true extent to which my actions affect others, and a recognition that the universe is relational and not merely material, all are reflected in what we call restorative justice.

But should we apply that term to all attempts to follow those values?

For example, is civility restorative justice? I recently received an email message from an interesting group called  Civilination whose mission "is to foster an online culture where every person can freely participate in a democratic, open, rational and truth-based exchange of ideas and information, without fear or threat of being the target of unwarranted abuse, harassment, or lies." In other words, they want online culture to reflect respect, responsibility and relationships. They believe their work is connected to restorative justice and wanted us to inform our readers of their important work (which we've now done!).

May 02, 2011 Living, Theory, Definition, Correspondent:Dan Van Ness, Distinguishing

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