When we perceive an injustice, it is easy to conclude that the offender is bad and needs to be punished. People should not behave badly because it upsets us, makes us uncomfortable. We reject both the behavior and victimizer. We conclude that both the action and the person performing the action is evil.

What if we shifted our perception to see acts of injustice as calls for help from those who act out of fear? Would this enable us to re-frame our thoughts about the offender? This is another version of hurt people hurting people, isn't it?

Let us be clear. This does not condone bad behavior, it simply asks us to consider another way. It suggests that if we keep our hearts open, we allow compassion to be our guide rather than judgment and vengeance. After all, what else could it be when one human hurts another human? If we were all acting from a position of love, there could be no perpetrating crimes of any nature against one another. We are rightly sisters and brothers and I know that somewhere inside, we know this to be true.

Criminals, those who commit egregious crimes, especially that result in the murder of a fellow human being, cry out for us to see their pain. They are just as much our brother as is the victim of his crime. They seek our compassion, not our judgment. And while I understand that we must hold them accountable for their actions, we also need to help them.