This is a word I’ve been meditating on lately. What does it mean to “justify,” and who are we as observers to make that call?

This word has been coming up a lot this week — from unhinged comments from people I know irl to randoms sliding into my DMs, everyone has been demanding to know whether I think that ::insert atrocity:: is “JUSTIFIED” — guess that’s just what happens when you start a podcast dedicated to understanding multiple perspectives (I might even say it’s ‘justified’…)

As I have immersed myself deeper and deeper into the perspectives of each “side” of the conflict, I can say that I deeply understand how this vicious circle culminated in this way. I feel profound sadness and compassion for the reactions of the “other” – it is truly an impossible, yet understandable, situation. To “justify” would imply that anything in this life is “just” in the first place. 

Nothing “justifies” the idea of one people living at the expense of another… but if the feeling is mutual?