I decided to review some basic word definitions in order to understand more clearly this section of tonight’s reading.

ret·ri·bu·tion

noun: retribution
1.
punishment that is considered to be morally right and fully deserved.
“settlers drove the Navajo out of Arizona in retribution for their raids”
synonyms: punishment, penalty, one’s just deserts;revenge, reprisal, requital, retaliation, vengeance, an eye for an eye (and a tooth for a tooth), tit for tat, lex talionis, retributive justice;redress, reparation, restitution, recompense, repayment, atonement, indemnification, amends “officials condemned the bombing and vowed retribution”

venge·ance

noun: vengeance

1.
punishment inflicted or retribution exacted for an injury or wrong.

synonyms:revenge, retribution, retaliation, payback, requital, reprisal, satisfaction, an eye for an eye (and a tooth for a tooth)
“your appetite for vengeance has destroyed your life”

jus·tice

noun: justice; plural noun: justices

1.
just behavior or treatment.
“a concern for justice, peace, and genuine respect for people”
synonyms:fairness, justness, fair play, fair-mindedness, equity, evenhandedness, impartiality, objectivity, neutrality, disinterestedness, honesty, righteousness, morals, morality
“I appealed to his sense of justice”

pro·tec·tion

noun: protection

1.
the action of protecting someone or something, or the state of being protected. “the B vitamins give protection against infection”
synonyms: defense, security, shielding, preservation, conservation, safekeeping, safeguarding, safety, sanctuary, shelter, refuge, lee, immunity, insurance, indemnity “protection against frost”safekeeping, care, charge, keeping, protectorship, guidance, aegis, auspices, umbrella, guardianship, support, patronage, championship, providence.

The woman in the story was raped repeatedly BEFORE her union with Jessie the Janitor. He, having lived with her had seen her suffering. In this way, not only had it impacted his life as no children could be conceived due to the rape, but it also harmed her life.

I believe he practiced retribution and therefore enacted the initiation of force against these individuals against their wills (even as they had done to his wife). I would call this retributive retaliation and not justice, as justice is defined above.

The initiation of force is the act of one man initiating force against another, as opposed to retaliatory force. Force includes such acts as murder, theft, threats, and fraud. It is acting against another person without their consent.

The initiation of force is never moral. Man’s nature is such that he survives by reason. Survival by reason requires the ability to act on your reason. Force destroys that ability. When you use force against someone, you are destroying their ability to survive by destroying their ability to use reason, and their ability to survive will suffer to the extent that force is used.

When force is introduced into the equation of human relations, survival becomes harder and harder until everyone dies. If there is some parasite living off others, one thing is clear: he needs his victims while they do not need him. If you use force to get what you want, not only do you give him reason to retaliate, but you diminish your own ability to survive by becoming dependent on your victim.

The difference between the initiation of force and retaliatory force is that retaliatory force is a response to force. It is force meeting force in kind. It is the only proper response to a person who initiates force.

Since force inhibits survival, men can only thrive within a society if they are shielded from the coercion of others.

So Protection is about protection from harm in the future and immediate, Retaliation is always in the past tense.

I cannot call these events as read tonight Justice as justice is just behavior or treatment as in a concern for justice, peace, and genuine respect for people; and having the synonyms of fairness, justness, fair play, fair-mindedness, equity, even handedness, impartiality, objectivity, neutrality, disinterestedness, honesty.

I believe that when these men were attempting to harm Jessie’s wife and he were there at that present time he would be justified in using a weapon to harm them as he was immediately protecting his wife from harm. Retaliation is the messenger of war and destruction.

Elaine Ray