Ben Lisk

HELA 10 Pd 3
Mr. Lundstrom
11/5/15
Don't Confuse Revenge with Justice
Robert Jordan, an American author once said, But men often mistake killing and
revenge for justice. They seldom have the stomach for justice. Many people get
confused with the difference between revenge and justice. Revenge is personal and is
used when getting back at someone. Justice on the other hand, is impersonal and
benefits both sides of the conflict. These approaches to resolving an issue is very
different and people need to realize the difference between the two.
Revenge is the more violent way to fix a problem. In the article, Dont Confuse
Revenge with Justice: Five Key Differences written by Leon F. Seltzer he states, The
driving impetus behind revenge is to get even. So, revenge is selfish and is for the on
good of whoever is doing it. theres actual pleasure experienced in causing others to
suffer for the hurt theyve caused the avenger, or self-perceived victim (Seltzer).
Revenge may be a way to help you feel better but it can go on for a long time. Both
sides of the problem will just try to get even with one another. Revenge typically
begets more revenge (Seltzer). This quote displays that revenge often never ends and
it keeps going back and forth. Seltzer also said, "It's a protest, or payback, and its
foremost intent is to harm." Revenge is personal, harmful, and is distant from justice.
Justice is not as extreme as revenge. According to Seltzer, social justice is
impersonal. This means it is not one person going after another it is just doing what is

right and what the person or group deserves. Next, justice is grounded in
assumptions, conventions, and doctrines having to do with honor fairness and virtue
(Seltzer). In other words, justice is making things fair. Also, when justice is put down,
that ends the problem. Nothing more comes about the incident or problem because
justice has made things fair. Another satisfying point by Leon F. Seltzer is, "It centers on
proportion as it equates to fairness." Justice is just making things right according to
Seltzer. Unlike revenge, emotion is not what causes revenge.
Revenge and justice are alike but different at the same time. Revenge is about
retaliation; justice about restoring balance (Seltzer). Once again, revenge is getting
even and justice is making things fair. Also, Leon F. Seltzer stated, revenge is by
nature, personal; justice is impersonal. So, the definition of revenge is to get back at
someone from the personal standpoint. Also, it is to harm the victim and the revenger
feels good about what they are doing to the sufferer. Emotion drives the attacker to do
what they do. The definition of justice is when the individual is gotten what they deserve
to make things fair. It resolves the matter in a more peaceful way. It is impersonal and
not emotional like revenge is. An example of justice is when someone is murdered then
the murderer gets caught and put into jail for the rest of their lives. Taking that same
situation, say the victim's family tries to get back at the murderer. That would be
revenge because emotion drives the family and it is personal. These two words often
get mixed up with each other. They are two contrasting actions.
To wrap things up, revenge is more violent and exclusive to one person,

therefore contrad

icitng justice. Most things police officers do are ju

stice and

not revenge. Revenge ordinarily takes place in something that the law is not involved
with. What people get to make things fair is called justice. And what people do to get
even or feel better about a situation or damage another human is called revenge. So,
we have determined how to distinguish revenge and justice from one another.