Chapter 4 - The Friend
While the hobo continued to ramble, a car pulled up and a voice asked, “Is that you Lempo?”
Surprised, Lempo replied, “Yeah, who is that?” He turned around and recognized who it was, “What’s up Jokin? Where you been? I haven’t seen you in a long time.”
Jokin, ignoring the question, said, “Man, what are you doing with that hobo? Don’t tell me you’ve been listening to that raving lunatic.”
“Have you ever heard what he has to say? He talks about some real stuff.”
“Yeah, I’ve heard about his crazy stories. Don’t listen to a word he says, he’s just like the rest of the homeless, crazy and delusional. Get in the car; let’s get away from this crazy hobo.”
Lempo wanted to continue talking with the hobo, but he saw that he was still raving on. Assuming that the hobo was done talking for now, Lempo decided to leave with Jokin. Opening the door to the car, Lempo said, “This is a nice car. When did you buy it?”
Jokin smiled and said, “Man get in the car, I’ll tell you all about it on the ride. Where were you going?”
“Take me to the nearest laundromat.”
“Alright.”
Now in the car, Lempo said, “I haven’t seen you in years, last time I remember you were acting up so your parents sent you to a boarding school out of state.”
“That’s the best thing that ever happened to me. Over there I got my act together and started listening to my parents and teachers. I even made my parents proud by enrolling into law school, like they always wanted me to. When they found out I was accepted into law school, my parents bought me this car as a present. That was two years ago.”
“What are you doing back?”
“I came to visit during school vacation…”
Before Jokin could continue talking, Lempo said, “Are you sure law school is the best place for you? I was just talking with that hobo back there and he was saying...”
Interrupting Lempo, Jokin said, “Don’t start with that nonsense bro. That guy’s crazy, he doesn’t know what he’s talking about.”
“Actually he was saying some things that sounded real, especially since it was he who witnessed them.”
“I know, I’ve heard it all before, how prosecutors are evil, lying and cheating to get convictions; how poor people are taken advantage by our legal system. I assure you, it’s nothing like that. In law school they don’t teach us how to commit injustices toward the poor who get caught up in our justice system.”
“Of course the school doesn’t teach you that,” said Lempo, “They teach you the theory of justice, but theory and the arbitrary way people practice it are two different things. And if the students want a career in law for reasons other than upholding justice, then of course the justice system isn’t going to be about justice, because the people in it don’t care or know what justice really is.”
Composed, Jokin replied, “The problem with your argument is that it’s all held up by assumption. How do you know that we don’t care about justice or that the reason we go into law school is to uphold justice? You can’t read people’s mind or generalize all law students into a certain category.”
“Yeah, you’re right; so then, how about you tell me why you enrolled in law school and if you know what justice really is?”
“I don’t know if we have time, since we’re almost at the laundromat.”
“If you have time, park in front and we’ll get out and talk about this, unless you’re afraid I’ll find out the truth about you and the rest of your alumni at law school.”
Chuckling, Jokin said, “I have nothing to hide. Okay, then; we’ll continue this talk when we get there.”
Silence filled the car until they arrived at the laundromat. Pulling in and coming to a stop, both passengers got out and Jokin sat on the back of his car and Lempo remained standing. Jokin broke the silence saying, “So, what is it you want to know?”
“What is justice?”
After some mental deliberation, Jokin said, “That question is too abstract. Justice can mean different things to different people.”
“I don’t want to know all the different ways people interpret justice; I want to know the basic idea of what justice is. All the different interpretations of justice should be derived from one basic idea of justice. So what is it?”
“I can’t answer that; what is justice to me, as a law student hoping to be a prosecutor, is different to people I might be prosecuting, or even to defense attorneys.”
“But, shouldn’t it be the same definition of justice for everybody, if everyone is working under the same justice system?”
Jokin was silent for a moment and before he could respond Lempo said, “Never mind, let’s just start by you telling me what justice means to you.”
“That’s an easy answer; justice is putting criminals behind bars.”
“Alright, I can work with that. So who are the criminals?”
“Isn’t it obvious? They are the people who have been arrested for committing a crime.”
“So, everybody who is arrested is a criminal?”
“Yes.”
“Then, to you, what is the opposite of justice?”
“When we have to let a criminal go due to insufficient evidence or someone mishandling something in a case; pretty much when someone is able to wiggle away from the honorable grip of the law.”
“Can it be that in some cases there is not enough evidence because that person is innocent?”
“No, it just means that they were cunning and able to cheat their way out of deserved justice.”
“So, in your eyes, anyone who is arrested cannot be innocent under any circumstances and therefore must be guilty? Are police that infallible that they can’t arrest any innocent people?”
“People who are absolutely innocent will not put themselves in a position where they could be arrested.”
“What are you saying? That even if a person didn’t commit the crime they’re accused of, it’s still right to arrest them because they must have done something else wrong? Is this what you’re saying?”
Jokin replied, “In a sense that is what I’m saying. But you are making is sound like the person arrested is innocent of any kind of wrongdoing.”
Lempo, feeling the vibration of his phone warning him the battery was extremely low, continued the conversation saying, “If someone gets arrested but is actually innocent, you’re assuming he’s still guilty because he was arrested. But since you haven’t caught him committing a crime, then that means you are falsely accusing him. I don’t see how this is justice, if the person is being charged with a crime he didn’t commit.”
“Whether he committed the crime he was arrested for is irrelevant because, by being arrested, he’s a criminal and criminals need to be locked away so they won’t continue hurting anyone in the future.”
“But these are false accusations. You’re willing to put someone away with lies? I thought justice was supposed to be upheld by truth?”
“The truth would be what I could prove in court.”
“But how can this be justice if you can potentially put someone in prison for a crime they didn’t commit?”
“So you want us to let the criminal go, because he was too good to get caught committing a crime? And we were unfortunate enough to get him for something he didn’t do? Whether he commits this specific crime or not doesn’t make him less of a criminal. Letting a conniving criminal like this go will be an injustice to society and it will only serve to embolden this criminal even more.”
“But I don’t see how this is justice…”
In a harsher tone, Jokin said, “When a criminal is put behind bars that is justice, whether he committed the crime he is found guilty of or not.”
Lempo thought, “Is this what humanity likes? To get things done, even if it takes lying, deceiving, and outright throwing away the truth? This is truly a dark and miserable world.”
Lempo stood staring at Joking for a couple of seconds before saying, “Okay, imagine this scenario, a man is walking down the street from the bus stop on his way home, returning from a long day at work. Let’s say a robbery happened a couple of blocks away and, unfortunately, this man fits the description of the robber, even having the same color of clothes. Now let’s say the police run into this innocent man, question him, and arrest him, a perfectly law abiding citizen who works hard and just happened to look like the actual robber. This man is only guilty of two things, looking like the criminal, and being in the wrong place at the wrong time. So, in your opinion, would it be justice to put this man in prison?”
Jokin furrowed his brow, avoiding Lempo’s triumphant stare. Shaking his head he said, “That is a fake scenario. We’re talking about real events and happenings.”
“How is this any different than you assuming a person, innocent of what he’s been arrested for, is guilty of something else? You cannot say that my scenario is fake, because things like that have actually happened before, you’re just too blind to see it.”
In a serious voice, Jokin said, “Don’t start…”
Before he could finish, Lempo butt in, “My bad, okay? I didn’t mean to insult you. Let’s forget I even said that. But for real, honestly contemplate what I said and tell me how it could be justice to put this innocent man behind bars.”
Jokin sat thinking for a moment and finally, he said, “Under these circumstances I would not try to put this man behind bars.”
Smirking, Lempo said, “But doing that would go against what you said earlier, that everyone who was arrested was a criminal.”
“The man in your scenario is obviously not a criminal.”
“Yeah, I know, but how would you know that, having already made up your mind that everyone who is arrested is a criminal and should be behind bars. In your mind, this innocent man is already guilty, because he was arrested, so how will you even begin to believe his story? Especially if you think criminals are conniving and deceitful. You’re going to think that this man is only saying he’s innocent in order to get away. You’ll put him in the same category, of being a criminal, as you do everyone else who’s arrested, and not even think twice about putting him behind bars.”
Jokin jumped down from the car and maintained his stare at Lempo. Leaning against the car, Jokin said, “I guess that’s just the price that must be paid for being able to efficiently put away a lot of hardened criminals.”
“Are you telling me it’s okay to put innocent people in prison?”
“If I start to believe everybody’s story, then prison will be a very empty place and the criminals will be roaming around thinking they can get away with anything. If one out of a hundred people in prison is innocent, but the other ninety-nine are guilty, dangerous criminals, then I think locking up that one innocent man is a worthy price to pay.”
“I can’t believe you are saying these things. Do you ever listen to what you’re saying? I don’t think it’s ever right to put an innocent person in prison just because he looks like a criminal.”
Jokin continued, “Like I said earlier, if I believe one man’s story, then I have to believe the next man’s and the next after him, and so on. I would have to think everyone’s innocent and prove to everyone, including myself, that they are guilty.”
Lempo, wide-eyed, said, “Isn’t this how the justice system’s supposed to be, innocent until proven guilty?”
Jokin laughed a little bit before saying, “You’re so naïve Lempo. Think about it, I can’t afford to think in that manner. Think about how many criminals will be able to lie and cheat themselves out of facing justice? I know, it might be hard for you to understand, but this is how the system must be run in order to successfully rid the streets of all the thugs and bad guys.”
Trying his best to remain composed, Lempo asked, “Will you even care about putting the criminals away?”
Jokin responded, “I don’t understand what you are trying to ask, you changed the topic.”
“Yes I did, but can you please answer the question?”
“I don’t know what you’re trying to ask.”
“Okay, let me put it this way; is putting criminals in prison, in order to keep society safe, the main reason for you wanting to become a prosecutor?”
“Of course not, what kind of question is that? I don’t think there’s anyone who becomes a prosecutor, or any kind of lawyer for that reason. Going to law school and becoming a lawyer is like going to med school and becoming a doctor. It’s one of those prestigious jobs that people look up to. Not only that, but it’s also highly paid, just like a doctor.”
“So then you don’t care at all about justice or keeping the people in society safe from criminals?”
“Come on Lempo, grow up; this is the real world, not an idealistic paradise you’ve concocted in your mind. Being a lawyer is just another job. Nobody works at a fast food restraint because they care about people being fed well, that probably doesn’t even cross their mind. The only reason someone works a certain job is for the money, any other reason is minor. Honestly, I can care less whether a criminal steals a TV or murders and entire family, as long as I can continue my job making money, winning cases, and getting a good reputation in the legal world.”
Before Lempo could open his mouth to respond, Jokin took his keys out of his back pocket and said, “It was nice talking to you, but I have to get going. Before I leave, I want to tell you that you’re a very sharp kid Lempo and I implore you to put all those smarts into something productive. Stop filling your thoughts with all these unrealistic fancies of yours and forget whatever the hobo told you. See you around.”
Moving out of the way and seeing his old friend leave, Lempo felt a dread he’d never felt before. He stood there and thought, ‘How can he not see how wrong he is? Is the world so dark and miserable that only doing bad seems like the right thing to do? This is a world that produces corrupt and miserable human beings. Is there any meaning to this corrupt world? Is money all that people care about, even though it will never make us truly happy? Does anything that we believe have meaning or are they all reasons we use to make more money?’
O – ‘What about the idea of pure justice as an ideal? This is not a reason for making money.’
X – ‘That might be true, but what purpose does the idea of pure justice serve, if no one actually follows through or even believes in it? People only know its definition, but other than that it has no meaning, like everything else in this world.’
O – ‘Maybe there are some people who believe and follow it, I’ve just never met or head about them.’
X – ‘They probably have ulterior motives for following pure justice and probably only believe in it for their own benefit, and not for justice itself. No one really knows the meaning of true justice because there is no meaning, just like everything else. It’s all meaningless.’
O – ‘Wait, do I even know what true justice is? What is justice?’
X – ‘That is a very good question.’
As Lempo thought these last words, he felt something in his pocket and at that moment he realized his phone was shutting down. “How could this happen? It’s been ages since my phone’s died on me,” thought Lempo as he hurried into the laundromat, eagerly searching for an outlet.