(See last post for more context.)
There seem to be two major opinions: combine Mercy, Justice, and Equality or combine Justice and Peace. I lean toward the former of the two: a large part of the specific problem that sent me down this path is that our justice system exhibits mercy (maybe too much) toward white people who commit crimes and misdemeanors, especially rich ones, and so little mercy toward people with brown skins that the mere fact of existing seems to be enough to provoke attacks by police. We can’t have true justice without mercy, and both need to be applied equally.
Peace on the other hand – I love it as a general concept, but it feels too nebulous for this particular purpose. I am personally not happy with Peace and Justice for this project, so I’m going to set that aside for the moment. I might do it another time; I might not.
However, Mercy is problematic as a concept for some (because it implies an adversarial relationship).
Another specific concept that I would be happy to use for the purpose (and which would sidestep the Mercy vs. Peace question) is Civil Rights, which also seems specifically applicable. Human Rights would also work.
I am uncomfortable deciding entirely by fiat, so here’s a poll for the options I’m willing to work with for this particular project.
Vote for all the options you like (you can choose more than one). I’ll leave this up for 24 hours (starting at 1 PM EST, December 9.) and go with the result.
String Geekery 
Hahaha, you tried to get me to make a decision but I ended up voting for all 3 ’cause well, they all worked for me ;D
. o O (Though to be fair, I did have strong leanings for the Justice, Mercy, Equality option; I just couldn’t not vote for the other two >.>)
Harena, you’re the best. I was feeling gloomy, and now I’m feeling better because of you.
Heh, awww, I’m glad I was able to bring cheer! ♥ *hgugles*
I’m a bit late here, but I like equality most of the options. Fantastic idea Naomi, very admirable.
I’m glad you like it!
I don’t understand why mercy is adversarial?
It isn’t so much in the sense that I was thinking of using it, but there are contexts, primarily official ones, in which mercy is given to people who have done something wrong. In that context, it may seem wrong to be telling police/the justice system to be merciful toward African-Americans, because the thing we are protesting is harsh treatment being handed out to people who haven’t done something wrong.
Anyway, that’s the way in which “mercy” presupposes an adversarial relationship.
Thank you for clarifying, that makes sense now. I see mercy as forgiving people who have done wrong but regret it, while justice is about righting those wrongs, so both are important. Of course that is the philosophical meaning rather than the technical legal meaning, which can seem the precise opposite! I love the idea of your project.
This is a comment from a friend of mine who primarily has this sense of the word. My primary meaning for the word is helping people in distress, and yes, sometimes being kind toward people who have acted badly.