Compassionate Judgment

Countless conversations I’ve had with Harvard students about Kaavya Viswanathan’s plagiarism controversy have followed a similar pattern. Someone opens the gossip-fest exclaiming, “Did you hear that the girl with the $500,000 book deal plagiarized 40 passages from someone else’s book?” Then someone else chimes in, “How could she think that she could get away with that?” There is usually some mention of, “What she did was so wrong. I mean, it’s basically stealing.” And we usually conclude, “Well, I guess she got what she deserved.”

I didn’t think there was anything wrong with my reaction—until I sat down to write my column. Two weeks ago, I had decided that I would write my column about judgment—specifically, calling upon Christians to stop being so judgmental towards homosexuals. Many vocal Christian advocacy groups have admonished homosexuals so maliciously that their efforts have yielded more harm than good. They proclaim that their cause is justified because homosexuality is a sin. Perhaps, but so is divorce, a problem that is just as pervasive in the Christian community as it is in the general population. I would remind Christians of John 7:3 where Jesus says, “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?” People should not condemn their peers for their sins because they too are guilty of sin.

After planning a column condemning judgment, I felt like the biggest hypocrite in the world considering my reaction to Kaavya’s plight. When my friends judged her, labeling her as someone who had done something egregiously wrong, I went right along with them in condemning her actions. But I too have done things that can be considered morally wrong. We all have. I have yet to meet someone who has not done something they regretted, but did it anyway because they thought they wouldn’t get caught. So perhaps we don’t have the right to judge, if, as the Bible says, “Do not judge, or you too will be judged.” Even those who do not believe the Bible may share my frustration at people who criticize others for faults that they themselves are guilty of. Religious or not, nobody likes hypocrisy.

Yet, there is a difference between doing things that are morally wrong, like lying and gossiping, and outright breaking the law. I understand that even though we are all guilty of minor moral lapses, we should still judge, condemn and punish those who commit pernicious crimes such as rape, murder, and theft. The question is whether someone who committed plagiarism is worthy of moral condemnation, and if so, to what extent.

While we should refrain from judging for the sake of ridiculing others, we should not be afraid to tell our peers when we think that what they did is wrong, if our intention is to convince them to change their ways. There is a difference between judging someone in order to ostracize them, and telling them that what they did was wrong and that you hope that they will not do it again. These are simple lessons that we learned (or should have learned) in kindergarten, but in light of Kaavya’s plagiarism controversy, it is obvious that there are many of us at Harvard, and elsewhere, who need to be reminded of this. Behold the glee and malice in a Gawker quote, “Let’s just sum it all up with the obvious: Isn’t it kind of awesome to see an overachieving Indian kid finally do something wrong?” Granted, most people were not nearly as spiteful, but there were a great number who gleaned a great amount of pleasure from this event. It is unfortunate that people enjoy pointing out the failings of seemingly perfect people and even more unfortunate for Kaavya that she has been the subject of so much gossip.

While the unmitigated glee some have shown towards Kaavya has clearly been unjust and unwarranted, it needs to be made clear that her behavior is not acceptable. But the role of passing judgment and of meting out punishment belongs to the authorities; in the case of rape, murder, or theft, it is not the community that passes judgment but rather, the courts of law. In Kaavya’s case, judgment will and should be passed by the Administrative Board of Harvard College, her publisher, and perhaps the courts. As a community we should refrain from mercilessly condemning her actions. But perhaps there is room for gentle, constructive judgment, where we might say that we are disappointed by what she has done, and hope that she has learned from the experience.


Loui Itoh ’07 is a government and comparative study of religion concentrator in Quincy House. Her column appears on alternate Wednesdays.