Forgiveness is incredible. The ability of a human being to summon up the power within themselves to not harbor vengeance and anger in their heart over the wrongs done to them, including traumatic, painful wrongs, is stunning. A person struggles not to admire someone with perpetual forgiveness in their hearts; however, at the same time, forgiveness is not the only way. Although forgiveness is incredible, human beings are not obliged to forgive and are not less righteous for not forgiving. Both Roxane Gay and Sophronia Scott engaged the topic of forgiveness with eloquence, intelligence, and ultimately, differing opinions; ultimately, I find myself somewhere between the two of them. While I do not believe that we should allow anger and resentment …show more content…
As Gay mentions in her piece, because of the racism involved in Roof’s murder that still persists and affects and hurts black people after the crime, his action is not forgivable (Why I Can’t Forgive Dylan Roof 4). If an event is still ongoing or a digression is part of a larger issue, then forgiveness is not possible. One cannot forgive someone who continues repeatedly to hurt them; after a point, apologies mean nothing, and sometimes they are never said. Because Roof’s action is tied to a systemic issue as opposed to a random incident, Gay sees no means of forgiving Roof. Forgiveness does not solve every issue, especially when the wrong in question is a part of an ongoing issue. Change was not brought about in the Civil Rights movement via forgiveness; instead change was brought about because people, primarily black people were angry; they were angry over the injustices faced by the likes of Rosa Parks, Emmett Till, Linda Brown, and millions more. Forgiveness would not give them their long withheld rights; nor would it give them the peace in the outside world they …show more content…
My brother is violent and aggressive; I have gone into school having mental breakdowns because of him. I have watched him hurt my father, my mother, and myself. What hurt me the most, sometimes, however was that I could not let go of my desire to forgive him, my desire to love him the same way I loved him when he was younger. In my senior year of high school, my guidance counselor told me that I was not obliged to love someone who hurt me, that I was to put my safety first, and that message resonates with me and this prompt. Sometimes, forgiveness can take more of a toll than anger, especially in cases where one is attempting to forgive someone who continually hurts them. Racism continually has hurt black Americans, and I believe that black people and other people of color have the full right to deny forgiveness to racists. Although I concur that too much anger can be a bad thing, ultimately I believe that in some cases, forgiveness is not the
Dylan Barstow is the protagonist in this story. At first, He’s kind of a careless jerk who only cares about himself. He has been misbehaving and acting out since his father left for the war in Darfur, Sudan and died in action, trying to save other people.
Life as we all know is full of disappointment and filled with disparity. Most of us are able to go through these and learn from and forgive ourselves. Yet, this isn’t always the case. People are faced with traumatic experiences that often take a long time to get over, if they ever do get over it. These experiences brew in our brain popping up at the most random points often bringing our spirits down. Although these experiences may scar us and fill us with regret and guilt, we can’t continue to live in the past and let these regrets haunt us. Self forgiveness is a key to healing and to moving on in life, no matter how hard it is.
“Violence never really deals with the basic evil of the situation. Violence may murder the murderer, but it doesn’t murder murder. Violence may murder the liar, but it doesn’t murder lie; it doesn’t establish truth. Violence may even murder the dishonest man, but it doesn’t murder dishonesty. Violence may go to the point of murdering the hater, but it doesn’t murder hate. It may increase hate. It is always a descending spiral leading nowhere. This is the ultimate weakness of violence: It multiplies evil and violence in the universe. It doesn’t solve any problems.” ― Martin Luther King Jr. (Directly quoted from page 2 of “Quotes About Civil Rights Movement”.) Fourteen year old Emmett Louis Till, was murdered while visiting with relatives in Money, Mississippi. The young boy allegedly flirted with a white sales clerk. Not only was the nation’s reaction, and the bias of the courtroom turbulent factors in the civil rights movement, but the brutality of his murder played a major role as well.
In the past, it is true that African American have suffered injustice, however, today there are still some wounds that needs healing from harsh treatment blacks people experience from whites people back during the civil right movement. Now, some whites are in positions where they are able to use their authority and demand unnecessary respect from minorities in certain situations, just so they could be in control. “In any case, white people, who had robbed black people of their liberty and who profited by this theft every hour that they lived, had no moral ground on which to stand” (Baldwin, 2000, p31). For instance, threatening to fire or suspend someone for not allowing them to be in control is the same attitude people had back then. Because of this, some blacks feel that they need to respond in any way possible to make their point. In other words, the attitude that some blacks have express at some point could be aggressive at time.
Imagine being beaten every time someone makes a mistake. Imagine not being beaten and only later killed for committing one of these mistakes. Imagine loving this individual, too. Now imagine being the one to beat this person for their protection. This is the complex situation of many in the African American community.
Sandomir, Richard. "Forgiving 'Unforgivable Blackness'." The New York Times 18 Jan. 2005, Late Edition(East Coast) ed.: 3 D. Pro Quest. Web. 22 Feb. 2011.
the bars and be gone for hours at a time, leaving his worried wife and
One reason forgiving a person can give the confidence to move on can be seen in the “Render Unto Larry’s”, an op-ed piece written by Phil Holland that tells a story of his childhood. He and his friend Chester stole model paints from a neighborhood store. Although Larry was dead, Holland enters
Forgiving someone is a way to release us from the pain they have brought us. Justice can just be
The essay "Forgiveness," written by June Callwood, explores the concept of forgiving and how it influences people's lives for the better. Her work describes many components of forgiveness, such as how difficult it can be to come to terms with, why it is such a crucial part of humanity, and how it affects all people. Her essay aims to prove that forgiveness is the key to living peacefully and explains specific examples of people who have encountered extremely difficult situations in their lives- all of whom found it within themselves to forgive. To clearly portray this message in her writing, Callwood uses several strategies. She includes fear inducing statistics, makes many references to famous events and leaders, and uses a serious convincing tone, all of which are very effective.
As Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, "He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love.
Forgiveness is crucial for a clear conscience and peace of mind for the both of them. However, all of this is arguable by the fact that today’s experiences are incomparable to those of Hitler’s times. One cannot begin to place one in each other’s shoes and know exactly how to respond to the events happening. One can only guess how they would respond, but until they are in that moment, all plausible reasoning can change. Nevertheless, forgiveness continues to be an aspect of everyday life in every century.
"I forgive them for the world; I forgive them because of family pressure, because of societal pressure. But in my heart, they will always be unforgiven" (NPR Staff).
Forgiveness is the act of releasing an offender of any wrong or hurt they may have caused you whether they deserve it or not. It is a decision to let go of resentment or vengeance toward a person or group of people. When we choose to forgive, we’re wiping the slate clean, cancelling a debt, or as I love to say, “Letting it go.” In the Bible, the Greek word for forgiveness literally means to “let it go.” This concept, “forgiveness,” is easier said than done. Majority of people find it very difficult to let go of offenses and hurts caused by others. I really do believe that most people desire to let it go, but we lack the knowledge of how to do it. As believers, we are instructed by God maintain an attitude of forgiveness.
A strong Christian lesson on the true nature of forgiveness can be found in Christ’s Sermon on the Mount: