A few comments here have talked about God and retribution, and accusing me of missing the spiritual side of this issue. I have not missed it. I have avoided it. I do not think that one person, any person, from any spiritual system, can interpret for the rest of the 8 billion human beings on earth, how their version of “God” would mete out justice to those who have transgressed. As far as I am concerned, this article is about human beings, not gods, and the options available to us, as human beings, so that we can move on from the crime committed against us, as human beings. I do not speak for any god, and do not accept that any other human being can tell me they are speaking on behalf of any god.
“Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.”
I agree about forgiving but not forgetting. I choose to forgive because it's good for my health - it's not about them, it's about me. I believe that amends must be made, but probably won't be. I would like to see trials, apologies, and guards put in place so that this never happens again. I don't have high hopes, but I will keep calling for it nonetheless.
Great perspective. You’re right most people these days have learned to be so divisive, ready to hate on anyone from “the other side”. And lots of egos on steroids.
Know this in your heart: there is a type of pain, a variety of despair, a totality of destruction of hope, which so forever weakens the sufferer thereof, that he/she can never feel well or whole or happy again, nor can such ever smile within in the confident hope that they can or will be made whole, even by a loving, caring G-d. Yes, the very will to go on and on, to live and continue, to believe in the possibility of happiness, is weakened or absent or even denied or destroyed.
Such is a small and brief description of the state of innermost feeling and essential belief occurring in persons-yes, people- who have been terribly hurt, almost destroyed in body and soul by trauma(s) , especially those perceived as having been directed personally against them, without reason.
I know this in my flesh and in my mind and in what is left of my soul, for I have-again- borne the destruction and crushing pain from inescapable force of evil intent directed against me , and without hope of mercy or escape.
When hope is gone and loss is crushing and irremediable, as it is now, again, I choose to be vengefully angry and I refuse , adamantly, to be “pacified” by the unctuous blandishments of the soulless castrati or the terminally bland. Even G-d gets angry and exacts retribution...
As for me, I have become of the opinion, illustrated by the old military dictum, “Kill them all, let G-d sort them out”.
No amnesty, no forgiveness ever. When the people known as “they” bring back my beloved sweetheart...
when they restore my faith and hope and losses...
when they have publically confessed and debased themselves abjectly
and openly, and to me personally...
then and only then will I even try to begin consideration of a small possibility of... perhaps eventually... becoming less angry. Forgive, never. Forget, NEVER.
OK, so do you object to my idea of no amnesty for the policy designers? How far down the hierarchy do you want to see which type of justice applied? Perhaps you have thought about how to do this longer and more clearly than I have (long covid addles the brain) and can help me think it through more clearly. Maybe you have been exposed to different subgroups to me. What are they and how should each be expected to make redress? One key criterion is that whatever we want to do must be achievable.
A few comments here have talked about God and retribution, and accusing me of missing the spiritual side of this issue. I have not missed it. I have avoided it. I do not think that one person, any person, from any spiritual system, can interpret for the rest of the 8 billion human beings on earth, how their version of “God” would mete out justice to those who have transgressed. As far as I am concerned, this article is about human beings, not gods, and the options available to us, as human beings, so that we can move on from the crime committed against us, as human beings. I do not speak for any god, and do not accept that any other human being can tell me they are speaking on behalf of any god.
“Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.”
I agree about forgiving but not forgetting. I choose to forgive because it's good for my health - it's not about them, it's about me. I believe that amends must be made, but probably won't be. I would like to see trials, apologies, and guards put in place so that this never happens again. I don't have high hopes, but I will keep calling for it nonetheless.
Great perspective. You’re right most people these days have learned to be so divisive, ready to hate on anyone from “the other side”. And lots of egos on steroids.
Did you read my article? I identified three different groups that face different retribution. You should read it. And I specified NOT YET.
Know this in your heart: there is a type of pain, a variety of despair, a totality of destruction of hope, which so forever weakens the sufferer thereof, that he/she can never feel well or whole or happy again, nor can such ever smile within in the confident hope that they can or will be made whole, even by a loving, caring G-d. Yes, the very will to go on and on, to live and continue, to believe in the possibility of happiness, is weakened or absent or even denied or destroyed.
Such is a small and brief description of the state of innermost feeling and essential belief occurring in persons-yes, people- who have been terribly hurt, almost destroyed in body and soul by trauma(s) , especially those perceived as having been directed personally against them, without reason.
I know this in my flesh and in my mind and in what is left of my soul, for I have-again- borne the destruction and crushing pain from inescapable force of evil intent directed against me , and without hope of mercy or escape.
When hope is gone and loss is crushing and irremediable, as it is now, again, I choose to be vengefully angry and I refuse , adamantly, to be “pacified” by the unctuous blandishments of the soulless castrati or the terminally bland. Even G-d gets angry and exacts retribution...
As for me, I have become of the opinion, illustrated by the old military dictum, “Kill them all, let G-d sort them out”.
No amnesty, no forgiveness ever. When the people known as “they” bring back my beloved sweetheart...
when they restore my faith and hope and losses...
when they have publically confessed and debased themselves abjectly
and openly, and to me personally...
then and only then will I even try to begin consideration of a small possibility of... perhaps eventually... becoming less angry. Forgive, never. Forget, NEVER.
OK, so do you object to my idea of no amnesty for the policy designers? How far down the hierarchy do you want to see which type of justice applied? Perhaps you have thought about how to do this longer and more clearly than I have (long covid addles the brain) and can help me think it through more clearly. Maybe you have been exposed to different subgroups to me. What are they and how should each be expected to make redress? One key criterion is that whatever we want to do must be achievable.