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It's strange to me how spiritually alien people can be. When the Charleston historic black church was shot by a racist mass shooter, the family of one of the v

by tsol 4y ago

It's strange to me how spiritually alien people can be. When the Charleston historic black church was shot by a racist mass shooter, the family of one of the victims had a chance to speak to the killer. She took the time to say she forgives him and prays for him. This powerful moment is more than theatrics-- it's clears then of the emotional labor of continuing being angry. Forgiveness is required in order to heal. Holding on to anger feels logical but life is more than logic. Telling someone that it could be worse isn't a horrible affront to their suffering. Hearing it put into context of the suffering she regularly sees-- ie things like people slowly dying while their flesh rots with maggots-- mother Teresa is offering people who feel their world has ended an alternative vision. There is a reason she was so lauded, and it's very colorblind to ignore all the people she affected to say she could have done better.

mrguyorama 4y ago
The difference is the Banality of Evil. In a mass shooting, it's one person, often very disturbed, broken in ways, led down an awful path by angry people making up conspiracies and lies. It's a single individual who has gone very dark, and maybe they can be forgiven for taking that path in the situations they were in. Maybe a mother can understand a son going astray, getting swept up in some neo-nazis propaganda or hatred. Hatred is easy to understand. Bhopal happened because some bureaucrats wanted to save a few bucks on engineering and maintenance and there were obvious increased risks from that action but they didn't care because it wouldn't hurt them and they were richer. Now thousands of people are dead. Did the people responsible even end up in prison? There's no emotion in sacrificing others for your personal gain. That should not be forgiven. You knew this could happen. Risks like that should not be profitable.

by tsol 4y ago

mrguyorama 4y ago

The difference is the Banality of Evil. In a mass shooting, it's one person, often very disturbed, broken in ways, led down an awful path by angry people making up conspiracies and lies. It's a single individual who has gone very dark, and maybe they can be forgiven for taking that path in the situations they were in. Maybe a mother can understand a son going astray, getting swept up in some neo-nazis propaganda or hatred. Hatred is easy to understand. Bhopal happened because some bureaucrats wanted to save a few bucks on engineering and maintenance and there were obvious increased risks from that action but they didn't care because it wouldn't hurt them and they were richer. Now thousands of people are dead. Did the people responsible even end up in prison? There's no emotion in sacrificing others for your personal gain. That should not be forgiven. You knew this could happen. Risks like that should not be profitable.