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by rutledge87
2054 days ago
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Let's not lose nuance about the scales of "mistakes" about Transcendental Meditation or bell bottoms with taking and placing children in concentration camps (places where people are kept against their will, but not killed) when beliefs and choices reveal fundamental attributes about a person such as their ability to be manipulated, willingness to ignore criminal behavior, and acceptance of scapegoating as a panacea. Does forgiveness forget, condone, or excuse reprehensible behavior? If not, then how do we punish brutal malice that suddenly becomes normalized? As not Godwinnian, how do we forgive the next Nazi supporters? Also, perhaps these times provide a unique opportunity to identify who are truly awful human beings? |
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Forgiveness is about letting go of anger, of putting aside mistakes of the past. It doesn't mean you stop seeking justice, or holding people accountable. And seeking justice is complex.
Nazi supporters should be forgiven just like anybody else. They should be tried and held responsible based on laws, but holding a grudge is counter-productive.
Every human being is awful. That's what I think some people are missing here. There's nothing inherently more rotten in a Nazi than in you, you've just lived a different experience. You might have ended up a Nazi if you were unfortunate enough to grow up on the wrong side of life. And even Nazis can be rehabilitated, like prisoners can. But that doesn't happen just by punishing them.
In a certain sense these 'truly awful' people are just ethically sick and need help. Are you going to go out of your way to help these people? Or, like the lepers, will you shun them? Is that latter decision just or ethical?
Nobody has a responsibility to help anyone in this world, but when we choose to, we are exercising a morality that benefits us in multiple ways. On the other hand, when people look at others as less than them, and use that as justification to treat them poorly, that's what's really unjust.