A great many people have forgiven others near to them, or even acquaintances, for doing them wrong; but it seems that very few forgive car thieves, murderers, or mass murderers. An understanding that perpetrators are first victims is generally lacking. Also, it is common to conflate incarceration with badness that can't be remedied, justifying punishment and dangerous circumstances during incarceration.

We should be keeping people safe from financial swindlers, thieves, and killers; but when have you last seen a person choked up with sorrow about what must be leading people to crime?

There are many who have been misled, brutalized, and brainwashed long before hurting anybody. Gangs regularly recruit the unloved.

Many people become angry when they hear of an injustice or an assault. The perpetrators are not the only ones who feel that it is normal and OK to be combative.

The spiritualist view that we are one, that humanity is one, that the universe is one, is opposed by enmity and blame. Do most of us really regard strangers as their cherished siblings? Can we embrace every living person with our intention to protect them and heal them and love them?

Contact

Write to jim@futurebeacon.com (James Adrian) or ttoths@pm.me (Maureen Kelley).

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