But will we forgive ?

ttp://www.azcentral.com/offbeat/articles/2008/08/27/20080827witch27-odd.html?source=nletter-entertainmen

This piece was discussed here a while back. As was said there, she wasn't a witch just murdered for being accused a witch so there's nothing for 'us' to forgive.

Here's the link

http://thevalley.ukpagan.com/http://thevalley.ukpagan.com/index.php?showtopic=22380&hl=

Leaving aside the question of whether 'we' as a group have the right to give or withhold forgiveness for crimes of the past, this doesn't seem quite right to me.

If, as a group, we have that right, then should it not extend to people who died in 'our' name, whether they were truly what they were accused of being or not?

If someone is believed to be, say, a Shriner, and is murdered because of it, does the fact that they were not, in fact, a Shriner change the right of the Shriners to be upset? Just because the target turned out not to be a member of the target group, the group has still been targeted. The group may in fact have a responsibility to be upset on the victim's behalf, or even to take some responsibility for the crime itself, since another got tarred with their brush.

Not that I think we do, as a group, have that right. It reminds me of the current 'spiritual heirs' of the Templars suing whoever it is they're suing for redress of ancient wrongs. They at least can prove some line of descent from the originals, fuzzy as it is.


unsung

It must be just me but I really don't see the point of it after 226 years. If it was a recent event I could understand it but after two centuries? There are more important things going on today to get worked up about.

I was just thinking about this. Do you know, I believe it's because things that happened so long ago CAN be 'forgiven' or revised (without guilt) whereas the fact that a child dies every 5 seconds in the world from a preventable disease or hunger, or that many groups are subject to genocide or discrimination based on race, religion or political affiliation RIGHT NOW is too close to the bone and MUCH harder to deal with.

Much easier to forgive things in the past when our hands are 'clean' , we can't be held accountable and there's nowt much we can do anyway, yeah?

Just a thought about all the revision and 'forgiveness' that's been going around for the last couple of decades.

Marto - cynic

This just makes me think about the Gaza Strip.

Yes, makes sense. No need to actually have to change anything for things that happened centuries ago.