People say and do some pretty horrible things. I understand that under the right circumstances even decent people are capable of the occasional despicable act. But some people behave horribly so much of the time that they could be characterized as “toxic” and have earned avoidance. There were times in my life when that had to be my response for my own protection. Frankly, the idea of forgiving those individuals never enters my mind, but survival does. It’s sad that the specific people I’m referring to at this particular moment have have chosen a profession that is supposed to protect and serve: police. The little devil in my ear whispers that revenge will feel better than forgiveness. And for a moment it probably will. But in the long run it is more likely true what Gandhi once said, “An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.” So, I pray that young men who would seek to hurt officers in revenge will restrain themselves. Their violence in response to violence will only worsen the situation.
I’ve been taught from childhood that forgiveness can potentially end the escalation of hurt. As a Christian, I am supposed to forgive those who have wronged me as many times as necessary. I’m supposed to love my enemies and bless those who curse me. I understand and accept that and forgive often. But what about accountability?
I’m thinking of the officers in Baltimore that the Justice Department decided not to prosecute for violating the civil rights of Freddie Gray, the black man who died at their hands while being arrested for selling cigarettes on the street. And then just Thursday, the officer who shot and killed 24 year old Anthony Lamar Smith was acquitted. More to forgive. Or more to protest?
And rightly so. No one is being held accountable for what amounts to as modern day lynching of young black males for imagined threats or minor crimes. While the families may forgive, we the public need to hold the system accountable for excusing their behavior. Tomorrow the victim could be my son or one of my stepsons and I’m not certain I could get justice for them either, no matter the actual circumstances. Forgiveness might be enough for me personally, but not for society.
There is one observation I’ve been making about these cases. I think the prosecutors are overzealous in seeking the highest level of crime against these officers. The officer in the Smith case was just acquitted of first degree murder. I’m no lawyer, but I doubt the officer woke up in the morning and decided to go kill a young black man. In each of the cases, it seems that the prosecutors are seeking the highest level of penalty and juries just aren’t willing to convict police officers of that level of malice and premeditation. Even George Zimmerman was charged with 2nd degree murder in which a jury had to decide if he had a disregard for human life. That was too tough to prove. He might have been convicted of involuntary manslaughter, though.
I admit that it is difficult to just forgive, but it is even more difficult to trust a criminal justice system that punches my community in the stomach when the punches just keep coming. The peaceful protests are becoming a bit less peaceful as we see in Saint Louis because justice is too hard to come by and forgiveness isn’t an option anymore for a whole society.
Legal angles elude me – your observation on the impact of level, or degree, is interesting the way you laid it out. On forgiveness, at the personal level, I was able to forgive R, my ex-husband (think Trump level narcissism & verbal abuse that no one believed) but, not for him, only to heal me. I can’t “let go” of my anger in areas where clear & ongoing injustices are not being addressed. Petty traffic fines in poor areas where lives (families) are ruined over fines/jail time/job losses, that, handled differently, would benefit that community. Thank you for making me think.