buck_blodgett

In one of my few moments of anger and hatred, I envisioned myself laying in the bushes in the dark by Dan's house with a baseball bat. If I had acted on that, what would have I accomplished other than to add more violence and hatred to this sick, crazy world, which is exactly what he did. How would I be any different than him? I will never let Dan win, I will never give hate that victory, LOVE > hate. MLK said, "Darkness can't drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate can't drive out hate. Only love can do that." If we are going to elevate humanity and defeat violence, its not going to be Iranian style.

Surprisingly, anger, hatred, and revenge rarely come to mind. I am human, it does happen, but mostly I feel an overwhelming presence of peace, love, and purpose.

As for justice, I leave that to our legal system and Providence. I do not wish for death for Jessie's attacker. I think the decision on death is not for us. In fact, I wish him healing and peace as well.

Yes. They sat next to each other in orchestra for 6 years. He was sentenced to life without parole.

Most perpetrators, the vast majority, know their victim.

I havew been absolutely astounded by the lack of opposition to my forgiveness (until today on Reddit, hahaha).

So, regarding dealing with people who refuse to understand my forgiveness. For me, they are an opportunity and a challenge.

The people who so easily camae on board with our cause are ready to change the world. Its the others, those who don't get it, those who don't believe its genuine, those who can't understand it... Its they who we need to reach. They are slowing us down.

If we are going to heal the world, we must start with the sick. Its not people like you, with your incredible capacity to forgive, who are in need of healing, you're already there. But its people like you who lead the way and hold the space until others catch up.

Its not peaceful people, but rather the Dans of the world that we need to reach. Similarly, if we are going to reach critical mass and overcome hate with love, its not the forgiving we need to reach, but those who can't forgive.

It is hard to understand. This crime against women is the only felony where the victim is so commonly blamed for the crime. I don't know what to tell you about your mom, except how sorry I am that you had to hear that from her. As for the detective, that is off the charts unprofessional and insensitive. And more than that, it exposes what we are up against in our culture in addressing and overcoming this problem. God bless you. I wish healing for you. You're going to have to figure out your own path with your mom.

If it was me, I would forgive her, my mom the person, but I most certainly not accept her view or behavior.

Look, people are flawed. We have to get better at loving each other despite our flaws. Maybe we can hate the flaws but love the people.