Scribd Logo
Upload

Welcome to Scribd!

  • 1 Minow, Martha BetweenVengeance&Forgiveness

    Uploaded by

    Ainotnach ille´rom
    10 views12 pages

    Original Title

    1.Minow,Martha.BetweenVengeance&Forgiveness

    Copyright

    © © All Rights Reserved

    Available Formats

    PDF or read online from Scribd

    Did you find this document useful?

    Is this content inappropriate?

    Report this Document

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    10 views12 pages

    1 Minow, Martha BetweenVengeance&Forgiveness

    Uploaded by

    Ainotnach ille´rom

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    of 12
    Between Facing Hist Vengeance and caitag Genocide and lreyeeaaoslects Mass Violence Martha Minow! Beata cert ey d J. Goldstone Beacon Press Boston Foreword Judge Richard J. Goldstone ix Chapter Introduction x Chapter Vengeance and Forgiveness 9 Chapter Trials 25 Chapter 4 Truth Commissions 52 Chapter 5 Reparations 91 Chapter 6 Facing History 118 Notes 148 Acknowledgments. 200 Index 203 2. Vengeance and Forgiveness “Forgiveness... seams to ral out reribation, ral eproach, omeconcilationadomand for estnaion andi shors2m7 ssofholdng the wrongdoer accu." ~ Chere Cahows “Bowndlee vindictive rages not he ony alteratve 0 onmertedforgvenes.”~ Suton Joby Peshaps there simply are reo purposes animating societal responsesto collective violence: justice and truth. Justice may «al for rath but also demands accountabily. And the instiw tion for securing accowntbilty—notably ral eourts—may inmpede or ignore tru. Democratic guarantees protecting the rights of defendants place those rights at eastin parcahead of truth seeing; undemocrati ils may proceed to judgment and pnishmene wih disregard for particular tuths or ceir complex implications beyond particular defendants. Then the question becomes: Should justice or truth take precedence? Of what value are facts without justice? If accountability isthe am, does ie ‘require egal proceedings and punishment? Do legal proceedings geecate knowledge?" One answer cll for “(alll the truth and as ‘iich justice as posible" another would sess punishment for ‘wrongdoing, expecially horrific wrongdoing. Only if we make prosecution a duty under international law wil we ensure hat ew regimes do not lose courage, overstate the obstacles they face, and duck thei duties to punish perpetrators of mass vio- lence argue experts such as Diane Orenlichee "Ye oalyif we acknowledge that prosecutions are slows, paral, and narco™, an we recognize the value of independent commissions, invest tating che lager pattern of atrocity and complex lines of respoo Siiity and complicity. ven this debate ito partial Truth an justice are aoe the only objectives. Atleast, they dono: tansparendy indicate che -enceen Vengeance and Forgiveness range of concerns they may come tocomprise. There is another basics pethaps impli pair of goals or responses tocolletivevio- lence—vengeance snd forgiveness. Vengeance: Although this word may sound pejorative itembod- jes important ingredients of moral response to wrongdoing. We Should pursue punishment because wrongdoers should get what fscoming o them; this one defense—or pethaps restatement — bf vengeance. Vengeance ithe impulse to retaliate when wrongs tre done, Through vengeance, we express our basi self-respect. Philosopher Jefftie Murphy explains, “a person who doesnot eset moral injures done chim. .isalmost necessarily a per- fon lacking in self-respect. Vengeance isalso the welspring of ‘notion of equivalence that animace justice. Recompense, ge fing satisfaction, matching lke with ike, giving what’s coming tothe wrongdoes, equalizing crime and punishment, an eye fo i eyes each ofthese synonyms for cevenge implies the propor tionality ofthe sales ffustce® Yer vengeance could unleash ‘ore response than the punishment guided bythe rule of aw, ‘more ven tha the punishment consistent with the goal of fori Ing those who have paid thee pce, or served cei time "The danger is tha pressely the same vengeful motive often leads people toexact more than necessary to bemaliciously spite fulor dangerously aggressive’ orto become hateful themselves by commiting the eciprocal act of violence. The coe motive say be admirable but iecaries witht poretialinsaiabilty. Ven jeance thus can setin motion a downsvard spiral of violence or Snunquenchable desire that taps peoplein cycles of revenge, ‘ecrimination, and escalation, I a book examining themes of punishment and forgivenes i literary works, John Reed notes ‘hat the danger of retaliation is splenily,if comically illas- trated by those Laurel and Hardy episodes when such a pattern ff destzutve retaliation, beginning with something as trivial the inadvertent damaging ofa shrub, ay escalate rapialy tothe trashing of vehicles and the virtual demolition of houses.” Vengeance nd Forgiveness Consider more serious example: AHolocaust survivor pore 11 ‘nayed ina recent novel explains to aman who has brutally losta ‘blsve tha to survive the death of people close o you, you need {uals “Inthe camps there was no possibility of ritwal-no corpses, no funerals, no sending o eceving condolences. So {rete itual appropriate tothe siaation in which [ound nyse... spent tree years tracking dawn the doctor who ‘earthen to the gas" and upon finding him, “Tereated one last {tual . With hese hands I strangled him.” Only then, he ‘xpained,wase able to begin. anew family and anew ife. "Ie id’ bring them back from the dea,” spied his interloatoe. ‘The survivor answered, “Te brought me back fom the dead." ‘Adam Michnik, the Polish Solidarity activist, opposed a sroposal o purge communist collaborators fom working in formerly state-run enterprises because ofits implications of sengeance. He claimed thatthe logic of revenge “is implacable. Fest, thece ia purge of yeserday’s adversaries, the partisans sfthe old regime. Then comes the purge of yesterday's fellow eppositionss, who now oppose the idea of revenge. Filly, there isthe purge of thore who defend them. A psychology of sengeance nd hatred develops. The mechasisms of retaliation tecome unappeasable.” ‘Vengeance can ead to horsble excesses and stil alto restore vvhat was destroyed initially. Ata personal level, the result ean be Jjlnful and fle venders. Ata societal level, asthe resent con- fics in Bosnia and Rwanda only too vividly demonstrate mem- aes, or propaganda-iaspved illusions about memories, can ‘Botvate people who atherwise live peaceably t engage in tor ‘are and slaughter of neighbors identied as members of groups ‘vho committed past atrocities. The esult canbe devastating, sscalatng intergroup violence. Mas killings are the fui of ‘mvenge for perceived past harms. For Michnik, and fr others, the way t avoid such escalating siolence iso transfer the esponsibilities fr apportioning blame ‘nd punishment fom victims to public bodies ating according ence Vengo ond Forges foiheralsoflaw Thsisanarenpetoemee personel aims ‘hough noenecesari co exc vengeance Tae it alee eee enbute dimension of pebl punishment” TReulouion canbe underood at vengeance cubed by the ingrenionefsomeon ote ecm ody ences ‘proporonaley ad tnivdal gh, Rerbution motivates Meroe outa fmes to those who have ben wronged and rari! hac weompocs dese blame and pisses ‘tices propstn tothe harman Others, wrong ‘iemot only fer pun bata degrade and dish iim Sietes coreciveresponee The reeibue dimension isis Senhmearnonarsulyinscateh of dteence or ay wert tings, burns as aay of denouncing previous ‘tong and giving person tec evens Yerassging ei one public proseutors rather than serving itor individ ‘eamldoes cegouane appropiate or respectable {Suns ohow tind oter abuses of abl proseation indicate ina powesul argument pilosophe Joan Hampton explains thattebuton a tscore expesses amide that canard robe imtaon, and heey fern theory rom vengeance. ‘ae equt Signy fal persone. Thro eibution, he Conant core the wrongons fale message tat the s= SENS wore or seule than he wrongdoer thro = “boson the community teaser the tho the etn value placing «pbb wtb cfeacon the wrong” From lamp’ perspecttcommivnntothisdel cases ants ‘allan on eration, The very son for engaging in Teas puishmenconssine th ponishment fom deead- itgor denying the gat eve ofthe defeated weongoe™ ‘Thon sptinno more npht when he victim es todegrade or Find Gin he weenges han when the wrongdoer = tly degraded oc fabely ihe he icc ute rebut, pope understood and caced, cats tow initatons oe wietbrimtatons on etbion suut be toppled om ouside though competing ideals suchas Trey ad mona dcenyrenbuton ned constants, Othe Vengeance nd Forgiveness -vise sks expanding into forms ofharm that violate respect {pr persons, and that threaten che bounds of proporsonalty and. decency. Moreover giving int emotions that often cixle revenge and retsbution can be self-defeating and ilosory. “Traumatized people imagine chat revenge will bring elif, ven chough the fantasy of evenge simply reverses the eoles of perpetrator and victim, continuing toimprison the victim in hor For degeadation, andthe bounds ofthe perptraoy’s violence. By seeking to lower the perpetrator insesponse to his orher infetion of injury, does the victim ever master the violence oF instead become its tool? Satisfaction may never come. Weshould void hatred and revenge, Jean Hampton urges, notin order to beunceasonably sainty, but instead tobe sensible” Avenging theselfean be oo costly emotionally, by stoking consuming res of aed. Psychologist Judith Herman eport that “[pleople ‘who acraly commit acts of revenge, such s combat veterans “pho commit atrocities, do not succeed in geting eid oftheir post-raumatic eprom; rather, they seem ro suffer the most severe and inteactabe diseabance.”= "Moving from needs of victims o societal concerns, Jetfie Mur pha defender of eetribuion, urges recognition ofthe legitimate bouads of hatred and outrage over wrongdoing. Limitations are demanded for decency, forthe sanity ofthe vietims, an forthe needs ofan orderly scien Iris often impossible to get even because the wrongdoer is unreachable or beease no propor- tional response could be conscionable “These concerns ae nowhere better placed than inthe context of collective violence, genocide, and mass atrocities. Fort no ther ine does thence to condemn the misconduct seem more ‘compelling; nd ato other time does revenge bypass the usual societal constrains over the conduct of individuals, groups of sete. Michael Ignateffexpains, ‘What sem aparentin te formerYugolai isha the past con tiesto oxeat because tis ot the past. Tes places are ori ingi.aseral order of ime but ina rmultaneus one nich the prscandpeesencareaconsnuous, agplanted mas ofantasc, 5 u enceen Vengeance and Forgvouss hortions, mys andes. Reporters in he Blkan was offen ttuered hat when they wee tld atrocity tres they were occa nll uncertain whether these storeshad oceusted yesterday In yqzor 142,00 4412" He concludes cht tis “is the dreamtime of vengeance. Crimes can never safely be fixed in the bistorical past they remain Tockedin the eternal preset, crying out for vengeance." AS ‘Geoffrey Hartman pusit "ee entanglement of memory and revenge doesnot cease." Finding some alternative to vengeance—such as government- managed prosecutions—isa matter, then, no only of moral nd emotional significance. tes urgent for human survival Forgiveness Reaching fora response far fom vengeance, many ol, rom dives clio teadons, call for forgiveness. The ‘edn ould aot sek revenge and become a ew vitinizer bt ‘sted should forgive ofendrandend he cyl offense. ‘When we ave been je by ane’ oes, wesboulerk toroconnet and cepazethecommon humanity ofthe thet, saan orivencsto underscore and rengen our como dle Through forgvene, we canrenoues seamen and ‘Noses desnactve fete ofhosingon*o pa res snd ieood. The aco forgiving cin connet the ofender evict and esblsh or esew a reatonshipecan eal, pet forgens conserve lances and beeakees of “These sprons may seem expecially compeling following a perind fuss aot. Fiding ay move on, ssid Tada sce takes central tage the nation amine or ‘Rlusinges democracy forging new reationships of tastand Fbundacen for collie se-government become urgent goal. ‘Those ey gal nay bs pared by backward Joking, frngee pong proses sod punishments "Pac Zalague Chilean nan igh activin mains that rere juste and orgies ie hein goals of revenson andeparton inthe proses of moral econstoc- Vengeance and Forgceness sion" This formulation acknowledgosthar vengeancecanbe x5 ‘excessive or unquenchable, and shat preoccupation with harms [neh pastcan be debiliatng for victims and bystanders, Instead, chrough forgiveness, viceims can reassert their own, ower and restablish thee own dignity while alo teaching ‘Grongdoesthe effect of theishartful crions, They ean sek. thereincegeation of oppressors into society fr thei own sake, and fr the sake of he larger projets of reconciliation andthe ‘nbuilding of a move fair and more humane world In theory forgiveness does nor and should noc eae the place of jastice or punishmen.2' Forgiveness macks change in how the ‘fended feels about the person who commited the injury nota change inthe actions tobe taken by 2 ustice system.” Phloso- ther Jefiie Murphy explains, "[blecause Tha ceased tohate ‘be person who has wronged me t does noe follow chat act, inconsistently isl advocate his being forced o pay compen- ‘ton forthe harm he has done of his being foreed ro undergo junishment fr his wrongdoing —thathe, in short ge is ast deserts." Advocating punishment fora wrongdoer one has for {Srenin faces well supported by reference to theimpersonal pro- esses ofa justice system, che inherent operations ofa theory of ‘ksers, ofa commitment to tea offenders all members of & ‘community that demands responsiblity by autonomous actors forthe actions." Forgiveness inthis sense ned not bea subs tate for punishment. Even the traditional Christian cll for- jive rather than avenge accompanies uth that vengeance will ‘ome—theogh the Divine* ‘Yer in practice, forgiveness often produces exemption fom. punishment. Especially when a governmental body adopts a for- rng atsiude toward offenders, the instrument often takes the form of amnesty or pardon, preempting prosecution and punish mene. This intewionalzes forgetfulness, and sacrifices jasc in aloreshortened effort to move oa. Moreoves such aneifort nove on often fas because the injury is nt so much Forgiven ta publi ignored, leavingitto fester Aer ticlese work gch- ‘ng the reimony of Bosnian Muslim women who had been rounded up detained and raped by Bosnian Serb sodersand 6 Beaceon Vengeance and Forgivoness ‘helping ro convince the International Criminal Tribunal for the Foret Yogoslava to bring indictments declaring rapea war ‘cme, Jadvanka Cigelefeted on the fliure of prosecutions Fie years later: "Weare o disillusioned. We wonder ifwe shoulda’ pull his behind us.” “Bren when offered for moral reasons rather than realpolitik, forgiveness may appea tolerate the wrongdoer atleastassome- ‘one worthy of forgiveness, Philosopher Chesire Cllioun warns that forgiveness "seems to ale out retribution, moral reproach, ‘oneeconclaton, a demand for restitution, and in short, any Sctof ulding the wrongdoer to account.” Even fothers main {hinieis posible co foegive and sil punish, forgiveness may Inean ultimately forgeting or puting aside the harm. How can. urvvors of atrocity ever do that, emotionally? Even those who feck to forgive or move on need face and address the fact and. cope of the wrong that would occasion che forgiveness or fr~ ‘pearance Some may seek a way to reconcile with perpetators cven perpeteatorsofatzocty a+ away to choose co be different {fom chore perpetrators, ro embrace diferent set of values.” “Ye disetning and explaining the meaning of no punishment for war eiminals, with or without oficial grants of immunity lamnesy, can be very dificult. I ehere sno punishment foc chose Wu ondered and commited the murders of hundceds and thou- ands of people, does the society imply forgiveness, or instead fear? Impediments 0 justice, especially nthe context of war times prosecutions give ise the suspicion that ‘forgiveness! ‘Sothng buta nice word fr ‘forgetulnes’and ‘pardon’ a syn- ‘Saymof amnesia" Forgetfulness and amaesi, in ten, seem tuhemas in response co mas violence because they let the pe- petrators prevail Blotting out memories and avoiding punish- iene. Viens and witnesses who Seek to forge ironically may “sist the perpetrators by keeping silent about thei crimes, Silence about violence locks perpetrators and vctimsin the crue pactof denial literally and psychologically ‘Donald Shriver, who has rien eloquently about the need for forgiveness in politics also vividly explains the problems with forgetting atrocities "Pain ca sear the human memory in Wo ingens nd ergones cringing ware wi forgelaesof th pasorimpisonnentin fe Themind thar insltes the eaumat past tom conscious terry lane alive bab nthe dope the poche ios to gtestran of poeiatc to kotha Bat che ind ha fxs pain risks geting rapped init Too bore remem fer eo homer forget down cites pc ies ites or tena acer eater" Huma ight activist Aryeh Neier warn thax publ frgive sessnpartcaar rune the kof ignalng to creryone he need tofore, When governments or hei epesnatives ump the Sisin'sexconve right o feces pres” they thereby filo espet lly hose who have tre = Governmental or fives that means exemption rom punishment aso foecioss {iecommunal pone che acknowledgment ham tate france and indeed sce, demand Ernie gore prose Stonand punishment ze noe pursed, some thes form public Ssknowledgmen overcoming commenal denial ithe ey last tate be dove oretore duty ovine ‘ObsrversoFSouch Africas Teh nd Reconciliation Commis sionnoe thar although many who were icine are peepared tof or recone wih police cessed govern oe Gia tom the apartheid reine he survivors tol when perp ators ret tin with ope arms a bends nthe ey, fopenes ase ater tan grante. Auris tay think, should you no waior me ostetch on my hand toyou,when mead when 'eesablsed wha ight Forienessisa power ila by the visimiae, nea ight -0 beclamed The ability to igen, bualso ro wil, for ‘Sree isan enabling capacity and par the deity be ‘laimed by those who survive the mrongdoing. Ere mind ‘al surevor who coors to forgive canoe prope forgve Inthe name of oe victims" To enpectsuvivrstoforuve toheapyet another burden nthe erhap forgiveness sould be reserved, x aconcepeand prac instances whee here ar god east fogine To fog withouta ood essai tosctepethevlsonsnd dev ution ath wt Some acto forgiene ase qussons bout 8 Beaver Vengeance and Forgiveness sshether the victim as enough self-respect or strength co vew heanjury aba violation If forgiveness involves esting g0 of lwarraned resentment, then the forgiver neds a good reason 6 Teego. Ihe offense injured and devalued the victim, then the vic- fim mst have some very good reason 0 overcome the anger and. hated toward person who committed such unjustified and Inexcusable harm.” Expressing outrage, making clear whats ‘unacceptable, and refsing relationships with those who commit trl are responses especially usable after mass volence.** ‘These may be no good reason to forego blame and condemna- ‘Hon "[Hlow could onc even consider reconciling oneself with people such a Hier or Stalin or Charles Mansoa, who really fay nor have any deveney left in them—nor even any possiblity of decency?" Towdinary, everyday instances of wrongdoing, a reason £9 forgive arses for some, when a wrongdoer changes, becomes a new person” who repent his or her wrongs. Bur repentance for pardcipation ina mass aeocity may simply be insufficient, Because ao subsequent change ofheartor regret could begin to be commensurate with che violations done, forgiveness seems utofplace.* "Yer especially forsome people working from a Christian tadi- tion, forgiveness may not even reqite repentance by the wrong tloce Instead they hope that the at of forgiving may transform the weongdocr, softening her orhisheart and reinviting her or byim into the mora communiy of humanity.” Lef with the ‘unrepentant and apparently indecent offender, the victim who ‘Considers forgiving mustabandon hope forthe offender's own Conttion, or ese vest inthe act of forgiveness inspiration, oF pressure, to change that wrongdoee Some religious traditions fupport such stances some do not. Hoping ha the process of forgiveness can itself transform the swrongdoes depends upon a sciptthat mustbe shared bythe for: [Bvenand the forgives John Reed explain: “The forgiven must i lkewise and be forgiving. Moreover, tobe forgiven, one must fise acknowledge faut. Ifboth participants play thir part, Vengeance and Forgiveness sjeprocess can heal the offender and aso restore a sense of dige ry and selrespectta the offended person. Thus ateasonto {Begive mightbeo set in morion this process, and hereby sek. ‘p break eyles of valence by transforming perpetrators and vi tims. Yetmany people donot share his script Pardon does not teansform al perpetrators, Making contrition a precondition for faedon simply increases the lkelnood that contrition will be ‘Efned. Granting forgiveness to teansgressors who show no con titon or regret eannot be justified in hopes of changing the unre sentan offender. Ifthe inital angey thirst for retribution was ‘gbecous, then it rightly call fora restoration ofthe balance of zhes and wrongs. Simply forgiving the recalirant wrongdoer does not accomplish that ask although t may ad he victim's fmm process of healing. "Vetims have muck to gain from being able wo let goof hatred, cen when the perpetrators unrepentant. Rabbi Harold Kus {Ser argues that vitins should forgive not because the other Asserves it bur because the vesim doesnot want to turn into a bit ‘ee resentful person.” Victim should celease the anger for their fon sake. Indeed expecially after mass atrocities, ifecould ‘em so precious that nota moment should be wasted in grudges tr atred rowed the perpetrators. Dumisa Nisebera, a commis- Sioner ofthe South Africa Teuth and Reconciliation Commis- tion wo himself spene years incarcerated under the apartheid regime, explained that here could be generosity toward perpetsa ‘ors becaure “theres so much to doin he time tha remains of nes freedom." “Some psychological or religious views suggest tha forgiveness ‘cambelpo transform perpetrators and victims, or simply vie- ‘ms, Even bystanders, advocates claim, can be elped by frgive- tess in ways they caanor by judicial action.** The South ican Trath and Reconciliation Commission created a register for sub missions and comments by people who are nether direct victims bfaparheid atrocities noe diect perpetrators Inche food of Comment inal received, a ecarting refrain was “should have done more o fight the azrocites.”" In paripatingin pro- 9 Benvo Vongance and Forgiveness, cessthat combines truchteling and sptitof forgiveness wich personal conti, evea bystanders can jin the effort for reconciliation ‘Ageneral endorsement ofthe therapeutic benefits offorgive- ness, though, confuses “speci acts of deserved forgiveness with { palcy of unconditional forgiveness." Avitim consumed With hateed and revenge fantates could ind some rele directly through professional psychological heip rather than forgiveness ofthe mirderer. Learaing ta manage 0” extinguish pain and resentment, becoming ableoslep and get on with life, ro coexist with former enemies, are valuable goals; bus they do not require entail, noe necessuily accompany grants of forgiveness ‘Fundamentally, forgiveness cannot be commanded. No frend, cleric, oF oficial can force another o grant forgiveness toan offender. victim who considers forgiving must summon com- passion, benevolence, love, ora profound sense ofthe faws ‘shared by all man beings, victims and offenders alike Some ‘icims instead summon righteous indignation, an urgeat need ro ‘condemn and punish, ora generous desire, coupled with passion tobear wines and to prosecute, in order o prevent any ‘repeated horoc for anyone el Tal human beings are us tha, individoalhuman beings, both before and after anyones victimized and chen labeled as icim. Individuals respond uniquely and difereatly tohoeeoe. Atleast theesponses are their own To demanc df. ent ones may be yet another form of degradation and denial of their very being. forgvenes is announced by someone who wasnt wronged, pechaps by a publi official claiming to speak ‘on behalf of victims, itis cll to forgting ox patsing aside the ‘memories, not the acto forgiveness itself. Forgiveness can sip into forgetting or else elude thse from whom tmust come. Geof {acy Hartman, scholar of iterature and the Holocaust, writes “Ammnety is lnwful amnesia; and what takes place at his highly formalized level may also take place in the domain ofthe social orcolletive memory." Peshaps amaesty conditioned upon ackaowledginen ofthe particular ats of violence takes difer Vogeance and Forgieness cnt shape Tf vengeance sks ceaseless rage that should be a Tamed forgiveness requires a kind of transcendence that cannot beachieved on command ar by remot control ‘Vengeance and forgiveness are marks along the spectrum of human responses to atrocity. Yee they standin oppositions ro for~ iiveisto letgo of vengeance to avenge isto ress fogiving. Pet- aps justice sell “partake ofboth revenge and forgiveness." ‘So return tthe central question: Might pathslieberween ven- seance and forgiveness? Susan Jacoby suggests: _Avifenced noe forgive an unashamedly bral husband inorder toroid dosing him wich gasoline nd seing him on fre; oncettaton-amp survivor aeed ao pay for God's blestiag on the Nas in osde eo cela rom personaly seling scores inthe nannies ofspy novel avengers a socey need nose murders fee ‘erefasesto pu them to death the lenders of adversary nations need nothrow tei am around one anotherin order zeseaia themselves rom destoying the worldia aaularbolocaus.-™ Jacoby urges a search forthe ight forms of retribution and the ‘ight forms of forgiveness. suggest asimilar spirit but—an expanded-—scope of possibili- ties, What responses do or could le between vengeance an for~ tiveness, legal ad cultural institutions offered otber avenues for ndiiduals and nations? For nations eecovering from periods fof massive atrocity the stakes are high, the dangers enormous. ‘Members of thos societies need ro ask not only what should ‘count asa good reason to forgive and not only whacarethe “appropiate imitsto vengeance. They aced to ask what wouldit ‘ake, and what do our current or imagined insiations need to do, co cometo terme with che past, co help heal the victims, the bystanders, and even the perpecators? What would promote reconstruction ofa sacety devastated by atrocities? What could build nation capable of preventing future massacres andinc- dents o regimes of torture? ‘One path between vengeance and forgiveness pursues thera- peutic goals. Promoting healing for individual victims, byseand- Bence Vengeance and Forgiveness cs, and even ofenders points to potential aims in esponser0 mass atrocity. Recognizing healing as valu promprs new ques tions, What relative importance should the cherapeuic goals have foe victims, bystanders, and offenders, and what weight should therapenti purposes bea in elation tothe search for truth the demand fr justice the unge For etibuion, andthe call of forgiveness? Whar place shoulda psychological frame of ‘analysis have in assessing alternative responses o collective atrocities by individuals and societies? Wharf any sensei there in drawing analogies between the psychological neds and thera- peutic responses appropriate o individuals, and isues involving ‘entice groups of people, and even societies? “Thestriking prevalence of therapeutic language in contempo- rary discussions of mass atrocities stands in contrasttocompars- ble debates fifty years ago. Whats gained, and whats lst, through the atenion to psychological healing, in contras with tthering facts or securing punishments? Does the effoe to over ome denial andra search fora complet factual piceare deserve the highese priority after genocide? When s the language of heal ing itself aninule to those whose devastation is inconsolable, tuntelable,unassimlable? Therapestc purposes coneast starkly swith political ones, although in practice the rwo influence one ‘nother. The topic of forgiveness, for instance, sometimes ‘udressedin political term, Who should have the power to for- five, ort withhold forgiveness, who shouldbe forced co beg for 5° The mose important political response to mass violence, some argue, isto change the polvcal structure. Restore democ- ‘acy, dismantle che military tha presided over torare cals, ‘remove the officials who ran the bareaveracyof oppression. “These changes could have great psychological consequences for those removed from power and for survivors oftheir abuses. Yer the point of such intervention i politcal; the method of response isinsteuional, Political concerns are often aimed at another set of goals aso lying somewhere berween vengeance and forgiveness. Theses creating a cimate conducive ro human rights, a democratic pro- es that seems to many a crucial ejoindeco mass violence. To ngencead Forgiveness sa th defeat of errors stn place safeguard opiate ‘Bitve ato o commence the aspiration tat never Gear wllouch abominations happen—thee areal sigaieant ‘Ets ihe accomplishments that maybe sein motion By foltcal as. When err wos state sponsored, tal ‘Somes would abl helenae od ai ofa nee “fomingreconatin aco vsonscreted by othe ves casing che collective wens sl anther gol Soch ‘Ronaliation would asastsabiiy and democracy, butt abo ‘ould ceque ober messes resring dignity vicins would purl this prose, buso woul dealing spect with fhe who ante or were compli wth he ence. Otee ‘aes new ts and resentment are ely Wo emerge and ocho thee pusposes propel and sept aemative spores hare aton cn pare when emerging rom mass “ety: Potetal responses vo cllectiewleneincude not Sel prosecutions andamnets, bata commisions of STgutyamo the ac; opening acoso wre plc Blesremor- ‘prio poinaland tary oils and ci servans tom epost and om terol or publcbeneBspubliaing ‘ine of ofende and ames of icins secringreparsons {laplonc for vine devising and making a¥aiableappro™ pete thetapesc services or anyafeted by se hors des- gar andemocalstomakewhat happened wohanoe itis, ‘eitocommuners the aspiration of eve: agai and aan {upuoiceduatonl programs to convey wha happened and

    You might also like