Forgiveness

[sobrique]

So, the Lockerbie bomber  Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi  is due for release on compassionate grounds - he's dying of cancer. So he's due to be sent home to Libya, rather than serve out the rest of his life in prison.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/8211003.stm

This, has caused some anger and outrage - the White House has been calling Scotland to protest, and families of those that died in the Lockerbie bombing are similarly upset. "Mr MacAskill has been under intense pressure from the US government to keep Megrahi behind bars, with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton saying his release would be "absolutely wrong". "

Now here's the problem - I think all the people who are getting upset are all missing the important of forgiveness. Forgiveness is a wonderful thing, but contrary to popular belief, it's not for the sake of the person being forgiven. It's for the person doing the forgiving. Hate, anger, spite - these are all poisonous emotions. They colour our thoughts, distort our world view, and ... make our lives miserable, because they can never be truely satiated.

Forgiveness is important, because it's the act of letting go of those emotions. Putting them aside, and letting yourself be free to live, love, laugh and be happy. It can be very hard to forgive someone - fully and honestly, knowing that someone has wronged you SO MUCH. But that's what makes it all the more important. Because you're carrying with you a poisonous burden, that'll be with you until you let it go.

This release is really nothing to do with the prisoner - I'm sure he's pleased to be able to go home and spend his final days with loved ones - but ... it's much more to do with us. It's not his compassion, it's ours. What higher compassion is there to forgive someone who has hurt you? And what better way of letting go that burden of poisonous hate?

Prison serves three purposes - to remove a threat to society, to rehabilitate and to punish. None of those are relevant to a man dying of cancer.

So I say just let him go. Even in the knowledge that his sentence was to live out his life in a scottish prison. Even knowing he was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of people - loved ones and family members alike. Even if that had included some of my loved ones. I'd still say, that we are better for forgiving him, than maintaining our hate until the day he dies. As difficult as that is to do, and as much as that might hurt.

(His case was due to be contested at appeal, and there was evidence to be presented to support his innocence. This appeal has been deferred - and more likely cancelled - because he's dying.)

Comments

[mister-jack.livejournal.com]

Quite.