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Tereza Coraggio's avatar

I love this, marta, so glad you pointed me to it from our discussion. I don't think the word crucifixion is overly dramatic, as you worried it was after you posted. After all, 'Jesus' was pointing to the 'good thief' on his right and the 'bad thief' to his left. Even to the end, with two people being tortured to death on either side, that wasn't enough to forgive both of them. No, he forgave the Romans who'd done this to them, but made sure to condemn the guy on his left. HE deserved what he got and should burn in hell besides, but not Jesus.

Personally, I wouldn't conflate good/bad with right/wrong. Right and wrong are about behaviors and ideas. It IS wrong when the 2 yr old bites someone, and should have useful consequences (Alice Waters bit a kid back, and that was when she realized she shouldn't work in childcare and became a culinary icon instead.) But the 2 yr old isn't bad, which would be about its character.

You make such an excellent point about the crux-i-fiction position being completely vulnerable. That never occurred to me but it makes so much sense! Judging others leaves us wide open to attack, most of all from our inner voice.

I'll add my thoughts preemptively on punishment. First take away their ability to do more harm. It's not so much a punishment but a consequence. In fact, it would be a mercy. No one should have that kind of power. Once you do that, you may find that the need or desire to punish goes away. At least that's my prediction. If you give another entity the power to judge and punish, you may end up creating another monster.

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Justyna Frank's avatar

"Don’t we all need help and grace?" Yes, yes we do. Thank you for giving voice and shape to this. How and when did we become the "black"/"white", good/evil, true/false, smart/idiot?? Where is the nuance, the timbre, the individual fluctuation, and how do we get it back? People like you, writing like yours give me hope that not all is lost, and that we can still recapture the multifaceted, infinite beauty and potential of what makes us human.

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