The magistrate never apologized for his statements, even after being challenged by many people of all races in our country. Maybe he couldn’t see how painful and harmful his statements had been to the victims and to those listening. Maybe he couldn’t understand how true forgiveness, reparative forgiveness, can be experienced only when we first make space to feel the weight of grief, mourning, and lamentation and then, in the face of all of it, offer forgiveness. Maybe he couldn’t see that so many of us needed time.
