2018-07-16 [DMFA#1853] Don't worry, be happy

[Tapewolf]

I like that the wreck room provides a free sledgehammer.  I wonder if Hizell knows about Fa'Lina's forgiveness, and if so, whether it has had the desired effect.

[Prroul]

Yanno... something I discovered about 'forgiveness' while doing some research on other topics...

One of the earliest recorded instances of forgiveness was in the old-school Roman court system. Like still several hundred BC back in the earliest days of Rome. Realize the setting... other than Greece being led by Alexander 'The Great', the area was largely tribal and this whole 'law' thing was still pretty new. And one of the things the tibes in the area went for in a big way was the concept of revenge, blood-price, whatever you call it. Which was tearing them apart, of course.

So when Rome came through and 'pacified' the area, and they installed rule of Law, the first thing you had to do in order to have your case heard by a Roman judge was to forgive, to set aside your right to personal vengeance, that your case might be tried fairly and impartially (or at least that was the theory). Because the whole point of the court system was that both parties would agree to the ruling of the Judge, which meant you couldn't go extract personal vengeance after the ruling if it didn't go your way, because that would defeat the purpose of the system.

In other words, forgiveness wasn't just 'forgive and forget', it was 'I'm going to hand over my right to vengeance and let the Courts have their way with him'. And if he was guilty... well, the Judge would decide on a punishment. And they're the ones who invented crucifixion as a means of death-by-torture, so they weren't exactly namby-pamby about the whole thing. It wasn't a 'get out of trouble' card, it was a prelude to justice.

Just something I thought resonated with this strip...

[Famout]

Damn, this strip hits far closer to home then it should. It is the best advice though, and it makes Fa'Lina even more of an amazing character.

Now that I think about it, she seems to act her age far more then any other leader, I guess being stuck constantly 20-30ish makes it easier to act up!

[The One Guy]

Huh... I've always considered forgiving someone to be essentially absolving them of guilt, so when I read this strip, my first thought was "but she didn't forgiving him, she just set aside the emotional attachment to the issue."

[ZacAttac21]

Ooh, I wanna try the Wreck Room! (And by "I," I mean my character, Ben.) But skip the sledgehammer, I just wanna blow stuff up.

I'm assuming the room regenerates, of course.

[Sabreur]

It wasn't a 'get out of trouble' card, it was a prelude to justice.

Fascinating stuff, and an excellent point. It's hard sometimes to reconcile forgiveness, especially when the person being forgiven is a nutcase serial killer like Hizell. But as you've pointed out, forgiveness doesn't mean ignoring the problem - it just changes your focus away from selfish revenge.

Really, it just highlights one of the key reasons the DMFA world is a terrible place (although very fun to read about!). As we saw earlier, the courts are a joke. There is no impartial judge to appeal to. The only way to resolve disputes is to do so personally, so of course everything turns into a bloody mess.

[Howl]

"Again".

Hmmmmh...

[Dorje Sylas]

Yanno... something I discovered about 'forgiveness' while doing some research on other topics...

One of the earliest recorded instances of forgiveness was in the old-school Roman court system.

I need to pass this along to a friend of mine who's still out for vengeance.

[Hariman]

Christian forgiveness is different from the current popular definition of forgiveness.

Christian forgiveness is about letting go of the hurt caused by ill deeds, so that you can move on without the burden of the negative emotions caused by those ills.

It does NOT include forgiving crimes or letting yourself be suckered again, although some in the various denominations of Christianity have forgotten that, to the detriment of a number of people who deserved better, and the benefit of those who deserved actual punishment.

The modern definition of forgiveness is more full forgiveness of all ills, when used in pop culture and news.

Which Fa'Lina is pretty much explaining anyway. So I'm kind of redundant here.