Blog Archive
July 2026
A New Year, A New Board of Directors
07/01/2026
Home Sweet Home...No Moving Required
07/01/2026
How Did You Get Here?
07/01/2026
Scams, Frauds, AI…Oh No, Not Again
07/01/2026
Two's Company!
07/01/2026
Village Magic
07/01/2026
June 2026
Ability Resource Fair - A.R.F.!
06/01/2026
Goals, Priorities and Tasks. Oh, My!
06/01/2026
Jabber-Walkies
06/01/2026
LGBTQ+ Bars: A Book-talk
06/01/2026
Ladies Who Lunch
06/01/2026
President’s Message
06/01/2026
April 2026
Altadena’s Coyote Comeback
04/29/2026
Catch it Before it's Gone!
04/29/2026
Legacy Project
04/29/2026
Not Too Old To Get Carded
04/29/2026
President's Message
04/29/2026
Stuck in Milwaukee - Airplane Travel 2026
04/29/2026
The Art Journaling Workshop
04/29/2026
Think You're Losing Your Mind?
04/29/2026
Visiting The Getty
04/29/2026
March 2026
My Home For Now
03/30/2026
My Home for Now
03/30/2026
Do I Really Need a Will and/or a Trust?
03/26/2026
Everybody Needs a Blankie
03/26/2026
Kickoff: Prepared 50+ Emergency Preparedness
03/26/2026
The Birth of an Archive for Pasadena Village
03/26/2026
Too Smart to be Scammed?
03/26/2026
“I DIDN’T KNOW THAT!” A Refresher Course
03/26/2026
Across the Waiting Room
03/11/2026
February 2026
Status - February 28, 2026
02/28/2026
AI Presentation
02/26/2026
Exploring the “Cheech”
02/26/2026
Mary Mejia is Here to Make a Difference
02/26/2026
One Year On
02/26/2026
President’s Message – March 2026
02/26/2026
January 2026
Hearts & Limbs in Zambia
01/28/2026
Lost Trees of Altadena Return Home
01/28/2026
President's Message: WHY the Village Works
01/28/2026
TV: Behind the Scenes
01/28/2026
Trauma to Triumph
01/28/2026
PRIVILEGE AND FORGIVENESS
By Richard Myers · Posted 12/17/2020
PRIVILEGE AND FORGIVENESS
Bob Snodgrass, Chair
Bob Snodgrass, Chair
Inclusivity Committee
I was very moved by the 2015 Charleston massacre. White supremacist Dylann Roof intruded into Bible Study at an AME church and killed nine people, including the pastor. Close relatives of the victims soon announced that they had forgiven Roof. At Roof’s trial, months later, his prison journal was introduced, including, "I would like to make it crystal clear; I do not regret what I did. I am not sorry. I have not shed a tear for the innocent people I killed.”
How wonderful that black people could forgive a white man for something so awful! Only later, when I heard of black people forgiving and hugging a white Dallas policewoman who had mistakenly entered a black man’s apartment and shot him, did I begin to wonder, why always black people forgiving white attackers? This issue has been masterfully discussed by Isabel Wilkerson in her book, Caste (chapter 22). She does not condemn those who forgave white oppressors; forgiveness helps those who forgive. Yes, it’s nuanced, but something is wrong here.
Pope John Paul II is an exception. A Turkish criminal shot him in 1981, causing severe abdominal injuries requiring multiple operations and a long hospitalization. The shooter was sentenced to life in prison. The Pope visited him in prison in 1983, talked and prayed with him. Afterwards, the Pope stayed in contact with his family and in 2000 requested that he be released from prison, which he was. The Pope ignored caste boundaries; he didn’t need revenge.
As a privileged white man, I have no attacks to forgive. I insist that all races be treated fairly by our police and courts. This doesn’t happen today. Elijah McClain of Aurora, CO was walking home, was grabbed and choked by three policemen and given an excessive dose of a sedative by paramedics. He never woke up. Why was he grabbed? He was unarmed, but “he looked suspicious”. Daniel Prude’s family called 911 for help with his agitation. Rochester, NY police put a hood over his head and forced his face into the pavement. He died of asphyxiation, but his family didn’t know the facts until they got records from a public records request. The LAPD shot and killed Dijon Kizzee after stopping him for an unspecified bicycle violation this September.
We whites must change the system. Police brutality is too common. I know that white privilege is real; I believe that most people, including me, have a racist side- I’ve heard racist ideas from white, black and brown friends.
