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In your opinion, when does something become unforgivable?

What does someone have to do that means no amount of remorse or effort to fix things will get you to forgive them? I don't mean forgive and forget to the point where they can hurt you again. If someone repeatedly steals from you, forgiveness doesn't mean putting them in a position where they can steal again.

I'm asking this purely out of curiosity. I'm just wondering what the attitude in my corner of the internet is.

37 comments
  • The only time something would become unforgivable is if it were done with intentional malice or becomes a pattern of behavior. I'm willing to forgive quiet a bit, if the harm an action caused was not the intent. When it becomes the intent, such as physical violence or repeated trauma, that's where I take a hard line and will not forgive. For less spectacular transgressions, repeat events are where things become unforgivable. I am willing to give grace on that more because I'm bad about not communicating to others how their actions hurt me, but if we've talked about how their behavior is a problem and they keep doing it? No sorry, we're done.

  • When criticism of the act gets enough likes on Lemmy and/or Reddit—that's when I know what to think.

  • If people are truly sorry and have taken steps to make sure that what they did will never happen again, they are eligible for forgiveness of anything.

  • Things that betray trust are very hard for me to let go. Theft, backstabbing, lies, etc. If I can't trust you, I can't hang out with you.

  • That time my cousin and aunt made a scene the first night in the funeral home after my mom died. That's irreparable because

    1. My mom died that fucking day, 2 years after my dad and they were supposed to all be close.
    2. It was due to my personal life (my soon-to-be-wife). To add some context: she is a foreigner so there is a lot of racism and a bit of classism.
    3. Her only living sister.
    4. It's been 6 months and they haven't contacted me, apologized or anything,

    Don't get me wrong. They are forgiven, but it hurts and it will hurt for the rest of my life so I don't be able to ever open the door for them to come back into my life.

  • Forgiveness is always possible, although if someone hits me with DARVO, I'm going to forever filter their behavior through a check before helping them. It's sorta amazing what we can go through and forgive after, but I guess the misnomer is that the apology is for them and not ourselves.

37 comments