Later tonight I am going to a group discussion in my community about forgiveness. I find that while I wish that I could forgive the people that abused me, there is at this point no way for that to happen.
I have two major things
1. My parents reject the idea that they did anything wrong. My dad says I just need to forgive and forget (he is really big on the forgetting part.) And that there is no reason for me to by angry. My mom still thinks she hasn't done anything wrong.
2. I don't know that I can ever forgive the guy who attacked me as I will never know who he is.

Does forgiveness require some recognition on the part of the person who did the harm that they were at least in some way at fault? If they continue to pretend that nothing happened am I obligated to forgive them? Some people say that forgiving will make you feel better, but I feel that it is too often seen as then forgetting and pretending that nothing ever happened in the first place. I don't see why I should have to forgive them for hurting me when they will not take any responsibility for their actions. If I could just cut them out of my life forever I would, but at this point I still have financial connections to my parents in the form of paying back loans. I hate it when they call and expect me to want to talk to them even when I am busy or doing something else. I don't care if they don't like the new boundary system. Too bad for them. They were the ones who destroyed the last one, so now they get no say.

Okay, I guess that is my rant for the day.