Not equate holding someone accountable for their actions to be not "forgiving them...
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/cal-thomas/2015/03/17/power-forgiveness-overcomes-racism-university-oklahoma
They should get every consequence they deserve.
I don't think you should pile on or try to maliciously destroy anyone, but washing your hands and dismissing it all with "forgiveness" doesn't seem the best way to me.
Until now I can't think of a time I have disagreed with Cal Thomas though.
The Christian view of forgiveness and the reasons for it are much different than that of society at large. Christ requires forgiveness because, for one, it frees Christians from any negative emotional bonds we may have with another person. To not forgive is to grant someone other than Christ control of my emotional well being. If there is someone I have a grudge against then each time I encounter that person emotions will be stirred and in some way that gives them control over that aspect of my being. At it's heart, forgiveness is more about the forgiver than the forgivee. It is harder to forgive than it is to accept forgiveness.
When toes are stepped on and feelings hurt there is a cost that must be paid. Look at it like this, a friend backs out of your drive way and damages your gate. You can hold him accountable and have him pay to have it fixed or you can forgive him and send him on his way. You let them off the hook but the gate is still broken. You cannot just leave it broken so it becomes your burdened to pay the cost of the repairs. In a nut shell that forgiveness is, Accepting the cost incurred by the hurtful action. This is a simple case but there are more complex ones.
Say someone kills your child and you forgive them. The cost you pay for this forgiveness is that you have to cope with the loss and accept and deal with the pain with no expectation of compensation. You have forgiven the killer for the evil he has done you. However, the state may still hold the murderer accountable because he has also damaged society by removing a potential community asset and buy flaunting the laws which condemn murder.
Christians, I believe, are required to forgive because our faith demands its. Non believers don't have this same burden but the practice of forgiveness offers many of the same benefits as it does believers.
I hope this made sense. It is hard for me to put in to words complex concepts that I understand in my heart.
