Turning-theother cheek

Discussion
Discuss with your class:
1. D o y o u easily forgive people, o r d o y o u h o l d grudges?
2. H a v e y o u ever n o t forgiven a person for something that they did t o y o u ?
3. D o y o u k n o w anyone w h o has forgiven a person who:
cheated them o u t o f some money?
physically assaulted them?
spread rumours about them?
stole f r o m them?
was unfaithful t o them? (had sex w i t h someone else)
4. W o u l d y o u forgive the person in the situations above?

Reading
Read through the first part of this article and answer the question below:

A H U G I N EXCHANGE FOR A BEATING?

For no apparent reason, Reginald Denny, 33, was pulled from his truck and badly beaten
by at least two men during the 1992 race riots in Los Angeles. The horrible and violent
scene was caught on film by the many television cameras that were there at the time.
Images of Denny being kicked and punched over and over again until his body lay
lifeless on the ground were broadcast live into millions of living rooms all over the world.
The cameras even captured the happy dance that one of the men did in celebration of
his act of brutality, while his partner took the opportunity to reach down and take
Denny's wallet. Luckily, Denny was rescued by some good samaritans in the area and
promptly taken to a hospital.

What do you think should happen to the attackers?

Continue reading and answer the questions below:
Denny was left with permanent physical deformities and handicaps but he did eventually
recover, miraculously, from his injuries and was well enough to attend the trial of the men
who nearly beat him to death. But what was even more amazing than his relatively quick
recovery was his attitude towards his attackers. Denny's assailants showed absolutely no
remorse during the entire trial and were sentenced to 10 years each in prison. The light
sentences alone would have outraged most victims, and in fact did outrage many people
in the United States at the time, but not Reginald Denny. Immediately after the sentences
were read, Denny, present throughout the trial, walked over to the mothers of the
attackers and hugged them both. He later said, "Forgiveness is there. It has to be."
Denny still regularly suffers from severe seizures and headaches and can no longer drive
a truck - his job at the time of the beating. His only income now is the $120 a week he
receives from a disability allowance from the Government. Denny's attackers served only
four years of their ten-year sentences and have since been arrested for rape, murder, and
the illegal possession of drugs.

1.W h a t p r o o f was there o f the beating?

2. W h a t was Reginald Denny's j o b in 1 9 9 2 ?
3. H o w l o n g did the m e n w h o beat him g o t o jail f o r ?
4. Were the sentences considered l o n g enough?
5 . Did the m e n feel b a d about w h a t they did t o D e n n y ?

38 Turning the other cheek Taboos and Issues

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Discussion
1.Why do you think Denny forgave his
attackers?
2. Do you think forgiving them did any good?
3. Do you admire his act of forgiveness?
4. Would you have forgiven the men if they had
Now use the expressions in these sentences:
7. I always forgive people. I'm not the sort of
person to . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
8. We used to be bitter enemies but that's all
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . now.
9. If possible, the best policy is . . . . . . . . . . . . a

done the same thing to you? If you can't forget, at least try to forgive.
10. I think I need to go and talk to Sally and
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . We can't keep ignoring
Language each other like this.
Match the words on the left with those on the 11.If someone hurts or insults you, your instinct
right to make whole expressions about is to get revenge. The harder option is to
forgiveness: ................
1. forgive and a.
. grudge
. . 12. Martin's a very difficult person to work with.
2. water under the b. cheek
He's . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . about not getting
3. turn the other c. forget
4. bury the d. shoulder promoted last year and he's so cynical all the
5. hold a e. hatchet time.
6. got a chip on his f. bridge Do you have similar expressions in your
(A hatchet is a kind of axe.) language?

Discussion
In small groups, decide if you would forgive the people involved in the situations below:
1. Your father tells you, when you are 30, that you are adopted.
2. You find out that your partner of 15 years has been sleeping with your best friend.
3. You catch your mother reading your diary.
4. You lend your car to a colleague at work who damages it beyond repair.
5. Your partner slaps you in the face in the heat of a serious argument.
6. Your brotherlsister forgets your birthday.
7. You're in hospital following a major operation and your best friend doesn't visit you.
8. You find out that a good friend of yours has been revealing your intimate secrets to others.
9. A stranger in a bar spills a cold beer on your new shirt and just laughs.
10. While making love, your partner calls you by someone else's name.
In America when a criminal is found guilty, the victim is allowed to make a speech in court addressing
the criminal. Do you think this is a good thing? Why?
If you were a victim, what sort of speech would you give?

Quotations
Which of the following quotations is your favourite? Why?

Always forgive your enemies - nothing
annoys them so much.
Oscar Wilde
An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.
The Bible
"I can forgive, but I cannot forget" is only
another way of saying "I cannot forgive".
H. W. Beecher, American clergyman
When a man says "I cannot forgive," he is
lying. What he means is, "I will not
forgive."
Anonymous
The stupid neither forgive nor forget; the
naive forgive and forget; the wise forgive
but do not forget.
Thomas Szaz, American psychiatrist

Taboos and Issues r Turning the other cheek 38