Forgiveness is easier said than done.  The question most commonly asked is, "who deserves forgiveness?"  According to Roxane Gay, Dylann Roof does not deserve forgiveness.  It is often hard to forgive someone who is not sorry, and Dylann Roof has shown no signs of remorse.  But for most African Americans, this is not just about forgiving Dylann Roof.  In fact, the more the white culture demands for forgiveness, the less likely African Americans are to give it. Roxane Gay believes that African Americans need to be wary of granting forgiveness for white on black hate crimes, while Sophronia Scott, author of, "For Roxane Gay: Notes from a Forgiving Heart" believes that forgiveness is what helps African Americans to heal. Sophronia Scott's point of view helps readers to see Gay's piece from a different perspective and provides a brand new understanding. 

African Americans have been oppressed in this country for centuries now.  White America focuses on the progress that this country has made throughout the years,  when the reality is, even though America has made strides towards improving social justice since the first enslaved Africans were brought to America in 1619 (The History Channel), there are still many things that need to change.  The fact of the matter is, racism is still prevalent in today's society and African Americans are not always safe in this country that they call home. 

Dylann Roof was a white male who shot and killed 9 African Americans of Emanuel African American Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina. According to Zavadski's article, Roof wrote on his website that he chose this church because Charleston is the most historic city in his state and had the highest ratio of blacks to whites in the country.  Dylann Roof wanted to start a race war in America. Zavadski also wrote that Roof was a white supremacist.  Roof wanted segregation and believed that all African Americans were evil.  These are his beliefs and there is not any proof that he is in the least bit sorry for them. Roof's best friend was quoted saying, "He said he wanted to start a civil war." and "He said he was going to do something like that and then kill himself." This shows that he was open about his beliefs and wanted to act upon them.

Roxane Gay makes a very good point: how can you forgive the actions of someone who is unapologetic for them?  It is also hard to forgive someone when their crimes are downplayed due to their race.  Dylann Roof is a terrorist.  According to his own words, rehashed by The Daily Beast, his plans were politically motivated and meant to cause fear.  Roof was not charged with terrorism simply due to the fact that he was an American.  Julia Craven from The Huffington Post claims that since 9/11 most Americans believe that the only terrorists out there are muslim, so Americans are not often punished justly for the crimes that they commit. It is hard to forgive a crime when the proper punishment was not given. Scott argues that holding out forgiveness causes the victims to hold onto anger, only hurting them more.

According to Gay, Dylann Roof's acts were so horrendous that he should not be forgiven. Because of the teaching of the bible, many Catholics believe that all sins should be forgiven.  In the "Lord's Prayer," Jesus says, "forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us."  This basically says that humans should forgive each other's sins.  But Gay believes there are some sins that are just too terrible to forgive. Gay believes that there should be confession and penance in order to be forgiven.  Dylann Roof has not show any reconciliation for these sins, in fact he seems at peace with his horrifying actions and as a Catholic, Gay believes that he has not met the "requirements" needed to receive forgiveness.

In "For Roxane Gay: Notes from a Forgiving Heart," Scott responds to Gay by saying, "No. Forgiveness doesn't mean you don't recognize the evil. On the contrary- forgiveness recognizes the evil and also the vital necessity that we must face evil full on. The recognition alerts us to work that must be done and we have to figure out what that work is, what personal gifts must be brought to bear to maintain the light so the darkness does not overcome us. But you can't do all the work you need to do if you are tied up in an unforgiving state." (Scott, For Roxane Gay: Notes from a Forgiving Heart). By saying this, she challenges Gay's view on forgiveness and shows why she believes it's necessary. This shows that all people deal with tragedies and forgiveness for those tragedies in different ways. There is no right or wrong way and it is all dependent on a person's individual feelings and beliefs.

This article by Gay is intended for the African American audience.  Gay wants everyone to know that forgiveness is not something that can be demanded, but something that must be worked for and well deserved.  According to Gay, the "power of whiteness" can not win forgiveness.  She does believe that the power of whiteness is working in Roof's favor. The media does not portray Roof as a terrorist or a thug, but tries to understand what made the shooter so "crazy" and why he was "mentally unstable." (Craven). Gay believes that this is because he is white and because white culture believes that there is no way people of their kind can commit such heinous acts without something being mentally wrong with them. Gay wants to warn the African American community against forgiving those who do not deserve it because history can repeat itself without taking the proper precautions. 

Gay believes that blacks have had to forgive whites continuously for their hateful acts. They have suffered through slavery, lynching, unfair incarceration, police brutality, and more. They have forgiven the whites for all of that.  Gay says that if they keep forgiving, they will continue be the victims of these crimes.  She believes that by forgiving, blacks are allowing these crimes to continue because the white culture is not truly held accountable for their actions.

When this article was first published, the responses were filled with mixed opinions of forgiveness.  On the New York Times website, a commenter by the name "S.D. Keith" from Birmingham, Alabama said "Forgive Always.  Forget Never.  I think you may be confusing the two."  Another commenter by the name of "DSM" from Westfield said "I agree completely with the author about not forgiving him-- just as I believe the racist murders of the Civil Rights struggle ...   should continue to be investigated and prosecuted rather than forgiven."  (NewYorkTimes.com). Some people believed that humans should forgive rather than forget, but others believed that the crimes of hateful people like Dylann Roof should never be forgiven. These opinions offer different perspectives on the subject of forgiveness so readers can build their own beliefs on more than just Gay's article. 

The Charleston shooting was not the only recent event that involved hate crime in the United States. In Ferguson, Missouri a black male was said to be killed "unjustly" by a white police officer and the police officer was not indicted for the alleged crime. This started a wave of police brutality in the media. Another example of police brutality case in Baltimore, having to do with a white officer and a black male where the black male ended up dead. This only added fuel to the fire. When the Charleston shooting took place, the black community had already been dealing with immense loss and injustice. This is a likely cause as to why forgiveness was so hard to lend to yet another white on black hate crime.

 It is important to understand these surrounding events because if the Charleston Shooting was the only black hate crime within a few years time span, it would be easier to forgive the white community as a whole. One insane person would not represent the rest of the white race in America. But since black hate crimes have become the norm and the crimes are happening so frequently, with immense media coverage, it seems that the majority of the white race is to blame because the perpetrators are not held accountable for their crimes. This is why it is unbelievably hard to forgive when another of these crimes happen. 

Gay's article makes people of both white and black cultures stop and think about their stance in social injustice.  For the African Americans: are they being too forgiving?  Are they allowing the perpetrators to keep making them the victims?  For the whites: what makes Dylann Roof worthy of forgiveness?  Why can't they just hold each other accountable for their crimes? Both sides must take a hard look at their stance on the situation and determine how to successfully work together to create an equal environment in this country.

