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Submitted: August 8, 2010
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APH: Forgiveby ~deathbybroccoli

Fan Art / Manga & Anime / Digital / Books & Novels

"We cannot change the past, but we can change our attitude toward it. Uproot guilt and plant forgiveness. Tear out arrogance and seed humility. Exchange love for hate --- thereby, making the present comfortable and the future promising."

_{EDIT: Sorry if I dont reply to you all..I'm too tired to now. But thank you for leaving comments; I do read them to get an idea of everyone's opinions on this matter~}

This was mainly to do with a conversation a friend on LJ had posted...in regards to the Hiroshima bombing memorial day.

On several sites, there were many comments made about the bombing about how the Japanese "deserved" it, (and that bombing Hiroshima to end WWII was "one of the greatest humanitarian acts in human history.”)

Instead of rant forever, I'll just quote this comment, which pretty much states my opinion towards this kind of attitude/statement:

“How do heinous acts by Japanese soldiers (most of whom were forced into military service through drafts, and would be killed if they did not follow orders) compare to bombing and killing 200,000 civilians whose families had already been torn apart by, abused by, and were terrified of their own government?..... But I guess that is the bright side of being a victor in a war....you can focus on your defeated enemy's atrocities, while ignoring or justifying your own....” #please see note at bottom of page

After reading all those comments...I asked my brother,
"Do you think peace is possible?"
He very bluntly replied "No, because people will never change their thinking"

Well to me, if we don't try to change it, how will we know? I really hope that one day we will be able to obtain World Peace. The first step - hard, yes, but not impossible - is forgiveness. This "blaming game" needs to stop...

*"Forgiveness does not equal forgetting. It is about healing the memory of the harm, not erasing it."

* "It takes courage and commitment to act in a more forgiving fashion. It is not at all a sign of weakness but a mark of strength."

* "Let us forgive each other - only then will we live in peace”

* "...in a very real sense, without forgiveness, there is no future."

(by the way, Kiku was trying to paint over it himself (by precisely writing over all the words to cover them), then Alfred came along to help (and decided just to paint over the whole thing xD)...Together they're trying to clear the wall o3o~)

INSANELY LONG EDIT
EDIT 1 Ahh because it's not entirely clear, I have to say this now: I'm not trying to state who is wrong/who was wrong, and who's right in terms of the war, the bombings, or whether the bombings were necessary or not. Not the point of this picture, sorrry if you got that impression. that's not, nor will it ever be my intention - I'm not here to argue about the past actions of any country.

((long justification/explaining my point of view below, you dont need to read it unless you want to know what I mean. xDD))

my anger comes from the comments on news sites that were about the Hiroshima memorial day...Not at a country, just a particular attitude.

What I'm trying to get at...what I personally feel the problem in this situation is this:
when the Japanese are mourning the death of innocent people, there are people with the attitude 'they deserved it' - this is the kind of attitude I really...dislike. On a day of mourning, is it right to point fingers at people, and blame them or try justify your own actions by comparing them to theirs? that kind of thinking is cruel, it's wrong, I believe it needs to change. the attitude behind that thinking is what I believe drags people back - leaves them clinging to the past, hate, etc. The memorial day for bombing of Hiroshima is to remember and honour the innocent people who died. It's not a "America was horrible" or "Japan deserved it" moment. I feel it really serves as a reminder to us who the true enemy is: and to quote a US soldier who had made a statement to a japanese civilian... "You are not my enemy - war is."

Both sides committed atrocities. The Japanese definitely did. As did America. I'm not denying any of those facts at all. I'm not blaming America, I'm not blaming Japan. This blaming game, whether against each other or against ourselves doesnt help anyone. People can spend too long trying to blame the other - and this is one thing (that I feel) that prevents us all from working together, from striving to make changes for the better.

what Im hoping is that the anger, resentment, hatred towards each other will stop - and the only way I can see this happening is if people forgive (I mean everyone. Both sides. not referring to one...), I'm hoping attitudes like this will change so we can work together and prevent something like this from ever happening ever again, to prevent history from repeating itself...

of course, this picture is just my own opinion - i'm only wanting to make people think a bit, I'm not here to force it on others (copy-pasta'd from a comment I made, because Im too tired to repeat myself. xDD sorry)

EDIT 2: re:# note

this comment was made by someone (an American I think) when the "their loss was nothing compared to ours" kind of statement came into play at some point...So my point is this: it is cruel to say that people "deserved to die", and try to overlook the fact that innocent lives were lost from this act...Comparing whose actions were "more horrific" does not somehow justify that the loss of these lives 'is nothing to mourn about', or the deaths of these people should not be honoured (which is what a few of the comments were getting at). I apologise greatly for not providing the context to which the top quote was in; so it makes it sound like I was trying to shift the blame. I cant emphasise this enough - it is not my intention to do so...

and if it's of any relevance - (judging from a few comments, I have a feeling I may sound like I'm writing from the perspective of a Japanese person) I grew up in New Zealand (kiwi for life!); my parents are Taiwanese; my late Grandfather was Chinese(by descent)-Taiwanese, and always held a grudge towards the Japanese for what he experienced in WW2...Though I definitely felt hurt every time he looked sorrowful or angry at the recollection of his experiences and suffering, (and honestly, I felt angry myself at some stage) I decided not to let this influence what I should feel towards the Japanese people due to what was inflicted on my grandfather in the past and try to forgive. I am not disregarding my grandfather's suffering - if anything, I am extremely grateful that I am where I am today because of his efforts and his struggles to support his family and survive through crisis. But I want to end the bitterness that has somehow been passed onto the current generation (my father especially; is still somewhat bitter as well...) ...

Once again, I am just one person. I'm not speaking up for any country (as in, I'm not pro-'insert country here'; anti-"insert country here"). Please, if my comments offend you in some manner, I ask that you don't attribute my thoughts/opinion to either of the countries' people:</u> it would seriously break my heart if I knew someone suddenly felt angered towards either country because of what I wrote/ drew. So please, if anything, keep in mind these are the remarks of one person (who usually would not post anything like this because she finds it impossible to word her opinions/thoughts in a coherent fashion).

love 13 13

joy 1 1

~~wow 0 0~~

~~mad 0 0~~

sad 7 7

~~fear 0 0~~

~~neutral 0 0~~

~Yurilolita Jun 9, 2013

I really love this, it brings tears to my eyes

~Half-BloodPrincess1 Jun 1, 2013 Hobbyist General Artist

This is beautiful. Really.

~12345678abc Apr 27, 2013

About the end of your 2nd edit, you state your thoughts/opinions very clearly some people just don't care to listen no matter how you say it.

If you have not listened to this already you might enjoy it.
[link]

~TheReapersApprentice Feb 12, 2013 Hobbyist General Artist

I love this

I can think of loads of people that need to see this picture!

~GoldenGirl954 Feb 9, 2013

Wow nice job on this!

~Kiyoko-mai Dec 16, 2012 Student General Artist

I like this

~btwboo Nov 9, 2012

You did a wonderful job with this picture. Whether or not the bomb was necessary, the loss of life was and still is unacceptable. As many others have commented on this picture I too say no one deserved to die. It was over 60 years ago and there was tragedy on both sides. You're right about the need to forgive. Mourn the fallen on both sides but never rejoice in death because "they deserved it". Again, my compliments to you. Spread the word.

!FullmetalPipsqueak2 Nov 3, 2012 Hobbyist Writer

It reminds me of the Hunger Games, where people have to fight to death for the entertainment of people in the country's Capitol. It's supposed to be payback for what rebels long ago did to the Capitol. But it's really for the Capitol's entertainment, and the vengeance that never ended there. In the end of the story, the protagonist's sister dies and they decide to make one last Hunger Games with the Capitol's children, for they thought they deserved to die. A character, Peeta says no because the Hunger Games is why they rebelled. Beetee says people have to stop viewing each other as enemies. Katniss, the protagonist thoughts are that long ago maybe after the rebellion someone made a poll for the Hunger Games, and now nothing will change. But for revenge of her sister, she agrees.

*BeautyOfSound Oct 7, 2012 Hobbyist Writer

War Hurts.

~xXHeartlessGirlXx Sep 18, 2012 Hobbyist General Artist

As my great grandfather said, "Tá Life ar Mystery. Is é ceann de na mysteries mór an croí duine."
Translated: Life is a mystery. One of the greatest mysteries is the human heart.
And it is true, just like you show with feeling in this piece, no one believes what Irish had to go through. Say we had nothing, or my dad, Korean had nothing to went through. Everyone, every generation, every race has to go through some things.

Only same thing on positive sides, we all make it through eventually.

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