Imagine walking through a maximum security prison and seeing the cell keys hanging inside the cells. By choosing not to forgive, we voluntarily sentence ourselves to diminished, pain-filled lives. Why would anyone do such a thing? Because forgiveness seems an inappropriate response to offense. To experience a broken promise, betrayed confidence, personal rejection, false accusation, injury, or abuse, is to be wounded. Such wounds cry out for justice. But what if justice is not possible? Or if it doesn't undo the damage done? What then? In this concise, quickly-read volume, noted pastor and author Erwin Lutzer carefully illustrates how it is possible to right the wrongs of your life. Whether you've been wronged--or have wronged others--he makes it possible to experience the freedom of forgiveness, and the restoration of a clear conscience.
The Royal Society of Canada’s mandate is to elect to its membership leading scholars in the arts, humanities, social sciences, and sciences, lending its seal of excellence to those who advance artistic and intellectual knowledge in Canada. Duncan Campbell Scott, one of the architects of the Indian residential school system in Canada, served as the society’s president and dominated its activities; many other members – historically overwhelmingly white men – helped shape knowledge systems rooted in colonialism that have proven catastrophic for Indigenous communities. Written primarily by current Royal Society of Canada members, these essays explore the historical contribution of the RSC and of Canadian scholars to the production of ideas and policies that shored up white settler privilege, underpinning the disastrous interaction between Indigenous peoples and white settlers. Historical essays focus on the period from the RSC’s founding in 1882 to the mid-twentieth century; later chapters bring the discussion to the present, documenting the first steps taken to change damaging patterns and challenging the society and Canadian scholars to make substantial strides toward a better future. The highly educated in Canadian society were not just bystanders: they deployed their knowledge and skills to abet colonialism. This volume dives deep into the RSC’s history to learn why academia has more often been an aid to colonialism than a force against it. Royally Wronged poses difficult questions about what is required – for individual academics, fields of study, and the RSC – to move meaningfully toward reconciliation.
Why is being a victim such a potent identity today? Who claims to be a victim, and why? How have such claims changed in the past century? Who benefits and who loses from the struggles over victimhood in public culture? In this timely and incisive book, Lilie Chouliaraki shows how claiming victimhood is about claiming power: who deserves to be protected as a victim and who should be punished as a perpetrator. She argues that even though victimhood has long been used to excuse violence and hierarchy, social media platforms and far-right populism have turned victimhood into a weapon of the privileged. Drawing on recent examples such as the overturning of Roe v. Wade, movements like #MeToo and Black Lives Matter, and the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as historical ones from the major wars of the twentieth century and the Civil Rights Movement, Wronged reveals why claims of victimization are so effective at reinforcing instead of alleviating inequalities of class, gender, and race. Unless we come to recognize the suffering of the vulnerable for what it is—a matter not of victimhood but of injustice—Chouliaraki powerfully warns, the culture of victimhood will continue to perpetuate old exclusions and enable further injuries.
Psychological entitlement, or a sense that some individuals or groups are inherently worthier of certain privileges, is an overlooked but essential feature of the persistent inequality that resists social progress and oppresses those in the margins. In the political climate that gave rise to and resulted in Donald Trump's presidency, confusion, rage, and feelings of victimization linger among those who felt empowered by the validation felt with him into office--feelings that existed and will continue to exist independently of the former president himself. Enraged, Rattled, and Wronged confronts psychological entitlement in its many forms or related attributes, such as narcissism, to expose the ugly truths at the heart of this phenomenon. In exploring how members of advantaged groups come to understand their belief in their own worthiness relative to those in disadvantaged groups, expert psychologist Kristin J. Anderson channels her research and expertise in prejudice and discrimination to ask critical questions of the current political and social climate. What happens to entitled people when they feel pushed aside? How does their inflated sense of deservingness make them vulnerable to manipulation by the demagogues who use them, blinding them to the negative outcomes that are often paradoxical? What are they willing to tear down as they scramble to keep their grip on the status and power they believe are rightfully theirs? How has entitled rage played out historically, and how do these events lend themselves to both the predictable and unpredictable manifestations of power grabs that we see now? Drawing from a wealth of timely examples and empirical literature, Anderson situates this anger as backlash against the social progress that empowers marginalized groups, even at the expense of the dominant group, if necessary. Citing historical moments such as the rage of whites directed at newly freed African Americans in the South during Reconstruction and the anger of the entitled when women have attempted to control their reproduction, Anderson traces this phenomenon over time and delineates the link between individual-level processing of psychological deservingness and macro-level problems that impede equality, concluding with a call for action for to dominant group members to join the vibrant movements for social progress that have emerged in recent years.
Research by this attorney-author uncovers an epidemic of subsurface conflict in today's church. Been Wronged Lately? thoughtfully explores the how's and why's of the overlooked biblical remedy of lay conciliation.
Recent years have seen the rapid spread of far-right movements across the globe. Far beyond Donald Trump, these movements are reshaping the physical world in ways that pose danger to everyone, regardless of their politics. But how is this happening, and why with such speed? The shocking answer turns out to be aggrieved manhood gone viral, disguised as right-wing populism. Taking a fresh approach to global politics, Wronged and Dangerous refocuses divisions towards shared human interests. If you care about our common future, discover new ways to engage with the challenges of our time.
“China’s Workers Wronged,” highlights the struggles and challenges faced by China’s workers during the country’s dramatic economic rise. The book is based on 88 interviews with Chinese workers conducted in recent years by China Labor Bulletin Executive Director Han Dongfang for RFA.
Countering the opposing narratives of political amorality and moral progressivism, Rathbun provides a new approach to the place of morality in international politics. This book will appeal to students and scholars of international relations and security studies, especially those interested in normative, psychological and evolutionary approaches.
Seeking revenge might feel satisfying in the short term, but it rarely brings lasting peace or resolution. It's often better to focus on setting things right, whether through communication, forgiveness, or letting go. It's about finding a balance between standing up for yourself and maintaining your own well-being.
