Joy Behar says Botham Jean's brother didn't need to forgive Amber Guyger 'so quickly'
Joy Behar isn’t ready to forgive and forget. The panelists of “The View” weighed in on the recent sentencing of Amber Guyger, an off-duty police officer sentenced to a decade in prison for murdering her neighbor in what she says was a tragic accident.
The victim, Botham Jean, died from wounds he sustained after Guyger opened fire upon entering an apartment she thought was her own, but was Jean’s. Jean’s brother, Brandt Jean, spoke at Guyger’s sentencing and said, “I forgive you.” He ended his statement by asking the judge if he could hug Guyger.
Behar dismissed the notion of unconditional forgiveness, saying, “To me there are some crimes that are so heinous that they’re unforgivable.” She added, “I think that to hold on to the rage gives you strength also. I’m not sure you have to forgive so quickly.”
Fellow panelist Whoopi Goldberg defended Brandt Jean’s right to forgive his brother’s killer, but also sympathized with Behar’s point of view. “He thought his brother would have wanted him to forgive her, and none of us can judge that,” said Goldberg. She added, “We’ll always have to ask the question ‘could we be so big?’ I don’t know if I could be.”
Viewers on Twitter were split over Brandt Jean’s forgiveness of Amber Guyger and his embrace of her in the courtroom. Many wrote that they agreed with Behar and wouldn’t be able to forgive if they were in the same situation:
His emotions are still raw...when the spotlight no longer shines, it will hit him like a ton of bricks the fact that he wrapped his arms around a devil for all the world to see.
— SUNSHINE! (@YetaSunshine) October 3, 2019
I am SO impressed with Joy Behar for being real and authentic in her responses to this segment today! Joy had the courage to speak against the obviously popular opinion that forgiveness should be automatically given.
— Jack Richter (@SingerJack) October 3, 2019
Others disagreed with Behar and said that forgiveness is the only way to truly begin to heal:
@JoyVBehar @TheView
If you think "some things aren't forgivable", Joy you still haven't figured it out. That's the point of forgiveness, to forgive, especially, the most horrendous things bcuz if you can do that, you can create peace. Holding a grudge will never create peace.— Se?or Momentz (@heylair) October 3, 2019
@TheView On the hugging brother... The only way to move on and not let the anger overwhelm your life is to forgive. Every religion addresses it.
Those that can't forgive are doomed to live in dread and despair— Schmedley Johanson (@Springisnow) October 3, 2019
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