Mika's inappropriate comments about accusers of fmr colleague didn't sit well. All 10 of them let...

Here's your Christmas miracle for this year: I agree with Mika. Just as people need to apologize for their transgressions, they need to be forgiven. That doesn't mean that they should escape the consequences of their bad acts, just forgiven.

The simple truth is that both acts, asking forgiveness and granting it are for the benefit of the victim. The mandate for granting forgiveness is found in most cultures and extends into antiquity. For example, in Judaism, "...if one repents and asks for forgiveness on several separate occasions and the victim refuses to forgive out of spite, the transgression becomes that of the one who refuses to forgive.

Read more at http://www.patheos.com/blogs/lovejoyfeminism/2013/06/judaism-101-sin-and-forgiveness.html#8tB062cjLVYEOtBM.99

Interestingly, when I was stationed in Hawaii I learned of the ancient Polynesian tradition known as "Ho'oponono" (literally, "to make right right") which is fundamentally the same as the Jewish tradition mentioned above.

All such concepts are based on the belief that society suffers when victims "carry a grudge". Without forgiveness, we end up in a world where family feuds (such as the infamous Hatfields and McCoys) become the norm.