#atonement isnt about self punishment forever and ever

[nohriantomatoes]

Not to mention, the fact OP said "if you live in your head convinced you'll only ever hurt people bc you don't forgive yourself, you will complete the self-fulfilling prophecy"

Everyone disagreeing with OP needs to take a step back and actually evaluate what is being said in this post and what society would look like if everyone learned not only how to do better (aka not be an abuser) but how to move on from their bad past (also a huge part of not continuing the cycle of abuse). Everyone has something they think us wrong with them and everyone needs to learn how to handle that feeling.

the thing is, if your younger self was a bigot or an abuser, u can't make people forgive you. but you still gotta forgive yourself, like that's non-negotiable, dude. that happens before u can even ask the question of earning forgiveness from anyone lese