I don’t really think people should always be made to pay for opinions they had in the past, especially if they have clearly grown and changed.
See, the thing about life is… people change, Like, genuinely, the version of you from five years ago is not the same person you are today, even when you look back at your old messages, tweets, or posts, sometimes you just cringe and wonder, “Was this really me?” That alone shows growth.
If someone said something years ago I think we should ask that are they still the same person now?
If they are, then they should be held accountable for what they did, there is no excuse for what they did.. If they have changed and learned from their mistakes and said sorry and are doing better now then it does not seem right to keep bringing up their past mistakes.
I think people forget that becoming a person takes time, nobody becomes perfect overnight, people get better by Y7 mistakes and learning from them and trying things, some people grew up in places where they were taught things that are not right and it takes time for them to learn that those things are not right, this does not make it okay to do things but it helps us understand why people do them.
People like the person who said something years ago should be given a chance to show that they have changed, the person who said something years ago can change and become a better person, If the person who said something years ago has really changed then we should not keep talking about what they did, in the past.
Now don’t get me wrong, I am not saying people should just say anything they like and later hide behind “I’ve changed.” No, there should still be accountability,If you said something harmful, you should acknowledge it, own up to it, and make it clear that you know it was wrong, That part is important.
But the problem I have is when people refuse to let others move on, even after they have taken responsibility. It’s like no matter what you do, you are forever tied to that one mistake that kind of mindset can actually discourage people from trying to grow, because it feels like, “What’s the point? They will never forgive me anyway.”
Another thing is context, Some of these old posts people dig up are from when someone was really young, like teenage years, and let’s be honest, teenagers say a lot of nonsense, not because they’re evil, but because they don’t fully understand things yet,So judging someone’s entire life based on something they said at 15 or 16 doesn’t always sit right with me.
At the same time though, I understand why people react strongly. Words can hurt, and for some people, those “old opinions” weren’t just harmless statements, they were things that affected real lives, so it makes sense that people don’t want to just forget about it like it never happened.
I think the balance here is this, don’t ignore the past, but don’t ignore growth either.
When someone has clearly shown that they are no longer the person their present life should count for something, the things they do now should matter more, than the mistakes they made in the past.. If they have not really changed or they are only saying sorry because they got caught then that is a different situation.
At the end of the day I think people should be given a chance to grow and learn from their mistakes, because if we only look at the things people have done then honestly none of us will be perfect.
Life does not really work that way.
