We start off this week by discussing “Burning Bridges” and making connections to

Question

We start off this week by discussing “Burning Bridges” and making connections to Chapter 10: The Practice of Forgiveness and Reconciliation (Hocker and Wilmot, 2017). Before you can begin composing your discussion posting, view the Burning Bridges documentary. Your post should reflect on the following questions and make connections to related materials from the text.* Post your initial response and peer responses to Discussion 10.1 by the designated due date.

1. What role did peer pressure play in the incident?

2. What do you think made it so difficult for any one of these men to say, “Stop. Don’t do this!”

3. What part of the conference do you think had the greatest impact on the offenders?

4. The judge shortened the jail sentence of the six men based on the full-length video of the conference that he saw prior to sentencing. Do you think this was fair? Why or why not?

5. In what ways might participating in a conference like this be harder emotionally than going to jail?

6. What do you think the young men got from the conference?

7. What do you think the community got from the conference?

8. What do you think the young men’s family members got from the conference?

9. What lessons can you take from this documentary?

*The cases presented in our text this week are powerful and may trigger personal memories and strong emotions. Please reflect on one or two themes from these case studies in your forum answer as they connect to Burning Bridges. Do this to the degree that you are comfortable in order to personalize perspectives on opportunities and challenges for a restorative process, forgiveness and reconciliation. If cases and themes leave you feeling vulnerable and you would prefer to talk privately, you may opt for a private email or phone conversation with your instructor, or debrief with a trusted classmate, friend, family member or counselor.

Explanation / Answer

The documentary ‘Burning Bridges’ captures live a rare occasion of the reconciliation process involving an entire community and presents the significance of a mutual communication through an open conference about emotional memory and collective hurt involved in criminal instances which impact an entire society. The documentary covers the incident of June 200 when a local arson destroyed historic Mood’s Covered Bridge, in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, USA. The community was heartbroken at the loss of this beloved landmark. a reminder of more tranquil, simpler times.

When the identity of the arsonists was discovered few months later, it Was found that The arsonists were six young men who were well known in the area. They constituted graduates of the local high school, college students from “good families.” People were outraged by what the young men had done and experienced a great deal of unresolved anger.

The International Institute for Restorative Practices (IIRP) offered to run a restorative conference with the young men, their families and members of the community, hoping to initiate a process of collective healing through an open dialogue. Moreover, in their testimony, the young arsonists shared how they were overwhelmed by peer pressure to engage in the criminal action even when they internally recognised it as a morally wrong action. A surge of emotional alliance and in-group attachment led the six men to identify with the peer group and behave in a way which went against the social norm. Thus, their overpowering feeling of ingroup identification led the six men to commit to the act instead of refusing submitting to groupthink.

Other than helping the community understand the reasons for the damage to the bridge which had emerged as their collective symbol of identity and nostalgia about the past, the conference proved to be an additional help in the juridical process. The judge in the arson case watched the entire three-hour unedited tape of the conference and used it as a sentencing tool. For those convicted, More than the final verdict, participation in the conference proved more emotionally challenging as it was in the conference they confronted by the wide-scale impact of their actions and how the community had been affected by the crime. Such experiences with one’s victim can evoke greater feelings of guilt and responsibility for the actions and can be more difficult than the actual confinement to jail.

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