Kit is clearly attempting to atone for the damage to society that Culpepper’ s Cure caused. Do you think it is possible for families such as the Culpeppers to atone for the harm that their forebears have done and is it fair that they be asked to?
I think atonement depends on who needs to forgive. If the actions the forbears did was what was acceptable by the standards of that era I would find the families should be forgiven. I have written and rewritten a follow-up argument to defend my statement and I can only think of this in personal terms. If my forefathers did something horrible I would like to think I would not be blamed and not asked to explain the past.
I do not think it is fair and actually the Culpepper’s are now doing so much good for women.
Some families would try to make amends; however, others would not. A key for me is did the forebearers willingly know that they were harming others to make a buck. If past practices and products at the time seemed reasonable, then no, the families shouldn’t be held accountable. What seemed a valid practice in the past but is now known to be unreliable or harmful happens throughout time. Hey, it’s possible my foot was x-rayed in a shoe store as that was one way to determine sizing.
I do think it’s possible for a family to atone for past wrongs, and if they have the means, I hope they would choose to do so. However, I don’t necessarily think they should be forced to.
I think if my family fortune was built on a “cure” that killed many women, I would want to take a percentage of the money and pay it forward. Kit has a very easy life as a result of a medication that harmed women. While nobody can force him to make charitable donations to women’s causes- I definitely think it’s the morally correct thing to do.
I agree with Cheryl that it depends on the crime and the time it was committed. We can’t judge past generations by our standards. However, I can see the ancestors wanting to atone for the bad deeds that led to their riches and standard of life. I think what the Culpepper’s ended up doing was noble and righteous. It may not have been necessary, but it was honest and genuine. An act of contrition on behalf of their family.
Yes. This. I totally agree.
This is a tricky question that can have deep emotional pain for the families that have been injured either financially and/or physically by deliberate harmful actions. In most of these situations, those responsible for these horrible actions are no longer alive and current relatives had nothing to do with these actions. While the future generations did not cause the harm, I do appreciate it when there is a recognition of these harmful actions by providing some type of financial assistance. I don’t mean to imply it forgives the actions, only that there is some healing provided when someone recognizes that part of their “good fortune” has been built upon inappropriate actions to others.