Forcing someone to “forgive” usually means one of these two things:
A plausibly deniable reminder that the victim’s position in the pecking order is much lower than the aggressor’s. This is obvious when everyone knows that had the roles of the aggressor and the victim been reversed, the authority would insist on proper punishment instead.
Alternatively, the authority cares neither about the victim nor the aggressor, they just wish not to be bothered by their conflict.
Forcing someone to “forgive” usually means one of these two things:
A plausibly deniable reminder that the victim’s position in the pecking order is much lower than the aggressor’s. This is obvious when everyone knows that had the roles of the aggressor and the victim been reversed, the authority would insist on proper punishment instead.
Alternatively, the authority cares neither about the victim nor the aggressor, they just wish not to be bothered by their conflict.