I appreciate the attempt to be thoughtful , but you are missing the issues. This is not about truth, and it is not about justice--or forgiveness. The first issue is the deep human need to scapegoat. Once the deep emotions are triggered and the sense of outrage ignited, someone has to pay. Ms. Shurtz was foolish to think she could control the interpretation of her costume--even in her own house. Once the decontextualized photo was out, and the outrage was ignited, she became the sacred bearer of historical sins. Some kind of ritual "death" had to be enacted. This is out of anyone's control. I have heard profs and staff (men and women from at least 4 racial groups) say racist and sexist things in campus meetings that were actually intended.  I have heard more in private homes. But none of these people were a scapegoat opportunity. People in an ethnic group enforce identities on each other, and ridicule and diminish those who are different. Most of us try to check this impulse.