[That's] the latest trend in apologies, "That's not who I really am." You know, "That's not the person I am." Bull! It is who you are! You are a commie! You are a full-fledged Marxist liberal! You do wish I was dead. It is who you are.I just wanted to highlight that quote in case you don't have the stamina to read all the way to the end of the previous post.
... What, did somebody steal your personality for a day and grab hold of your hands and start typing on your keyboard and it wasn't you?... This is one of the big problems we have in this country: People don't have the guts to be who they are and stand up for who they are and admit what they really are, especially under fire....
March 5, 2012
"Why apologize in the first place? She's buckling to pressure. She meant to say it."
"She meant it! Stand by it. She knows damn well she meant it."
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29 comments:
If Rush were sincerely sorry, if he could express that in a way that it seemed evident to me he was sincerely sorry, I would have no problem accepting that apology and moving back to the other fronts of the culture wars.
A lot of conservatives make it clear they don't think he's really sorry (Ron Paul, several Althouse commentators). Why should anyone on the left then?
And then there's this quote from Althouse's crackerjack research team. Rush used to say "Words have meanings. They have consequences."
"A lot of conservatives make it clear they don't think he's really sorry..."
Well, I haven't said that.
I'm trying to get to the root of what we really think about apologies.
Are they bullshit? Should we scoff at them all? Or do they have an important role to play in human civilization, such that we require an apology in the correct form to be accepted?
Rush used an analogy. It was a crude analogy. I don't think he's apologizing so much for the analogy as he is for the crudeness. He isn't disassociating himsel from his beliefs on the subject. He's simply apologizing for being rude. It seems to me that's a major difference between his apology and the apologies he seems to find so unappealing.
Sincere apologies are always welcome IMO. Powerful relationships can be built over sincere apologies. I've seen this many times in my personal and professional life.
phx wrote: A lot of conservatives make it clear they don't think he's really sorry (Ron Paul, several Althouse commentators). Why should anyone on the left then?
I'm on record here saying Fluke's demands are wrong. Should I apologize for that as well? Is that what you're seeking--any apology from anyone opposing your views?
phx said: I would have no problem accepting that apology and moving back to the other fronts of the culture wars.
Well there we have it--an admission that only the fronts of the "culture war" are worth discussing.
Let's talk about the economics of expanding entitlements at this point in time.
Limbaugh may well be sorry that his (clumsy) attempt at showing up how bizarre Ms. Fluke's testimony was, was taken as a personal attack on Ms. Fluke, i.e. as if he believed she actually lived up to what her fantastic statements indicated, but he should not have apologized. Predictably the MSM is now jubilantly broadcasting exactly that, and if not accepting his apology, hyping that he has knuckled under to them.
It's just another skirmish, but he should not have given them the opportunity to claim victory for their side.
Apologies are bullshit and demanding apologies is bullshit in today's political realm.
I'm sorry, but that's what I think.
My policy for offering an apology is not to do so until I've understood what I've done, my motivations behind that and my willingness, going forward, to do better.
My policy for accepting an apology, is to take the temperature, of the same for the other person, as best as I can and see what they do going forward.
As for Rush, I'm kind of with Clark on this.
phx wrote: Where do you get that from my post??
I apologize if that's not what you meant. I'll keep a closer eye on your views in the future.
chickenlittle: I refuse to accept such an insincere apology.
This is war.
I'm still waiting for Althouse's apology for voting for Obama.
Strategic social apologies are explained in one of the first great novels, Vanity Fair.
That method is to first falsely accuse someone, and then make a big public display of admitting you were wrong and humbling yourself. Thackeray says it works every time to builds your reputation as a safe and honest person within the social group.
Therefore Limbaugh's transparent apology tactic had to be rejected in Hard Ball politics.
Poor Rush already had two and a half strikes on him with most women for a bombastic and bragging style. But Rush is not the issue. Romney and the GOP Senate candidates that can be tied to Rush are the issue.
It's time to accept that leftists have won, and control the levers of government, the media, and education, from preschool to universities.
As a result, opposition to their ideals is a sin, and mockery of their prosletyzers is a crime.
Apologies are demanded for engaging in either heresy if one plans on participating in society, whose politeness dependings on following their rules.
Yes, the apologies are bullshit. They are mere show trial apologies, extracted in order to encourage the others.
This is why people in the former Soviet block do not look at you when walking, keeping their eyes on the ground, avoiding any potential for being accused of thought crimes.
Drama queens.
Pete said...
I'm still waiting for Althouse's apology for voting for Obama.
It wasn't just her sole vote--she convinced thousands--perhaps millions--to vote for Obama too.
Who are Althouse's sponsors? Amazon? Google? Maybe we can put pressure on them.
Pete said...
I'm still waiting for Althouse's apology for voting for Obama.
Don't hold your breath. She was offered two lousy choices, and took one. As much as I hate Mr. Zero, I can't guarantee that McCain would have been better. I voted for neither.
People should apologize for doing something wrong [not because of pressure]. Rush should have apologized. Hi statement made no sense. Asking for someone to pay for your contraceptives does not make one a prositute or a slut.
He should have called her a parasite. Or a baby sucking on momma gov't's teat. Or a scum sucking leech. Or a child dependant on others. All of those would be accurate.
It's all about the control. All of it. Well, that and politics--but I repeat myself.
Sure it's about control in part. Dems want to control the narrative. Repubs just gave them an opportunity.
People with big egos have a harder time apologizing then someone who's not so self-important or self-centered. It's not hard to understand.
Ya, Limbaugh's sorry that he got played by a blatantly obvious ploy to get the right bogged down in this contraception red herring, but he's not sorry one bit that he behaved like the bloated old frat boy he is.
Sincere apologies are few and far between. His was not sincere.
Yes, apologies and forgiveness are important, necessary even, to human civilization. But this non-apology apology performance art is destructive in the long run.
BTW, Limbaugh did not just refer to Fluke as a slut -- he publicly told her he felt she not only owed him and his buddies a shot at fucking her, but that she also owed them all video footage of any other sexual activity she was engaged in. His words danced very close to an open sexual assault on this woman.
What he essentially said was that any woman who believed PRIVATE insurance companies should offer full coverage for contraception through should be fair game for any guy who wants to rape her.
That's not funny, and no real man, no true man, thinks it is. That there are women on the right who think that kind of rhetoric is funny just goes to show how low we've sunk as a society.
RL wasn't apologizing to Fluke, he was trying to extract himself from a situation in which he was doing damage to the GOP.
BTW from Slate:
Limbaugh has no idea how often Fluke has sex. But I can tell you exactly how many times Limbaugh used the phrase “so much sex” during his three days of attacking Fluke. The number is 23, and it rises above 30 if you include related phrases ...
I'm of the Nathan Brittles School, "Never apologize. It's a sign of weakness".
And phx and his "If Rush were sincerely sorry" is just so much Lefty claptrap coming from a Lefty troll.
How many times has any Lefty accepted an apology? It's one of Uncle Saul's ways of putting the Good Guys on the defensive.
I demand that Nora apologize for her insensitive and mean-spirited attack and name-calling against Rush Limbaugh.
She is no better than Rush, nay, she is worse, because she did it while attempting to hold a moral high ground.
Nora, you are despicable for holding yourself exempt from the rules you attempt to impose on others.
I'm of the Nathan Brittles School, "Never apologize. It's a sign of weakness".
Is this a rule you follow in your everyday life? Is it one you recommend that folks follow in their everyday lives?
Nora said: His words danced very close to an open sexual assault on this woman.
What he essentially said was that any woman who believed PRIVATE insurance companies should offer full coverage for contraception through should be fair game for any guy who wants to rape her.
OK, I've got a real problem with that. First, sexual assault is a real and horrible thing. It is NOT the same as, or anything like, someone saying derogatory things about you. Making that comparison is extremely disgusting.
Second, no, Rush did not in any way say that anyone could or should rape her. You really should be ashamed of yourself for spreading such a lie. If your position were stronger, you would not feel the urge to make things up about it.
***********************
For those saying that his apology was not sincere, what would you have him say (and/or do) that would make you believe it was sincere? I'm honestly asking in the interest of discussion.
IMO, he was wrong to use such crude words, and should have apologized for it. And he did. He was not wrong to mock her absurd argument, and he needs not apologize for it.
Limbaugh repeated the [to be kind] distortions of Fluke's positions, while blaming liberals for the foulness he stooped to in expressing them. The apologia spent more time lampooning the distortions and victimized blame than in expressing any understanding or remorse for the offensiveness of his behavior. Demonstrating understanding of offensiveness and damage, and expressing remorse, are what psychologists look for in children for development, and in psychopaths for lack of it to define the idea of sincerity.
There are people who think the amount of damage the man has caused over the days he persisted in his foul behavior that are sufficiently dismissed by his his statement of apology, and those who may not think so. He certainly offended more than just Fluke, and his persistence in distorting the position she represented continues to offend some.
Many have said he owes no apology.
Many have repeated the culumney in even harsher terms.
Fluke may or may not think the meaning of Limbaugh's web statement hardly ameliorate the damage of his days of foulness.
I think it must be nice to have such absolute certainty about about the propriety of these matters to be able to judge. I particularly enjoyed reading about personal responsibility as a stone hurled from Limbaugh at liberals as he blamed liberals for the foulness of daily diatribes that led him to say things he certainly didn't mean to say. Liberals clearly owe Mr. Limbaugh an apology.
Hypocrisy is the tribute that vice pays to virtue. The apology insincerely offered but graciously accepted is in the same vein - it allows a society of imperfect people a mechanism a way of honoring what should be while acknowledging that it won't always be so.
To refuse to accept an apology is to assert that you think the social order should stay out of balance. You do so at your peril, as it may one day be you who needs to be cut a little slack. When you get an apology, you've won. If you insist on pushing it, you're setting up a standard where you're going to get smacked down yourself sooner or later, because all of us screw up.
Gbarto @ 2:56
Hear hear. Well said!
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