An Apology, Whatever The Circumstances

Congrats, I guess, for obtaining a middle school grasp of history https://t.co/zTqFsCXkjc

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) June 14, 2021

The Hall of Fame New York Yankee shortstop and terrible Yankee broadcaster Phil Rizzuto was known in his latter career for a signature phrase. Were he still alive, he wouldn't- but should- be shouting "holy cow!"

Recognizing the horrors of the Holocaust is obtaining a mere middle school grasp of history. However, Greene does grasp what precious few public figures do- an understanding of the meaning of apology.

Not the fake apology. Declaring that one is issuing an "apology" does not constitute an apology. "I regret the statement I made" may have been prompted by the realization that the remark harmed the reputation of the speaker.  "I apologize for" or "I regret" the "hurt this has caused" suggests that the problem lies not with the statement or the speaker, but with the target, who was overly sensitive.

Instead, Representative Greene can be seen in the embedded video below saying

One of the best lessons that my father always taught me was when you make a mistake, you should own it. And I have made a mistake and it's reallly bothered me for a couple of weeks now and I want to own it.

And I have made a mistake is the essence of an apology. It means "I should not have said what I said" and is unequivocal. Further, "I want to own it" implies that it was her mistake and her mistake alone.

In that same vein, at the conclusion of this portion of her remarks, Greene added "I believe that if we're going to lead, we need to be able to lead in a way where if we've messed up, it's very important to say we're sorry." That was a mere cherry on top of already having admitted a mistake, one which was her responsibility alone.

Greene, already removed from the committees on which she served and facing possible censure, may not have been sincere. Neither do we know in any instance whether someone who has given what the media rushes to call an "apology"- and is usually not one- is sincere.

We know only that Marjorie Taylor Greene has done what too few individuals in the arena do- she apologized. She is still a dangerous, extreme right-winger and someone who puts the reprehensible in "reprehensible." But she at least has issued an actual apology for a religiously inappopriate remark, something Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, and a few other figures have failed to do.

Share |