Allen's NON-Apology "Apology"

I would never want to demean him as an individual. I do apologize if he's offended by that. That was no way the point.

Sure, George.  You apologize "if he's offended by that?"  Uh, that's NOT an apology.  A REAL apology would be something like THIS:

I said something terrible the other day to a young American of South Asian origin and I know it.  I am terribly sorry to ALL who I have offended by my stupid, insensitive remarks.  As you all know, "macaca" is a racist term which means "monkey" in many countries and in many languages.  Calling a person of color a "monkey" is unacceptable and disgusting, and I am truly ashamed of what I did.  I apologize to Mr. Sidarth, and also to every other Virginian - white, black, Asian, Latino, Indian, or any other ethnicity - who I have offended.

See, this would have been a REAL apology.  But George Allen didn't say anything of the sort.  Instead, he milked "macaca" for laughs in front of an all-white, overwhelmingly Republican audience the other day, then issued a pitiful non-apology "apology" several days later after trying everything else (lame excuses, attacks) first. 

By the way, according to Wikipedia (and also many religious traditions), a TRUE apology has the following elements:
1) A specific statement of what was done.*
2) A recognition of responsibility.*
3) Acknowledgment of the pain or embarrassment.*
4) Acknowledgment of the wrongdoing.*
5) Regret. ("When the offender takes full responsibility for one's wrongdoing, a simple statement saying 'I am sorry,' may help build the trust.")
6) Future intentions - how the offender intends to behave in the future.*

*Allen's "apology" completely or partly failed to meet this criterion.

Sadly, as I've mentioned, the Allen camp's first instinct was NOT to apologize at all.  Instead, Allen's pitbull Dick Wadhams' first instinct was to: a) make excuses (we really meant "Mohawk," the Webb campaign must have doctored the video, we mispronounced the young man's name); and b) attack attack ATTACK! (hey everyone, remember that supposedly "anti-Semitic" flyer the Webb campaign put out in the Democratic primary?)  Then, after, and only AFTER, all those strategies completely failed, Allen - obviously terrified over the potential POLITICAL impact of his words and actions - decided to issue his lame non-apology "apology." 

Sadly, Allen's non-apology "apology" here is no different than his supposed "reconciliation" with African Americans after his years of opposing civil rights, opposing a Martin Luther King Day holiday, opposing changing the (then) racially offensive state song, etc.  It's all a crock of "caca."

P.S.  Here's the Washington Post on "George Allen's America."  Sad to say, but that America is not a pretty place.  As the Post concludes, "by mocking Mr. Sidarth, Sen. George F. Allen demeaned only himself."

Lowell Feld is Netroots Coordinator for the Jim Webb for US Senate Campaign.  The ideas expressed here belong to Lowell Feld alone, and do not necessarily represent those of Jim Webb, his advisors, staff, or supporters.

Comments

IPUB ALERT!!! (Loudoun County Dem - 8/15/2006 9:01:36 AM)