The Atlantic - Latest Comments in The Problem Of Apology (Part 2)

Re: The Problem Of Apology (Part 2)

Bronx Bomber — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 09:09:55 -0000

I love it, I actually root for these moments. Anything that hastens the demise of the right wing in this country is fine by me. Let them continue to show their ass, it's actually a good thing in the long run.

Re: The Problem Of Apology (Part 2)

Juba — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 15:09:20 -0000

Your piece is wrong boss, LOL!!! Sorry cuz.

Re: The Problem Of Apology (Part 2)

Blurgle — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 10:57:29 -0000

Because they honestly assume that there are three groups of people:

1. Blacks, who really, honestly are her inferiors and who SHOULD be treated like garbage so that they "learn their place" as inferiors

2. Total and complete utter idiots, ie. liberals

3. Weasels who use "politically correct" words because they're too cowardly to tell the truth, but who secretly agree with them 100%. In their minds, about 95% of whites fall into this category.

That's why racists never really apologize. They are convinced beyond argument that they are the only ones brave enough to stand up against those evil, evil, uppity blacks and the total idiot liberals who are too dumb to see blacks as inferiors.

Re: The Problem Of Apology (Part 2)

tricstmr — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 10:16:38 -0000

This makes me really want to see some black public personality try to use that line... or any minority for that matter.

Have them say something bigoted --or even not bigoted and have the right-wing go nuts, and then have them say "I'm not racist, some of my best friends are white.."

That would be classic...

Re: The Problem Of Apology (Part 2)

brucds — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 10:00:04 -0000

Another one of these GOP racist deals, complete with deflecting blame to the person insulted, here:

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2009_06/018627.php

Re: The Problem Of Apology (Part 2)

Persia — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 09:09:20 -0000

Hey, Dolly Parton has more decency in her little finger than most of these assholes have in their entire staffs.

Re: The Problem Of Apology (Part 2)

Persia — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 09:08:35 -0000

They could have at least forced her to sensitivity training.

Re: The Problem Of Apology (Part 2)

BreakerBaker — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 08:52:59 -0000

Juba, don't accept the argument that Baltimore is in the south! The only people I've ever met who like that argument are people from Maryland, and everybody knows they can't be trusted. Nobody cares about the stupid Mason-Dixon line. It has nothing to do with North and South. If Delaware is North, so is Maryland. There, I've said my piece.

Re: The Problem Of Apology (Part 2)

CK — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 07:24:27 -0000

Also, Louisiana had a black governor, P.B.S. Pinchback in 1872 (for 35 days). He wasn't elected, like Wilder (the first elected black governor), he stepped in when the governor got impeached. /random trivia

Re: The Problem Of Apology (Part 2)

CK — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 07:16:54 -0000

Now compare and contrast these two non-apologies to David Letterman's apology to Sarah Palin last night:

"It doesn't make any difference what my intent was, it's the perception. And, as they say about jokes, if you have to explain the joke, it's not a very good joke. And I'm certainly - " (audience applause) "- thank you. Well, my responsibility - I take full blame for that. I told a bad joke. I told a joke that was beyond flawed, and my intent is completely meaningless compared to the perception. And since it was a joke I told, I feel that I need to do the right thing here and apologize for having told that joke. It's not your fault that it was misunderstood, it's my fault. That it was misunderstood." (audience applauds) "Thank you. So I would like to apologize, especially to the two daughters involved, Bristol and Willow, and also to the Governor and her family and everybody else who was outraged by the joke. I'm sorry about it and I'll try to do better in the future. Thank you very much."

That seems like a real apology, at least. (I'll save my comments about manufactured outrage for later.)

Re: The Problem Of Apology (Part 2)

brucds — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 01:14:44 -0000

"people who are tired of being tarred with the racist tag"

Judge Sotomayor...and, uh, who else ? Oh yeah. Michelle.

Re: The Problem Of Apology (Part 2)

Jennifer D. — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 00:14:13 -0000

Doh! Thank you.

Re: The Problem Of Apology (Part 2)

sporcupine — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 22:18:10 -0000

For some reason, I hadn't absorbed earlier that Sen. Black is from Tennessee. That's close enough to Kentucky for me to write to her and make the case that the e-mail was indecent to any audience.

Re: The Problem Of Apology (Part 2)

irishpirate — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 21:54:22 -0000

My President is 1/2 white and that's ALLRIGHT.

Here in Chicago we say:

President Barack Hugh O'Bama. Then we drink guinness and fight.

Re: The Problem Of Apology (Part 2)

irishpirate — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 21:52:54 -0000

Sorry Somali Canuck,

I'm keeping my nom de guerre.

After all the Irish Australian Errol Flynn was "Captain Blood".

Now that was a pirate. Not that amusing Johnny Depp impersonation.

As for MSNBC it's probably best that I not go on. I'd just spend my time trying to get Rachel Maddow into bed. The unstoppable force meets the immovable wall.

Re: The Problem Of Apology (Part 2)

Gigi — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 21:46:19 -0000

We live with this sort of thing every day. That said, it makes it no less painful when it is thrust into the open. Some of us have grown accustomed to the "dog whistle". It seems it is sounded with greater regularity with Obama's election to the presidency. As an African American woman, I know it will not stop. Fight it with knowledge you say? Fat chance. That's the cynic in me...

Re: The Problem Of Apology (Part 2)

Texior Enabler — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 21:44:07 -0000

Watch out irishpirate, you might get a show on MSNBC. And lay off the Pirate moniker, we somalis have monopolize it, and we will trade mark it as soon we found good patent and trademark lawyers will to relocate to Moogadisho.

Re: The Problem Of Apology (Part 2)

dmf — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 21:25:51 -0000

I think we are getting way off the point in this whose state is more racist tangent but you may be interested in looking into the history making of election of Virginia gov. Douglas Wilder...

Re: The Problem Of Apology (Part 2)

Jennifer D. — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 19:46:03 -0000

Amen.

Re: The Problem Of Apology (Part 2)

Jennifer D. — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 19:43:21 -0000

Just to confirm (and deflect!) I am well aware that there are a lot of incidents and a vile racist history to point to in Boston, I just meant, currently, as in the news of the day right now that we are talking about.

Re: The Problem Of Apology (Part 2)

sporcupine — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 19:39:24 -0000

The small-town South is full of white racists who have never had anyone tell them to cut it out. Forty years ago, it was safer just to let jokes like that go. For at least twenty years, it's just seemed like the fools were so hopeless it wasn't worth the effort. Maybe self-respecting white people were hoping our embarrassing neighbors would shape up on their own, or their children would have more sense, but today by itself is enough to prove that strategy has failed.

It's time to start telling people they're behaving indecently and that we, individually, personally, wish they would cut it out. And occasionally, that we wish a particular person would crawl into a cave and hide because their recent conduct counts as letting down OUR race.

Re: The Problem Of Apology (Part 2)

Jennifer D. — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 19:37:47 -0000

I think there are white racists somewhat equally distributed throughout this great land of ours, unfortunately, and I'm from Boston, so believe me I know and am related to some of them. My point was the white Southern guy asking us to believe that the politicians from that area are not representing the people from that area is just not true. Obviously at some point a majority of people voted for them. So, own the shit, or change and vote for someone else. Last time I checked Massachusetts and New York had black governors. When that happens in Virginia or Mississippi, I'll be more convinced that things are changing in the South.

If there was a racist pol from Boston who said or did something as nasty as the couple of things covered in the posts today, I'd be on his/her ass, too.

Re: The Problem Of Apology (Part 2)

Ta-Nehisi Coates — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 19:23:00 -0000

You're banned.

Re: The Problem Of Apology (Part 2)

Deborah — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 19:01:44 -0000

Dude, if you want to point to any of my representatives or their staffs sending an e-mail like the one above, I will happily demand that Tsongas, Kennedy, or Kerry fire that person. Hasn't happened. It's a straw man.

Boston has a sharp color divide. It doesn't make the e-mail in question okay, or the "gosh sorry I hit that wrong button" apology okay, or the general lack of anyone in the TN Rs being appalled and demanding that firing okay. TN acting stupid this week is not excused by NY acting stupid a decade ago....and most of the state managed to come out on the correct side even back then.

TN Rs need to start sending the "I am shocked that someone used government time for this, and it reflects badly on our party" message, not the "well, these people are around, can't say anything against them" message.

Re: The Problem Of Apology (Part 2)

rikyrah — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 18:26:40 -0000

OH IP!

LOL