Do you frequently doubt the sincerity of apologies issued by celebrities and politicians?

Question

hillary clinton ("kennedy"), reverend pfleger ("clinton"), mike huckabee ("gunshots")....and that's just in the last week.

perhaps, who else... OJ? bill belichick? rachel ray? scott mc clellan?

do you find yourself doubting the credibility of apologies issued by famous people, moreso than those issued by your immediate friends and family? is it worth it to give the benefit of the doubt? it seems to me the only thing they're sorry for is that they got caught...

Answer 1

i've always wondered the same thing...by apologizing they're just looking for the quickest way to get out w/o having their credibility destroyed. they know that soon ppl will forget it and they can keep on manipulating..

Answer 2

Definitely! When people start with "I apologize" it's usually phony. Especially "I apologize if people were offended/misinterpreted...". Basically, too bad you didn't get what i meant but i meant it.

Answer 3

no, i don't doubt their sincerity any more than i doubt the sincerity of someone who only uses the shift key to spell oj. . .

Answer 4

Every time. Especially when the "issue" at hand is completely ridiculous - like the Rachel Ray supports terrorism with her ugly scarf drama. These people are only apologizing to save their jobs.

But look at what is being done. They are being punished for their thoughts and the verbalization of those thoughts. The American people don't like what you think, so you better take it back or the American people will reject you.....but it doesn't stop them from thinking the way that they do. It is just too close to having Thought Police....or maybe I'm just paranoid.

Answer 5

They don't usually really apologize.   They say they are sorry if you were offended, not that they are sorry for doing it.

Answer 6

A professional apology is just that- insincere. But it is better than nothing, although often one wonders about whether it is a bit like a professional foul in soccer.

Answer 7

Most of the apologies issued by these people are advised by public relations representatives.  They're usually written out by someone from the PR department and then rehearsed, just like any other speech.  Humans are self-serving creatures and for celebrities and politicians to publicly convey any regret for something that has brought attention to themselves is only for their own benefit.  If they keep fans/followers/supporters happy, it's not for us, it's for them.  Rachel Ray aplogizes to keep from losing fans aka: money.  Clinton apologizes to keep supporters aka: votes.

If you've seen "Gone with the Wind", you might remember the scene in which Scarlett O'Hara is crying because she's afraid of going to h**l over causing the death of her husband.  Rhett Butler tells her she's like the thief who isn't sorry he's stolen, but terribly sorry he's going to jail.  That's basically how it works with most public figures.

Answer 8

The contrived apparatus by which the most outspoken face-figures attain their positions loses its credibility when put under scrutiny by independent thought. Moreover, independent thought can completely denude the apparatus when it has progressed past identification with the object, seeking, like Socrates, a middle ground between the compelling extremes of Tragedy and Comedy. Who does dare face the void behind the psychological stage scenery, on which these face-figures, these vaudevillians, prance?