At work one day last week, a co-worker was really working … my last nerve. So much so, that I finally snapped and said to her:
“You are the dumbest fuck on the planet.”
Naturally, she was very upset and began to cry, so, being an adult, I apologized:
“I sorry … if I offended you.’
Okay, so that didn’t happen, but if it had, I would have known better than to qualify my apology with an ‘if’ or a ‘but’; I would say I was sorry, and leave it at that. Trouble is, some folks, like conservative-Teabagging-brain-surgeon—and how’s that for an oxymoron—Dr. Ben Carson don’t know how to apologize.
We all know that a few weeks back, in an appearance on FauxNews’ Sean Hannity’s, um, ‘show,’ Carson compared comparing advocates of marriage equality to people advocating for bestiality and pedophilia. Almost instantly he was asked to apologize, and he gave the ‘I’m sorry if I offended you’ as opposed to the ‘I’m sorry I offended you’ non-apology-apology.
And he tried to leave it at that because, you know, The Gays, and our allies, we don’t matter and who cares that he denigrated an entire group of people who simply would like to have the right to get married, legally, in this country.
But, Carson’s non-apology didn’t land him in good stead with his fellow doctors and teachers and soon many began to question his tact, and his intellect. But then came word that he may be disinvited to be a commencement speaker at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, so he had to, perhaps, apologize again, and hopefully get it right; he didn’t.
Last week, while a guest on a radio show, Carson tried to downplay the outrage that some Johns Hopkins students felt about his original remarks, and his less than apologetic apology. He said his appearance was "still up in the air" and then dismissed the whole mess about the students’ concerns by saying it was just "eight students who signed a petition":
“You know, there were eight students who signed a petition. And that was not from the graduating class, that was from all the classes. That was what they could come up with. There are others who feel very strongly in the other direction.”
Oh, ‘doctor’, not so fast. In fact, it was upwards of 700 students, the majority from the graduating class, who asked that Carson not be allowed to speak, so Carson not only has trouble taking responsibility for his ignorant, and somewhat hate-filled, remarks, he also has a bit of an issue with the truth. Now, though, Carson has finally realized that when you put your foot in your mouth, you should instantly apologize, correctly, because Carson is apologizing again:
“As you know, I have been in the national news quite a bit recently and my 36 year association with Johns Hopkins has unfortunately dragged our institution into the spotlight as well. I am sorry for any embarrassment this has caused. But what really saddens me is that my poorly chosen words caused pain for some members of our community and for that I offer a most sincere and heartfelt apology. Hurting others is diametrically opposed to who I am and what I believe. …. There are many lessons to be learned when venturing into the political world and this is one I will not forget. Although I do believe marriage is between a man and a woman, there are much less offensive ways to make that point. I hope all will look at a lifetime of service over some poorly chosen words.”
Maybe we will, Dr. Carson, but I doubt very many people in the Marriage Equality Movement will ever take you. or your opinions, seriously again.
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