Yes. I am often an apologist for incomplete but well intentioned reasoning I encounter in the wild.
I try to first understand before I criticize and that has helped me to interpret other people’s words better.
An apology is not a bad thing or a good thing. It is a thing.
There are plenty of apologies that could be delivered that would meet those criteria and also be really mean things to say that do not make someone feel better.
I think this definition of an apology is too far from common usage to be reasonably expected to be understood, and too broad to be useful in general.
If you want to refine your definition so that it’s more than just an “explanation” (already have a word for that) I could maybe get on board.
And, to be honest, I’m a little bit worried about how one comes to equate an explanation with an apology. My gut tells me this definition creep might be a red flag of a victim of an abusive narcissist.
It is true that “apology” is an overloaded term that can mean many things, depending on context.
You’ve stripped away the context (and therefore bent the word’s meaning here). The substance of what MAGA wanted was an expression of remorse. They thrive on instilling fear and shame in others. They loath details and nuance.
Lexical gymnastics don’t change the simple fact that Kimmel (1) did not express shame for what he said and instead (2) reiterated useful details and nuance. Both of these things oppose the MAGA movement, and that’s a good thing.
All of it is an apology. An apology is just an explanation given after the fact. He felt the need to explain his actions further.
To be a full and complete apology many people expect all three of these components, but not All three are essential to every apology.
You could argue that he didn’t do a full and complete apology but you can’t argue that he didn’t apologize.
By this definition you have just apologized for Rose’s post.
Yes. I am often an apologist for incomplete but well intentioned reasoning I encounter in the wild.
I try to first understand before I criticize and that has helped me to interpret other people’s words better.
An apology is not a bad thing or a good thing. It is a thing.
There are plenty of apologies that could be delivered that would meet those criteria and also be really mean things to say that do not make someone feel better.
I think this definition of an apology is too far from common usage to be reasonably expected to be understood, and too broad to be useful in general.
If you want to refine your definition so that it’s more than just an “explanation” (already have a word for that) I could maybe get on board.
And, to be honest, I’m a little bit worried about how one comes to equate an explanation with an apology. My gut tells me this definition creep might be a red flag of a victim of an abusive narcissist.
It is true that “apology” is an overloaded term that can mean many things, depending on context.
You’ve stripped away the context (and therefore bent the word’s meaning here). The substance of what MAGA wanted was an expression of remorse. They thrive on instilling fear and shame in others. They loath details and nuance.
Lexical gymnastics don’t change the simple fact that Kimmel (1) did not express shame for what he said and instead (2) reiterated useful details and nuance. Both of these things oppose the MAGA movement, and that’s a good thing.