When Diane Abbott apologised for “any offence caused” over her racist comments, it was not a real apology - which is worse than none at all.
Last month, Left Foot Forward criticised Nazi-theme party attender/organiser Tory MP Aiden Burley for his non-apology over the issue.
Alex Hern wrote:
The MP has apologised – twice – albeit choosing his words carefully.
His first apology came in the original article:
“There was clearly inappropriate behaviour by some of the other guests and I deeply regret that this happened.
“I am extremely sorry for any offence that will undoubtedly have been caused.”
He made a similar statement on Twitter the day after. It may simply be that he doesn’t know that “I’m sorry” and “I’m sorry other people were bad and that you were offended” are different, but as apologies go, it leaves much to be desired.
Well, Diane Abbott has pulled a similar trick with her non-apology, following her twitter comments last night that ‘White people love playing divide & rule’
She said:
“I understand people have interpreted my comments as making generalisations about white people.
“I do not believe in doing that. I apologise for any offence caused.”
Something is either OK or is wrong. If it is OK, there’s no need for an apology but if it’s wrong, one is needed.
What Diane Abbott said was wrong and she needs to apologise for it – not any effect it had. Politicans need to learn that a weasel-worded apology is worse than none at all.
See also:
• Nazi Party Tory is sorry you were offended – Alex Hern, December 12th 2011
• Action must be taken whenever racism rears its ugly head – including in sport – Sabby Dhalu, December 13th 2011
• Too many on the Left are continuing to promote Islamic extremists – George Readings, November 12th 2011
• Four old acquaintances that Livingstone should forget – Daniel Elton, May 3rd 2011
• The dehumanising rhetoric undermining the student movement – David Barclay, April 17th 2011
46 Responses to ““Sorry if you were offended” does not cut it, Diane”
Liam Barrington-Bush
I think the ‘something is right or wrong’ dialogue is where this article screwed up… Dianne Abbott wasn’t very tactful. More nuance would have made her point stronger. That’s totally different from ‘racism’ or ‘reverse racism’ or anything else… if someone being offended by something makes it ‘wrong’ and requiring of an apology, any opinion would qualify. This approach doesn’t promote healthy dialogue. I think Abbott’s response was appropriate for the worrisome over-reaction of liberal whites who happen to have a tender spot about being reminded that we were born with privilege and thus whether we like it or not, there are ways in which we continue to reinforce systems of oppression.
More fundamentally, the telling thing to me in many of the comments, and from this article itself, is that there are supposedly progressive white people who really feel this is a fight worth fighting. THAT is as much an indicator of privilege as anything else – that the worst thing you have experienced, in a time when the Government is exterminating the welfare state, is an MP making a slight generalisation on Twitter (a platform that practically enforces generalisation, due to the character limit)! Honestly?! Really?
To those who are really concerned with fighting oppression, I’m sure you can find better things to do with yourselves – the implications of that Tweet are minimal at worst. The implications of trying to keep a dialogue about white privilege out of the open are potentially devastating…
Liam Barrington-Bush
White liberals getting up in arms over 1 poorly phrased Tweet about white people by @HackneyAbbott: http://t.co/K4C1Xu0v via @nishmadoshi
HarpyMarx
How to know that @leftfootfwd is made of New Labour twats: http://t.co/b89xOXmK
Anonymous
Sorry did I say that? No I didn’t. Its clear she meant the ruling elite because that was the topic of conversation at hand, she didn’t mean ALL white people. And if you know it doesn’t apply to you, why the bloody hell are you so offended?
Anonymous
Sorry did I say that? No I didn’t. Its clear she meant the ruling elite because that was the topic of conversation at hand, she didn’t mean ALL white people. And if you know it doesn’t apply to you, why the bloody hell are you so offended?