Society Should Demand Demonstrations of Remorse, Not Toothless Public Apologies.
I’m sure you’ve seen something like this before.
Kids are playing on the playground, somewhere in the realm of seven years old. Kid A is minding their business, playing with a ball, living their best life. Then kid b, walks over and not only takes the ball, but they push kid a down. Can you guess what happens next? The nearest adult in charge, whether it be a mother, a babysitter or a teacher walks over to the one-sided skirmish and begins scolding kid b, while helping kid a back to their feet.
And what does that adult say to kid b?
Say you’re sorry!
Now, we all know that kid b isn’t sorry. They wanted the ball. They took it and knocked the kid down, because they could (most likely). Sorry is nowhere in this kid’s vocabulary right now. But it doesn’t take the child long to figure out that if they just lie and say they’re sorry then everything will be cool, and they can go back to playing with the ball they just hijacked. So, the kid grumbles out an “I’m sorry” and things mostly go back to normal.
