Tuesday, September 20, 2005
Poynter Online - The Pathology of Apology:
That's why the big sorry 'but' form of apology is actually no apology at all. Think about the last time you heard someone begin a sentence with the clause, 'I'm sorry, but' -– as in, 'I'm sorry, but that's not news.' Was the person really sorry? I doubt it. In my experience, 'I'm sorry, but' almost always is another way of saying, 'Never mind what anybody else thinks; I'll have the last word here.'
That's why the big sorry 'but' form of apology is actually no apology at all. Think about the last time you heard someone begin a sentence with the clause, 'I'm sorry, but' -– as in, 'I'm sorry, but that's not news.' Was the person really sorry? I doubt it. In my experience, 'I'm sorry, but' almost always is another way of saying, 'Never mind what anybody else thinks; I'll have the last word here.'
