Conversation Stoppers
Conversation Stoppers
Apologies All Around
This chapter centers on the role of the apology, which is considered as one of the problems with the way national conversation is played out that is most prone to change. It shows that the apology may possibly be something that people can change (i.e. through responses and expectations of people). It cites two instances that show the apparent drawbacks and dangers when people try to do something more than apologize. The first case shows the difficulty of expecting anything other than an expression of regret, while the second case studies a case when a commentator tried talking about white racism, which resulted in him being criticized for being a white racist. After looking at these two cases, the discussion then turns to the mechanics of the two apologies that were made and the grilling that resulted from these apologies. It also studies Henry Louis Gates Jr.'s model that shows how people can connect to the racial aspects of public discourse in such a way that makes it easier to understand racial thinking.
Keywords: apology, expression of regret, white racism, white racist, Henry Louis Gates Jr, racial aspects, public discourse, racial thinking
Stanford Scholarship Online requires a subscription or purchase to access the full text of books within the service. Public users can however freely search the site and view the abstracts and keywords for each book and chapter.
Please, subscribe or login to access full text content.
If you think you should have access to this title, please contact your librarian.
To troubleshoot, please check our FAQs , and if you can't find the answer there, please contact us.
