I Hate the Word, “Regret”.
March 14, 2008 · By Shane Edwards
Brad Wall is the latest politician to get caught doing something naughty then after being faced with demands for apologies, he says he “regrets” his action.
Now me, I have no problem with what he did. Probably dumb to go blabbing about it in speeches, but the act itself, talk about a non-story.
But saying that you “regret” something is not an apology. If you apologize for something, then that means you are communicating the following:
- The action was wrong and hurt someone
- You accept the consequences or punishment for having done it
- You wish to restore or heal the hurt
- You promise to act to restore the hurt (or better, you do it).
Saying you “regret” something means:
- You wish you hadn’t done it
- You don’t want to face the consequences of having done it
- You have no interest in restoring whatever hurt you caused
If there was one wish I could wish about the media, it would be that they start holding these politicians accountable to apologies, instead of letting them get off with expressions of “regret”, embarrassment, etc.
I’d say that having “regret” means that one “regrets” being caught. Otherwise, they would have stopped doing what they were doing BEFORE being caught.
I imediately thought that some NDPer would want to have my uncle ]and a lot of others] dug up and charged for giving driving lessons to underage learners. Talk about a make-work project !!
I can’t believe anyone cares he taught a 14 year-old to drive on a rural road. Who the **** cares? Critics are in serious need of getting a life.