The Boy Scouts issued a classic nopology
Jul. 28th, 2017 02:23 pmThe word nopology refers to a specific pattern or wording used in an apology that lets the offender or the offender's allies continue to act as if they committed no wrong.
President of the United States Donald J. Trump recently attended the annual Boy Scout gathering, known as The Jamboree, and gave a highly partisan speech, encouraging the Boy Scouts to go out and campaign on his behalf and on behalf of the Trumpcare process, whatever it was supposed to have been. In the midst of his speech, he told a story about finding something you love to do and do well, and staying in it because getting out, even for a few years, meant losing contacts and momentum.
In the speech, Trump, who was never a Boy Scout, praised loyalty, but only one-way loyalty: obedience upward. He's apparently not loyal to underlings, well-underlined by his ongoing feud with Eagle Scout and Attorney General Jeff Sessions. He took jabs at former Boy Scout Barack Obama.
It would have been a great parable about a real guy, an friend of his, if not for the centerpiece where he talked about hanging out with the "hottest" people and "yachts" and "supermodels" and making it clear that his friend spent those middle years on the French Riveria doing hookers and blow.
The President of Boy Scouts of America, Michael Surbaugh, issued a statement after commentary about the speech erupted all over the Internet. In it, he wrote, I want to extend my sincere apologies to those in our Scouting family who were offended by the political rhetoric that was inserted into the jamboree. That was never our intent.
The emphasis is mine. This is classic nopology. Surbaugh is painfully aware that many of the older scouts are politically aware, and they liked what they heard coming from Trump. They booed on cue at the mention of Hillary Clinton's name. They chanted "USA! USA!" He cannot afford to alienate them. So he has to say, "If you're one of those people, that minority of Scout families, that found this wrong, well, sorry."
Surbaugh cannot come out and say,
The Boy Scout's can't say that.
Related: What The Boy Scouts Taught Me
President of the United States Donald J. Trump recently attended the annual Boy Scout gathering, known as The Jamboree, and gave a highly partisan speech, encouraging the Boy Scouts to go out and campaign on his behalf and on behalf of the Trumpcare process, whatever it was supposed to have been. In the midst of his speech, he told a story about finding something you love to do and do well, and staying in it because getting out, even for a few years, meant losing contacts and momentum.
In the speech, Trump, who was never a Boy Scout, praised loyalty, but only one-way loyalty: obedience upward. He's apparently not loyal to underlings, well-underlined by his ongoing feud with Eagle Scout and Attorney General Jeff Sessions. He took jabs at former Boy Scout Barack Obama.
It would have been a great parable about a real guy, an friend of his, if not for the centerpiece where he talked about hanging out with the "hottest" people and "yachts" and "supermodels" and making it clear that his friend spent those middle years on the French Riveria doing hookers and blow.
The President of Boy Scouts of America, Michael Surbaugh, issued a statement after commentary about the speech erupted all over the Internet. In it, he wrote, I want to extend my sincere apologies to those in our Scouting family who were offended by the political rhetoric that was inserted into the jamboree. That was never our intent.
The emphasis is mine. This is classic nopology. Surbaugh is painfully aware that many of the older scouts are politically aware, and they liked what they heard coming from Trump. They booed on cue at the mention of Hillary Clinton's name. They chanted "USA! USA!" He cannot afford to alienate them. So he has to say, "If you're one of those people, that minority of Scout families, that found this wrong, well, sorry."
Surbaugh cannot come out and say,
Yesterday, the Boy Scouts of America continued its tradition of inviting the sitting President of the United States to the Annual National Jamboree. We want to extend our apologies to our entire Scouting family for doing so this year. The speech given was not in the moral tradition of the Boy Scouts. The President neither spoke about or embodied the values we uphold. His words, his deeds, and his history are not those of a man trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, or reverent. We are deeply sorry this incident occurred, and we are taking steps to ensure it will not happen again.He can't say that, because saying that means taking a stand for something bigger and better than yourself or your organization. It means the short-term popularity of the Boy Scouts of America, Inc., is more important than the long-term moral character of boy scouts. It means telling all those boy scouts who were thrilled that manly Donald Trump, the guy who succeeded the Black Dude and beat down the Woman, isn't actually manly. He isn't brave, kind, or courteous, and if you aren't, you're not Scouting material either. He doesn't have the manly virtues and doesn't practice the manly arts. He's just a rich, entitled jerk.
The Boy Scout's can't say that.
Related: What The Boy Scouts Taught Me
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