A great example of a heartfelt apology - not!

In my previous blog, I mentioned the dastardly deeds of the apologists and those they serve. I also touched on the sincerity of some of their so-called apologies. Whilst visiting a USA blog site today, I came across a great example of someone being caught out and the Humpty Dumptyism that crawled out of the woodwork in the aftermath.
The perpetrator was Rush Limbaugh who is deservedly little known in the UK. Who he? Think of the most rabid Daily Mail columnist you can, give them a radio show and you are on the right lines. Oooh, it pains me to say it but I am being rather unfair to the Daily Mail when I make that comparison: he really is worse than the excrement in print they routinely throw at us. To move on, recently Limbaugh has become embroiled in a controversy over remarks he made about a law student, Sandra Fluke after she had a speech supporting insurance coverage for contraceptives. Amongst other things he called her a ‘slut’ and a ‘prostitute’ and continued his attacks over a period of days. There has been a considerable backlash to what he said and many advertisers have withdrawn their sponsorship of his show. And now we go Through the Looking Glass and enter the realm of Humpty Dumpty.

The argument his apologists make for him when he gets into hot water (and he’s got previous: he suggested, quite emphatically, that Michael J. Fox was exaggerating his Parkinson's symptoms, he commissioned a "Barack the Magic Negro" song and he called soldiers who criticise war "phony soldiers") is that we all just don't get his unique sense of humour. Where have you heard that excuse before? Or the related “what I really meant to say was……. and you’ve (deliberately) misunderstood me to make me look bad” defence?

Limbaugh’s response to such situations always follows a boringly predictable path. He says something entirely unacceptable. People complain. He repeats his comments. People complain some more. He continues to not only deny any wrong-doing but ridicules his accusers. He starts to lose advertisers which, in turn, risks the only things he cares about--money and attention and thus he then feels compelled to apologise (or is forced to apologise given the torrent of pressure against him). In all cases, his apologies are less than fulsome and obviously insincere but, sadly, they always seem enough to get him off the hook – eventually. Time passes and the advertisers come back to his show. And Limbaugh lives to pollute the airways for another day. Job done – by a master at Humpty Dumptyism.

But it’s not all doom and gloom. Not everyone is taken in by him and his escapades give political cartoonists a field day – I’ve included just a few for your amusement. One day he’ll go too far and there won’t be many people grieving his demise.