The Imperious Apology

Return of Kings had this bit of Australian politics:



Notice the imperious harpy does not understand she is totally wrong. She continues to sound like a lecturing schoolteacher right up to the very end. At one point she says she's sorry that he feels insulted, but that is not a real apology, nor does it address the real issue.

I have received a similar apology, so please, follow along with me to see whether or not you can tell how complete erroneous this sort of apology is. Organic Valley recently tried to launch a protein drink. Their advertising campaign was, "Save the Bros" wherein they made fun of people who lift. Eventually I emailed them to point out that they shouldn't insult the people they are trying to market to. Whoever got that email wrote me one back apologizing that I was offended. Needless to say, I was annoyed.

Now, the other problem with Organic Valley was that they put stuff like emulsifiers in their drink, apparently thinking if they can find organic sources for stuff we shouldn't have in our diet it will somehow make it all better. If a company can truly offend me, it is because I have to read labels and never trust they haven't slipped in some soy, gum, or whatever.

Anyway, the appropriate response would have indicated the person understood what I was saying, much like this woman in the above clip should have indicated she understood the freaking point.

I see this with deliverymen a lot. They are usually guys, and they've got a job. Screw having functional logistics: lets just have delivery guys walking around the building looking for someone to sign for the stuff they just delivered. Suddenly, normally kind human beings will become imperious, indignant even, if you point out this is not good.