Say You Are Sorry

When does "I’m sorry" count as a sincere form of contrition --especially when race is the issue? D.C Police Inspector Andy Solberg made this comment, "This is not a racial thing to say that Black people are unusual in Georgetown. This is a fact of life." He has been experiencing grief over those remarks ever since.

Now we could dissect the statement from a lot of perspectives – are Black people just "unusual" or are we "unusual" only when we are in Georgetown? It was a slip of the tongue. He did not mean to say it. Surely, he did not consider the ramifications of his words. In other words, as many young Black children (and possibly those of other races.) have been told (or used to be told), "think before you speak". The Inspector did not do that. And now that he has had time "to think" (and has been told how offensive his remarks were), he says simply, "I’m sorry. I was wrong. I don’t think that needs an explanation. I’m sorry."

And I would venture that most people hearing (or reading) about his "mea culpa" accept his explanation. A simple "I’m sorry" can do much not only to heal but to prompt discussion and learning. In this case, the Inspector talked to others about his remarks, he researched the history which helped him to discover things he did not know about Georgetown, and more importantly, about Black people in the area.

Perhaps we all should use the term more often, if we really are "sorry", that is, about an unintended hurt to someone.