What is important here, I think, is not so much how we apologize at the moment, but what we do to change our behaviors and learn from our mistakes. I view myself as a work in progress, and my son is a constant reminder of the Vic’s in the world today. My experiences with my son have taught me to be more sensitive to others who look and act differently. I work on that constantly.
When Mitt Romney was later questioned about the episode in which he and some of his friends pinned a young man to the ground, he appeared to laugh it off and claimed he did not remember. Perhaps he did not want to remember, perhaps it was too painful to remember, or perhaps he simply did what was politically expedient. I am not sure. But I am more interested in how he has changed as a person. Instead of his half-hearted apology on Fox News (“if anybody was hurt…”), I would like to know more about the man, maybe his thoughts about bullying, and what he has learned from these earlier high-school pranks.
When President Obama made his comment about Special Olympics, the White House issued a statement, saying that the President “thinks that the Special Olympics are a wonderful program that gives an opportunity to shine to people with disabilities from around the world.” Soon thereafter, in a conversation with Tim Shriver, chair of the Special Olympics board, he said he was ready to “have some Special Olympic athletes over to the White House to bowl or play basketball or help him improve his score.”
Just like Romney, Obama’s response to his microaggression disappointed me. I would have preferred that Obama open up, something he does quite often, especially with regard to issues involving race, ethnicity, religion, and other dimensions of diversity. He might have talked about his own lack of contact with people with disabilities, if that is the case, and how he intends to venture out of his comfort zone by taking his daughters to the next nearby Special Olympics event and volunteering. Now that would have told me something about the man, his priorities, and his commitment to learn from this experience.
Both of these microaggressions are teachable opportunities if you will. As leaders in the public eye, Mitt Romney and President Obama can still leverage these opportunities and teach us a thing or two about themselves, and the human condition.