Joe Biden to Reporters: I'm Sorry I Didn't 'Understand,' But Not 'For Anything That I Have Ever Done

[DonViejo]

by Colby Hall | Apr 5th, 2019, 12:46 pm

Former Vice President Joe Biden took questions from reporters for the first time since allegations that his public displays of affection crossed boundaries and made a number of women feel uncomfortable.

Biden earnestly addressed the allegations but fell short of making a full apology. “I’m sorry I didn’t understand more,” he said, adding, “I’m not sorry for any of my intentions”

When asked if he expected more women to come forward to raise concerns about his behavior Biden replied “I wouldn’t be surprised” adding “But I’ve had hundreds and hundreds of people who contact me and say the exact opposite.”

Biden addressed the media after speaking at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers’ (IBEW) construction and maintenance conference on Friday morning. During the speech, the former Vice President innocently put his arm around a young boy and told the audience “by the way, he gave me permission to touch him,” which drew a big laugh.

Biden acknowledged the week-long controversy for the first time publicly, after releasing a video Wednesday in which he claimed to understand the “shifting social norms” and pledged to ostensibly do better.

video
https://www.mediaite.com/election-2020/joe-biden-takes-questions-on-allegations-sorry-i-didnt-understand-more-but-not-for-my-intentions/

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. Why should he be sorry for his intent if his intent wasn't predatory

as some have suggested? He apologized for not understanding that his actions made some people uncomfortable and I don't see that he needs to do anything more.

[Skidmore]

2. I thought

his apology has been more than adequate. He clearly has not been malicious in his intent with touching. Apologizing for not understanding seems appropriate and is a place from which he can work on change. Pile ons and floggings do not help him or us now. We need to move forward.

[SKKY]

3. Should Biden apologize for this? Or is expressing his "regret" for making someone...

..."uncomfortable" enough? I genuinely don't think he has anything to apologize for. By their own admission, these women were not "sexually harassed", just made to feel uncomfortable. Or Icky. Whatever. Biden did nothing wrong, and he's paying a fairly heavy price for doing nothing wrong.

[MineralMan]

5. The appropriate apology for making someone feel uncomfortable in some way

is to say, "I'm sorry that I made you uncomfortable. That was not my intent. I won't do that again."

We can't know what makes every person uncomfortable. So, mistakes are inevitable.

[MineralMan]

4. I once embarrassed a woman friend by speaking inappropriately.

She instantly blushed bright red and walked away. I realized that I shouldn't have said what I did immediately. The next time I saw her, I apologized for my poor behavior and expressed my regrets that I had let her down in that way. She said, "OK. Thanks. Give me a little time, please."

I did. We encountered each other fairly often. After some time had passed, she approached me one day and said, "I'm no longer angry at you. You've done nothing like that again, so we're OK again." Then she gave me a hug, and we were friends again.

We can all screw up. When we do, we can apologize sincerely for screwing up, and try not to screw up that way again. Usually, that works out OK.

[Demit]

6. Not "I'm sorry THAT I made anyone uncomfortable" but "IF I made anyone uncomfortable."

And then he goes back to his intent.

You know, I've had that experience, letting someone know that something they did hurt me, and they say Oh! I didn't MEAN to... Well, Jesus I hope not! That would be pretty fucked up. I hope it would go without saying you didn't mean to hurt me! But you did hurt me, and I'd hope you would be sorry that you did.

[LongtimeAZDem]

8. As I demostrated yesterday, saying "If I offended you, then I'm sorry" is logically equivallent to

saying "I'm sorry to all I've offended".

[Demit]

9. No, "if" is a conditional word. It means what immediately follows it is not a known fact or reality.

Biden's "I'm sorry" is conditional on whether or not the "I offended you" part is a fact. He is not conceding that it is.

Goodness, if someone means to say they're sorry, they say a simple "I'm sorry." They don't condition it on anything.

[LongtimeAZDem]

10. Sigh. Once again:

The "if, then" conditional means that "if something is P, then it is Q".

This means that everything that is "P", is "Q". It cannot be "P" and not "Q".

Or, restated, "All P are Q".



Therefore, to say "if I offended you , then I'm sorry" it logically the same as saying "To all I offended, I'm sorry".

[Demit]

11. LOL I know, I read when you so carefully explained that.

But we're not talking mathematics here. This is language, this is human speech, this is grammar.

People aren't writing out proofs on a blackboard when they talk. If they want to acknowledge that something is true, they don't go through equations to say it, they just say it, in just the way you did: "To all I offended, I'm sorry."

No ifs, ands, or buts.

[LongtimeAZDem]

12. It's not mathematics, it's semantics. Words have meanings, and it's not the speaker's fault if

people fail to comprehend.


Edited to add:

If he was speaking to an individual who had already told him they were offended, and then he said "If that's true, I'm sorry", you could make the case that it was dismissive.

But when speaking to the public at large, the "if" is perfectly reasonable, as he has absolutely no reason to apologize to those who were not offended.

[Demit]

13. You hit on the right formulation the first couple of times: "To all I offended, I'm sorry."

Of course he wouldn't address people who aren't relevant to the topic. Now that would be illogical. But there is a known quantity here, and probably more people who didn't make their feelings public. To those, he could've said the sentence you suggested: "To all I offended, I'm sorry."

The "if" apology serves him the way it serves everyone who makes it, those people who can't bring themselves to say that they have offended anyone at all.

[LongtimeAZDem]

14. This only applies to those who won't accept any apolgy he gives, regardless.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

7. You guys, he totally gets it! It's a joke!