Knowingly Schmowingly

Since when is "knowingly" a qualifier that gets you off the hook?

Rafael Palmeiro, Mr. I Never Knowingly Took A Steroid. President Bush, Mr. I Believe Rafael Palmeiro Never Knowingly Took A Steroid. Politics and baseball have always had an odd and not-quite-right relationship. And that actually looked like it was about to change for the better, except our Commander in Chief used to own the Texas Rangers, so he feels the need to protect Palmeiro (former Ranger when Bush owned the team) despite the fact that Palmeiro has tested positive for a steroid that is not available in supplements, thereby making the "Knowingly" part of the statement an outright lie. But our Pres believes him.

And this post is not about politics. Really, it isn't. The non-denial denial, the non-apology apology, the use of knowingly...makes me crazy. How many times have we read: "I never knowingly ________. If you were offended, I apologize. I never meant to cause such harm to my friends and family. If you were affected by ________, for that, I apologize."

Makes me nuts. How about: "I was wrong. I take responsibility for my actions, and I will do my very best to both correct and not repeat my mistakes. I apologize for ______, and I ask your forgiveness. I will take the necessary steps to atone for my actions."

That's probably not what I'd say to an individual person. But if I were writing a PR statement, it might look like that. Maybe the word "atone" would freak people out. It could be re-worded, but the point is that you take responsibility and you move on and do your best to be better.

But this "knowingly" qualifier and "if you were offended" have simply got to go. Because "knowingly"'s got nothing to do with it and "if you were offended" is itself offensive. And it's almost always a lie, and it's always responsibility dodged once again.