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In Wilson's Case, Some Fools Never Learn
Date: Monday, September 14, 2009, 6:01 am
By: Deborah Mathis, BlackAmericaWeb.com
When my infant granddaughter starts talking, one of the things she will be taught is how and when to say “I’m sorry” and “excuse me.”
Her mother will make sure she understands the concept of regret, the importance of atonement and the gift of forgiveness. I expect her to have it down pat in short order, as she spills and breaks and misbehaves through toddlerhood.
Surely, she will know how and when to apologize, without prompting, by the time she is a four-term congresswoman.
That will put her ahead of Addison Graves “Joe” Wilson, whose outburst from the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives last week has made him the political idiot of the moment. The South Carolina Republican’s “You lie” accusation, directed at the president of the United States, was the insult heard around the world. It was classless and stupid and shameful.
Wilson did apologize that same evening, but apparently, his mama failed to teach him the art, because, at 62 years of age, the congressman had to take instruction from the henchmen of the GOP. They told him to call the White House and issue a mea culpa. Chalking the whole thing up to an emotional hiccup, Wilson expressed his regrets to Obama’s chief of staff.
As if a forced apology were not shady enough, Wilson has made it even more of a mockery by, first, capitalizing on it – he’s been whoring for donations from the similarly uncouth – and now, by refusing to beg the pardon of the chamber he dishonored. He says he’s done with apologies.
"I've apologized one time," Wilson told a Sunday broadcast. "The apology was accepted by the president, by the vice president, who I know. I am not apologizing again."
He is a slow learner, in the least. As they say down south, Wilson infamously “ran off at the mouth” on C-SPAN back in 2002, when he accused a fellow representative, a Democrat, of hating America.
A year later, he apologized again when he berated Essie Mae Washington-Williams for finally telling the world that Strom Thurmond was her father, having seduced her housekeeper mother long ago, and that she had kept his secret until he died.
Wilson, a Thurmond worshipper, said Mrs. Washington-Williams – smothered in a secret most of her days – should have remained silent unto death. Not until the Thurmond family verified the woman’s claim did Wilson apologize. But, again, there was a catch: She still shouldn’t have told, he said.
Now, he finds himself once more having to take back what he said. Some fools never learn.
Some House Democrats are threatening to bring a resolution to the floor, decrying Wilson’s tantrum. The mere threat of that action has educed another set of tantrums from the GOP brass, who claim the Democrats are overreaching. And Wilson has vowed that he “will not be muzzled.”
The Democrats might be wise to forgo the reprimand and let Wilson have the last word. His crudeness, supremacist undertones, and defiance should be left to hang in the air, fouling it. He should not have an opportunity for rebuttal or defense.
Let him stew in the slop he made.
Date: Monday, September 14, 2009, 6:01 am
By: Deborah Mathis, BlackAmericaWeb.com
When my infant granddaughter starts talking, one of the things she will be taught is how and when to say “I’m sorry” and “excuse me.”
Her mother will make sure she understands the concept of regret, the importance of atonement and the gift of forgiveness. I expect her to have it down pat in short order, as she spills and breaks and misbehaves through toddlerhood.
Surely, she will know how and when to apologize, without prompting, by the time she is a four-term congresswoman.
That will put her ahead of Addison Graves “Joe” Wilson, whose outburst from the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives last week has made him the political idiot of the moment. The South Carolina Republican’s “You lie” accusation, directed at the president of the United States, was the insult heard around the world. It was classless and stupid and shameful.
Wilson did apologize that same evening, but apparently, his mama failed to teach him the art, because, at 62 years of age, the congressman had to take instruction from the henchmen of the GOP. They told him to call the White House and issue a mea culpa. Chalking the whole thing up to an emotional hiccup, Wilson expressed his regrets to Obama’s chief of staff.
As if a forced apology were not shady enough, Wilson has made it even more of a mockery by, first, capitalizing on it – he’s been whoring for donations from the similarly uncouth – and now, by refusing to beg the pardon of the chamber he dishonored. He says he’s done with apologies.
"I've apologized one time," Wilson told a Sunday broadcast. "The apology was accepted by the president, by the vice president, who I know. I am not apologizing again."
He is a slow learner, in the least. As they say down south, Wilson infamously “ran off at the mouth” on C-SPAN back in 2002, when he accused a fellow representative, a Democrat, of hating America.
A year later, he apologized again when he berated Essie Mae Washington-Williams for finally telling the world that Strom Thurmond was her father, having seduced her housekeeper mother long ago, and that she had kept his secret until he died.
Wilson, a Thurmond worshipper, said Mrs. Washington-Williams – smothered in a secret most of her days – should have remained silent unto death. Not until the Thurmond family verified the woman’s claim did Wilson apologize. But, again, there was a catch: She still shouldn’t have told, he said.
Now, he finds himself once more having to take back what he said. Some fools never learn.
Some House Democrats are threatening to bring a resolution to the floor, decrying Wilson’s tantrum. The mere threat of that action has educed another set of tantrums from the GOP brass, who claim the Democrats are overreaching. And Wilson has vowed that he “will not be muzzled.”
The Democrats might be wise to forgo the reprimand and let Wilson have the last word. His crudeness, supremacist undertones, and defiance should be left to hang in the air, fouling it. He should not have an opportunity for rebuttal or defense.
Let him stew in the slop he made.
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