If we had to put a dollar amount on an apology these days, it's likely that you would owe money to make it a positive value.  America: the land of the free, the home of the brave, and the nesting place for disrespect.  What happened to the Golden Rule?  Has it rusted?  Surely we are NOT doing unto others as we would have them do unto us.

Let's replay some of the latest current events:

The one that will SURELY go down in history books, or maybe OUR-STORY books is the "YOU LIE" outburst by a member of Congress.  In a statement, Joe Wilson says, ""Well certainly I'm critical of what I said.  I apologized to the President and he accepted the apology. To me, I apologized to whom the interruption occured, and he accepted it very gracefully.  To me, its over." Joe, this is not over.  The admonishment you received from the House is NOTHING compared to what Americans all over the nation are holding you accountable for.
Mr. Wilson-the only thing that you have told America is that you are INDEED SORRY.

Kanye-surely you've had plenty of attention already, but  The Friend's have some opinions on the latest drama.  On Tuesday's episode of the View, Taylor Swift stated that you've made no effort to reach out to her. In a shocking moment on Jay Leno you had nothing to say in respons to what your mother would do if she was still living. So, is Kanye a SORRY example of who we are?

In an offline conversation President Obama made reference that you are a JACKASS! Does he owe you an apology Kanye?  If you don't get one, does he hate black people too?  You used your status to get onstage and be an advocate for BEYONCE?  Is there something else that we need your voice for?  Is Kanye a SORRY excuse or are his excuses SORRY?  Did Kanye really do anything wrong? In a day and age where Disrespect seems to be the theme of the day-does he owe an apology? Did he send a message?


Lil' Mama-The Friend's have some words for you.  Thanks for your apology.  Is Lil' Mama relevant enough for her "Sorry" to be meaningful?

Serena, your statement was to be applauded.  You took full responsibility for your actions and any consequences to come.  We applaud you for that.  But the news reports of behavior like this being unprecedented?  John McEnroe ring a bell with anybody?  How much was HE ever fined.  Who owes the apology here?

So what is the real meaning and motive behind any apology.  Is it now just a coverup to make people feel better for your actions.  Maybe a better RULE for America is SAY WHAT YOU MEAN, AND MEAN WHAT YOU SAY.

The Friend's have some thoughts about these folks listed above and we will NOT be issuing any apologies for what is said.  Also, a very special guest Friend will LET IT BE TOLD!


I just saw what happened with Kanye and Taylor on Youtube...rudeness! He owes her a damn apology and every one who watched and buys his music a damned apology and he owes his mom(RIP) one too! IMO


The Kanye issue is not as simplistic as some people want to make it seem. Wrong is wrong-Period. ODB was wrong those years ago, Soy dude was wrong too..remember him? Oh yeah Joe Wilson was wrong too. Black is black.


Did my President call Kanye a jackass? Listen 4 yourself:
http://www.lovebscott.com/2009/09/15/listen-the-actual-audio-of-president-obama-calling-kayne-west-a-jackass/

A.J.


Where on earth do I even begin?

I think I have said enough about the Joe Wilson incident and all of it's nonsense in The Political Pushback. What I fail to understand is why Van Jones, called out by Republican House Representative Mike Pence, was "lead" to resign over, among other things and what is in MY opinion THE THING, comments about Republicans. Van Jones has to resign. Joe Wilson gets ADMONISHED?? So according to CNN, it's the first time in 220 years that the House has disciplined a member for speaking out during a presidential speech. Why is this man still in office? It's like making white people apologize for slavery. What is the damn purpose? So they put out a resolution, aka a piece of damn paper, to say that they don't approve of his actions. Well kick his ass OUT!

President Carter, THANK YOU for saying what we-the black population-have BEEN saying that nobody wanted to acknowledge BECAUSE we are black. President Carter put it out there and made it plain-the "demonstrated animosity" is based on the fact that OUR President is black! And Michael Steele, you are also the FIRST black man to chair the Republican National Committee and you DARED to fix your mouth to say President Carter is "flat-out wrong". That shuck and jive you got going is pretty good there, colored Republican Boy!!

In my opinion, Joe Wilson's apology means about as much his resolve that he's not racist. The ONLY justice in his outburst is getting him OUT of office!

Joe Wilson-You are among the most stupid and ignorant people that has shown their true colors as of late. I hope they kick your ass out of Congress. Go get fitted for your white sheet-I'd prefer that look on you so I don't have to see your damn face.

Kanye-I've never cared enough to like or dislike you. You are one of those people that when you do something good, I say good for you and when you do something stupid, I'm not surprised. You've been a drama queen since you broke out from behind the queens-I mean SCENES. Demanding recognition that you have or have not deserved. Regardless of what people think of you-you definitely know how to make your 15 minutes of fame last for 15 hours.

I teach my son to take a quick moment before doing something he questions and saying "Will my mom whoop my butt for this?" and then proceed. The idea is that if he takes enough time to think about this question, he also has taken enough time to act in a civil way with good sense. Judging from your reaction on Jay Leno, maybe you should take up this practice. If you are going to apologize, do it sincerely and personally-not for the media to see and keep you on 15.5 hours going on 16. You stole that girl's moment-and if you are proud of that then stand proud and be who YOU are. If you're not courageous enough to take a stand for yourself, stop doing it for other people. Beyonce doesn't need you cosigning on her stuff-I think she showed you that. You got Presidential recognition for being a "jackass". I sincerely hope that you don't fix your giant-sized mouth to say something stupid back to our President. Speak out on Healthcare reform, talk bad about Joe Wilson and the boys, do something OTHER than show us how much class you either don't have or don't choose to use.

Kanye-Try the method I suggested. I'm certain this was not your last outburst but I'd be lying if I said I'm going to care about the next-I don't.

Lil' Mama...I still don't know where you came from or why. At least you get two sentences from me.

An apology means nothing nowadays. In my opinion people say what they want to say and plan to apologize ahead of time to make it right. And why do we demand an apology even be given? You can't force someone to apologize if they are not truly sorry. In my opinion, you can not really apologize for acting disrespectful. That apology to me means, Sorry you were offended-but I mean what I said.

As far as I'm concerned these people can take their apologies and stick them so far up their ass that their words replay in a flashing marquee across their forehead. That's the only way I'd give it any credit of being entertaining. An "I'm sorry I was born" may also work.

Moni


What a week this has been folks! Simply put, disrespect is the new black! It's everywhere and seems to fit everybody! Unfortunately, it doesn't look good on anybody. I was shocked by Joe Wilson's actions and wondered where one gets the audacity to not simply disagree with a policy, but to blatantly disrespect the Presidency, especially while both the president and Mr. Wilson were in their official capacities. Even more appalling, however, was his refusal to apologize to the House, combined with his use of his disrespect as a fundraising maneuver, and the chillax attitude of those who did not think he deserved any form of sanctions.

Fast forward a few days and Kanye West disrespects little Taylor Swift. Initially, I thought it was wrong of Kanye, but wasn't especially bothered by it. I was still fuming over Joe Wilson and wondering how/why America expected better of Kanye, who acts a fool at EVERY awards show, that we expect of elected officials. At no point did I think Kanye's actions were appropriate, but I was willing to accept them for the sake of "equality" so to speak. I had justified it in my mind that Joe Wilson's situation was racially motivated, and I wanted there to be some sort of acknowledgment. I was waiting for Kanye to later apologize to Taylor and then explain how his actions were a form of social commentary. Nope, he was just being a disrespectful drunk.

Enter a whole host of other incidents over the past few days. The common thread is disrespect, and that we (and clearly I include myself in this "we") accept and even have come to expect and view it as entertainment is a reflection on how we've digressed a bit as a nation. What separates some of these situations in my mind, is less about the disrespect and more about the apologies that did or did not follow. Regardless of the motivation, disrespecting other people should not be a normal part of our culture. I hereby admonish both Joe Wilson and Kanye West for their actions, and give a stern talking to for all those, myself included, who were willing to even consider tolerating it from either of them. I've said it before, but seriously, let's do better America!

She

The following response is being posted on behalf of The Friend's Friend, The Janitor. This Open Letter to Congress was posted on the blog, http://www.theurbanpolitico.blogspot.com/, and we are excited to feature The Janitor as a guest Friend who is letting it be TOLD!!

Dear United States House of Representatives,


You suck.


No really.


Would you like to know why your approval rating is always the lowest of all 3 branches of government regardless of who the President is? Contrary to what you might think, it's not because Americans have no clue as to what exactly it is that you do around here. (which is a good question, actually) Rather, it's because you do stupid things like you did today, whereby 179 of you demonstrated that you don't even know how to read your own damn House Rules on conduct. If you did, then you would have known that Joe Wilson's outburst against the President is not a partisan issue, nor a free speech issue, nor is its reprimand something that should be given much pause for debate. No, folks, this one is pretty straight forward. Call me crazy, but when the Rules (that you wrote by the way) say to do XYZ, I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that you should probably do XYZ.


In other words, you complicate things that are not complicated. The truth of the matter is, sometimes things are simple. Sometimes life hands you a freebie. Americans would like to think that maybe, just maybe, you people in Congress have the ability to come to a consensus on something. Anything. But alas you can't, because you suck.


When one of your members makes history by becoming the first jackass in 220 years to ever disrespect a sitting United States President during a Presidential address to the United States Congress, and further, when your rules clearly state that this is a violation, the correct answer to the question of "do we sanction this guy?" is an unequivocal "YES." Period.


We are aware that as Congressmen and Congresswomen your natural inclination is to spend countless hours debating making soundbites on the House floor for every media-worthy piece of lobbyist-written legislation that makes its way onto the desks of your respective Elle Woods interns. We are further aware that your prime directive is to put your country first make partisan all things which are not partisan. Your fact-averse approach to the issues that face our nation is astounding. You pride yourselves on putting your party affiliations over the betterment of America as a whole when it needs you most. You are the living embodiment of the phrase "politics-as-usual." These are merely a few of the many contributing factors as to why you suck.


On the bright side, I know that no matter how bad I may suck from time to time, even on my worst day I'll never suck as bad as you do.


Regards,




The Janitor



P.S. - Be thankful I didn't even go into the Race issue implicit in the fact that the only President that this has ever happened to in the 220-year history of the nation just so happens to be the Black President.

Well, there you have it!! The Friend's have spoken-and to all listed above:

Check back for more responses from The Friend's. Leave us a comment on whose apology you did or DIDN'T agree with and let us know how you feel about our "SORRY" state of mind!

Special thanks to The Janitor for letting us feature his post from The Urban Politico. Check them out and add them to your blogroll!

To the comments we go!!