Civility Blog

Many times when we speak to each other one will say something that another will take offense at. Such occurred when Radio Talk Show Host Don Imus called the players on the Rutgers University women’s basketball team “nappy headed hos.”

Civility matters and when we don’t follow civil rules of engagement, we can cause hurt on the other side. Sometimes one asks for forgiveness, as Imus later did.

But if you read the article, you’ll see an interesting question posed by Gregory Lee, an NABJ officer and senior assistant sports editor at The Boston Globe. He said the mea culpa did little to atone for the comments. “You can apologize, but what does that mean when you have a history of making disparaging remarks about people?” Lee asked about the acid-tongued Imus.

This is a good question. Once the hurtful words are spoken, their long-term effect on individuals or a whole society cannot be controlled.

And if one apologizes for one’s remark but then does not change one’s behavior, is the apology real?

Civility matters…..and the sooner we all learn to live in a world of civil engagement, the better off we will all be.