SORRY SPECTACLE

The case against the Twitter apology.

- JILL LEPORE

Whose P.R.-purposed apology was Wh worse? Al Franken's or Louis C.K.'s? The Equifax C.E.O.'s (for a cybersecurity breach) or Papa John's (for a racial slur)? Awkwafina's (for cultural appropriation) or Lena Dunham's (for Lord knows what)? At SorryWatch.

com and @SorryWatch, Susan McCarthy and Marjorie Ingall have been judging the adequacy of apologies and welcoming "suggestions for shaming" since 2012. "There are a lot of awful apologies out there," the SorryWatchers write.

"Apologies that make things worse, not better. Apologies that miss the point.

Apologies that are really self-defense dressed up as an apology. Apologies that add insult to injury. Apologies that are worse than the original offense.

Apologies so bad people should apologize for them." McCarthy and Ingall are releasing a new book next year, "Sorry, Sorry, Sorry: The Case for Good Apologies." Meanwhile, on their Web site they've got rules-"Six steps to a good apology" and categories for classifying defective ones: "Be VEEERY CAAAREFUL if you want to provide explanation; don't let it shade into excuse." Heaven forfend.