Sorry, Beck: Sometimes It's Too Late to Apologize

Caitlin Dickson, Matt Lewis say they're not letting Fox's ex-demagogue off the hook
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 23, 2014 1:46 PM CST
Sorry, Beck: Sometimes It's Too Late to Apologize
Glenn Beck speaks during the NRA convention at the George R. Brown Convention Center Saturday, May 4, 2013, in Houston.   (AP Photo/Houston Chronicle, Melissa Phillip)

Glenn Beck yesterday expressed remorse for, in his words, "helping tear the country apart" during his Fox News tenure. But Caitlin Dickson at the Daily Beast isn't accepting that apology, calling it "too little, too late." This is the guy who once told the world that President Obama was planning to stage an Oklahoma City-scale terrorist attack for political purposes, among a host of other, outlandish and unfounded conspiracy theories. "Beck preyed on and profited from his audience's fears, many of which he planted himself."

Dickson likens Beck's apology to such other tardy changes of heart as George Wallace apologizing for segregation, and Robert McNamara apologizing for the Vietnam War. Matt Lewis at The Week thinks that's going "a little too far," but agrees that society can't just forgive and forget. "I'm not for harboring personal grudges," he writes, "but I'm also a big believer in incentives." Forgiving Beck would send a message that it's fine to use your megaphone to divide the country, "and then—when it's convenient—wash their hands of the past." Click for Dickson's full column, or here for Lewis'. (More Glenn Beck stories.)

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