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What's the purpose of the word "Sorry"?

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purbeast0 said:
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The perfect response. Bears repeating.

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steppinthrax said:
I never really understood the word. What is the purpose of this word????

I mean does it become a time machine, fix the issue.
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For a business, it's a way that they seek to avoid financial compensation to those it's being said to. "We are sorry for your inconvenience" is shorthand for "please don't ask for a refund."
 
If you know it's wrong and you're going to do it anyway and offer "I'm sorry" after the fact, then yes, the word is meaningless. Too many people use it to try to save face after they're caught.
 
ultimatebob said:
It's a good point, though... how often are you REALLY sorry when you say you're sorry?

Usually, you're only "sorry" because you got caught doing something you know that you shouldn't have been doing to begin with (like speeding), and probably plan on doing again in the future.
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:hmm:

Empathy? *cough*
😉


Yes, for a lot of things, people are probably just regretting that they were caught. (See: Any public figure making a public and carefully-worded apology.)
I do use the term though for its originally intended purpose. I really don't like doing things that accidentally end up inconveniencing other people.



glenn1 said:
For a business, it's a way that they seek to avoid financial compensation to those it's being said to. "We are sorry for your inconvenience" is shorthand for "please don't ask for a refund."
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I thought "sorry" for a business was seen as an admission of guilt.
 
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to show weakness.












and sorrow simultaneously.

But truthfully, I find myself using it for example when I accidentally get in someone's way. I don't want to look like a jerk. Self-conscious people use it positively.
 
SlitheryDee said:
Let's say when anyone screws up, they don't acknowledge it at all. How do you know that they even realize they screwed up? If you can't tell that they know that they screwed up, you can't trust them to not screw up again. If you can't trust them to not screw up again, you can't depend on them for anything from that point on. "Sorry" performs the function of letting you know that they can still be trusted in the future. Doesn't matter if they really mean it. All that matters is that they recognized that a problem exists.
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What makes you so sure that they screwed up, and that you "realize" more than they do?
 
ninaholic37 said:
What makes you so sure that they screwed up, and that you "realize" more than they do?
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its a hypothetical situation. Assume they did screw up and I do realize it. It's not like I'm postulating an insane scenario here. People screw up and other people notice it every day. Sometimes those people apologize, which usually allows all the involved parties to move on to other things, whether the apology was heartfelt or not.
 
Yes, its hard to believe some congressman is really sorry he played around in the men's bathroom at some airport.
What he is actually sorry about, was that he was caught.
Or.. "I'm sorry I embezzled all that money from the tax payers, where I could have retired from office and moved my family to Fiji".
We know what the thief is really sorry about, no Fiji retirement.
 
Homerboy said:
Uhhhh it shows that you have remorse and understand what you have done may be wrong. Or that you're sympathetic/empathetic to the person's problem?


Don't be stupid OP.
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Someone can be called a sorry sack of dung.
 
steppinthrax said:
I'm not being stupid.

I understand the meaning, but it dose nothing for me. Honestly I don't give a shit about you're sorry etc.....

LOL
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Why does every thing have to be for you?

What if I bump into you and instead of saying sorry I say, " Move your fat fucking ass you sack of rat crap, grabasstic minion!"

😀
 
Sorry is used as a threat. "You'll be Sorry."
Sorry is used as a forceful command. "Child! Say you are sorry!"

For these two reasons, the word sorry is a violent word, and should be retired from language.
 
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