c. 2007 Religion News Service
(UNDATED) It seems each week well-known entertainers or politicians rush forward to say they are “sorry” for their actions or words that have hurt others. They then contritely announce they are seeking spiritual and emotional rehabilitation because of substance abuse, ugly bigotry, uncontrollable anger, marital infidelity or a host of other serious problems.
Although each case is different, the recent examples of egregious behavior by comedian Michael Richards, actor Isaiah Washington, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom and former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi all follow a well-trod path.
Richards, best known as Jerry Seinfeld’s erratic neighbor, Kramer, erupted in a torrent of vile anti-black language last November during a stand-up comedy performance in Los Angeles. Richards’ ranting, aimed at two black audience members, was not an isolated one-time use of the n-word epithet. Rather, the lovable “Kramer” exploded with a flood of obscene verbal stereotypes and caricatures that shocked his interracial audience and, if he is to be believed, surprised and “shattered” Richards himself.
After quickly apologizing on several TV programs, a rueful Richards announced he was commencing intensive rehab counseling in an effort to eradicate his latent racism.
Washington, meanwhile, portrays Dr. Preston Burke on the popular TV show “Grey’s Anatomy.” Washington’s character as a skilled surgeon has become a role model for many blacks, especially young people.
But Washington has twice called public attention to the fact that T.R. Knight, his “Grey’s Anatomy” co-star, is gay. When Washington first employed the word “faggot” in connection with Knight on the program’s set last fall, he was reprimanded by officials at ABC but kept his job. He said at that time, “I sincerely regret my actions and the unfortunate use of words.”
After Washington invoked the word again in January at a Golden Globe Awards party in Los Angeles, he “asked for help dealing with issues within my soul.” He acknowledged he needed emotional rehabilitation to overcome his homophobic attitudes.
On Feb. 1, Newsom openly admitted an affair with Ruby Rippey-Tourk, the wife of his campaign manager. The 39-year-old mayor was apologetic in his public remarks: “I hurt someone I care deeply about. … This is something I am deeply sorry for.”
Newsom achieved national fame a few years ago with his support of gay marriages, and many pundits saw him as a rising star in the Democratic Party. Now those promising prospects _ California governor or U.S. senator _ are under a dark cloud of scandal.
Newsom, who recently went through a messy divorce, announced he will enter rehab to address his problems with alcohol.
Berlusconi, meanwhile, wrote an open letter of apology to his angry wife _ “Veronica, Forgive Me!” the headlines screamed _ in a leading Italian newspaper. His passionate plea for forgiveness was in response to his wife, who fired the first salvo with her own public letter titled “Silvio, Say You’re Sorry.”
Veronica Lario, a former actress, was furious with her husband’s continuing pattern of public flirtations with other women. She views such actions not as male playfulness, but as an unacceptable insult to her “dignity” as a woman.
My friend Rabbi Leon Klenicki, the director emeritus for interfaith affairs at the Anti-Defamation League, has some wise counsel for people like Richards, Washington, Newsom and Berlusconi. In an article last October in the Jesuit magazine America, Klenicki points out that saying “I’m sorry” is only the start, not the end, of achieving forgiveness. Much more is required than merely uttering those two words.
He adds, “The (Jewish) concept of confession and repentance is not intended to be a mechanical formula for total forgiveness or absolution, but entails inner cleansing through reparation, restitution and reconciliation with the person who has been wronged.”
Klenicki, however, is aware how difficult true repentance can be: “I find it hard to believe, and yet I know that God believes people are capable of true repentance. … Being able to forgive is another of God’s gifts to us. … This is the way to true healing and an important step toward mending the world.”
(Rabbi Rudin, the American Jewish Committee’s senior interreligious adviser, is the author of the recently published book “The Baptizing of America: The Religious Right’s Plans for the Rest of Us.”)
KRE/PH END RUDIN
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Editors: Note language in 6th graf
