Alan Feeney has resigned his posts on Birmingham and Solihull councils after ITV filmed racist remarks. He apologized, saying: “The comments do not reflect my true beliefs or opinions”.
This is a remarkable advance in political acoustics: words can now leave a politician’s mouth without passing through his views. Apparently the tongue had established an independent policy unit.
The resignation is real. The following translation is satire: I take full responsibility for statements made by an unauthorized version of myself, operating my face during an election campaign.
An apology can acknowledge harm and still try to place the underlying attitude in witness protection. The remarks were wrong; the speaker’s authentic beliefs, conveniently, cannot be interviewed. They were elsewhere, supporting diversity, and would appreciate being kept out of this.
The proper response is not to pretend an apology never matters. It is to notice when the apology asks voters to believe the unrecorded personality over the one that helpfully supplied audio.
His words have left office. His beliefs were apparently never on the premises.
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