There are occasions on which all apology is rudeness.
Interpretation
Some situations demand honesty over apology, as apologizing may come off as insincere or disrespectful.
Samuel Johnson's quote suggests that in certain circumstances, offering an apology can be counterproductive and even rude. It implies that sincerity and the context of the situation are crucial when addressing grievances; sometimes, it's better to refrain from apologizing in order to maintain genuine communication or when the apology could appear disingenuous.
In practice
During a heated debate, instead of saying 'I'm sorry,' I chose to clarify my point to maintain respect.
To be of no church is dangerous. Religion, of which the rewards are distant, and which is animated only by faith and hope, will glide by degrees out of the mind unless it be invigorated and reimpressed by external ordinances, by stated calls to worship, and the salutary influence of example.
He that reads and grows no wiser seldom suspects his own deficiency, but complains of hard words and obscure sentences, and asks why books are written which cannot be understood.
To let friendship die away by negligence and silence is certainly not wise. It is voluntarily to throw away one of the greatest comforts of the weary pilgrimage.
Fly-fishing may be a very pleasant amusement; but angling or float fishing I can only compare to a stick and a string, with a worm at one end and a fool at the other.
When any anxiety or gloom of the mind takes hold of you, make it a rule not to publish it by complaining; but exert yourselves to hide it, and by endeavoring to hide it you drive it away.
A fishing rod is a stick with a hook at one end and a fool at the other.
I'll make him an offer he can't refuse.
I maintain, despite the moment's evidence against the claim, that we are born and grow up with a fondness for each other, and we have genes for that. We can be talked out of it, for the genetic message is like a distant music, and some of us are hard-of-hearing. Societies are noisy affairs, drowning out the sound of ourselves and our connection.
So often we try to make other people feel better by minimizing their pain, by telling them that it will get better (which it will) or that there are worse things in the world (which there are). But that's not what I actually needed. What I actually needed was for someone to tell me that it hurt because it mattered. I have found this very useful to think about over the years, and I find that it is a lot easier and more bearable to be sad when you aren't constantly berating yourself for being sad.
I know that one day all transgender individuals will have the freedom to be who they are, no matter what. And we won't have to face the cruel judgments of society. We can just live our lives and be treated and respected like everyone else.
When any society says that I cannot marry a certain person, that society has cut off a segment of my freedom.
I don't think it's different to be a black girl in England than it is to be a black girl from America. We all collectively share in a pain of displacement and not feeling like we quite belong in places.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.