Public slanders and private apologies

I've always found it rather amusing the way that newspapers make retractions in tiny words, tucked away in the belly of the newspaper, when the allegations made were front page, in huge letters.

Why is it they get away with that?

People do the same, and it amuses me in the same way. How many people will bad mouth someone at the top of their lungs, then make a quiet little apology with a sweet smile, as if nothing ever happened?

I guess it's a sign of fear on their part: of not wanting to be seen as foolish, nasty, or less than perfect in the public eye.

But then, a lot of people can't face what goes on inside them, I guess. It's difficult to do so.

People have dark sides locked up inside them, that come out when they feel they're allowed to let them out. It's strange how human beings can do all manner of things when they feel they're either justified to do something, or are given a moral waiver by someone else.

I used to meet a number of murderers when I worked in prisons in Britain a few years back. So many of them were the nicest, most ordinary people you could meet who just flipped at some point. They bottled up their rage, then just killed whoever it was. No dount, they felt as apologetic and sorry afterwards, and regretted their actions.

But the damage was still done.

It's kind of like rapists who become really nice afterwards, and apologise as if something had happened, but not something all that bad. They smoothtalk, and walk away as if nothing had happened.

I brought this subject up for a reason, of course, because I'm really wondering how to handle something that just happened to me that feels the same.

When someone's slandered you publicly, and you get a nice little, private apology, what do you do? Do you walk away from it? Try to shame the person? "Let go of it", or what?

I mean, it kinda is nice when someone makes an apology that's as loud as the slander, isn't it? You know? When someone's told a bunch of people that you're virtually a criminal, and that you've ripped someone off, and they tell everyone that publicly, then they apologise privately, are you supposed to accept that?

Hmmmmm...

We'll see.