Why Dan Crenshaw was worthy of an SNL apology: He belonged to a powerful group

The Washington Post

It's all about power dynamics, says Helena Andrews-Dyer. "Who gets an apology and who doesn’t may say more about society than the 'sorry' itself," she says. "Veterans with battle wounds. Yes. Apologize! Black Mississippians reminded of their state’s history of lynchings. Not so much. A former intern hung out to dry for an affair with a U.S. president. Eh. She should probably just get over it already. The running theme here is that the powerful in any given formula offer amends only to those they deem worthy." Andrews-Dyer adds: "That brings us back to Crenshaw (R-Tex.) and Davidson — the most recent and succinct example of the apology dynamic playing out along scripted lines. Davidson is a big-time famous person (maybe you remember his ex-fiancee Ariana Grande) who picked on a lesser-known person in a bad joke about his disability. But while Crenshaw himself may not have been especially powerful, he was part of a powerful group: Just about everybody was offended for him because he was straight out of central casting for an American hero (though the congressman made it a point to say he wasn’t offended). So there was no questioning that Crenshaw was worthy of an apology. It was a matter of when, not if. And it came in a big way, live on Saturday night."

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