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[Raylan Targaryen]

Straight white male feels sorry that the internet discovered he was a dick. News at 11.

Uh, the whole news at 11 meme is supposed to be for things that are expected.

White men don't give a fuck what others thing usually. They don't have to in American society. Him being genuinely (or if you want to be a cynic, pretending) being sorry for his actions is the opposite of news at 11.

 

[blackjon24]

I've never made a dozen of the same mistakes over and over again and only apologized when I got called out on it.

I somehow doubt that

 

[robotrock]

to everyone vaguely saying that this is a good apology i just wanted to say this is a bad one. sincerely

 

[Kaban]

I hope the victims can recover and find their peace, I hope Team Polygon can move on, and I hope Nick can learn from this and improve himself.

 

[darkressurection]

This apology feels like a lawyer went through it a few times before it was put out, I really dislike how much it leans on the term "flirting" when a lot of the things that were coming out just sounded pretty gross. Certainly not my place to accept or not accept this apology, but it seems like not a lot of people on my Twitter timeline are down with it.

 

[elohel]

You know, on second thoughts I've come to the realisation that this really isn't our place to decide whether or not this is a good apology. This is purely up to the people he harassed.

I'll decide, too little too late

Case and point, if no one brought it up? What would he have reflected on?

 

[- J - D -]

I somehow doubt that

Speak for yourself, you don't know me.

 

[Joey Ravn]

I'm not seeing the "100%, totally, genuinely sincere" apology some people are praising so much. He devotes three paragraphs for putting his actions into context, as if they were somehow defensible. "Power corrupts", etc. And the fact that he never says "harrasment" and instead refers to his actions as "I was just flirting" implicitly puts the blame on the victim: he had good intentions that they misrepresented and felt "uncomfortable". But, hey, he was being totally naive about it.

Yeah... Not buying it. I'm reading this as a typical sorry-not-sorry public apology after being caught red-handed.

 

[Goldfishking]

Him being genuinely (or if you want to be a cynic, pretending) being sorry for his actions is the opposite of news at 11.

I mean, he's genuinely sorry for what he talked about. Doing this from a position of power.

But he never admitted to any form of harassment (even calling it 'flirting'). Also he hasn't stated he is getting help with this. He just said half-sorry and peace out.

 

[molnizzle]

not that it matters but we totally did

but we did?

oh. Guess I missed that. I wasn't paying terribly close attention to the whole thing.

Never mind then.

 

[Cyanity]

I knew this boy had a good apology in him. Whether or not he ends up earning it, is up to him though.

 

[Seiru]

I'd be interested to see what he considers "flirting".

 

[Guess Who]

downplay it all you want but know you're wrong. this is exactly what kamoshida did

i think you are misinterpreting my post as trying to downplay what nick did as not tremendously shitty, which is absolutely not at all my point, and more that this would be no more notable a target than (p5 sidequest spoiler)

Spoiler

that asshole idol producer sexually harassing girls

also kamoshida

Spoiler

is heavily implied to have straight up raped a girl

, which to my knowledge is still a step above anything in this situation

 

[ZeoVGM]

I'm not seeing the "100%, totally, genuinely sincere" apology some people are praising so much. He devotes three paragraphs for putting his actions into context, as if they were somehow defensible. "Power corrupts", etc. And the fact that he never says "harrasment" and instead refers to his actions as "I was just flirting" implicitly puts the blame on the victim: he had good intentions that they misrepresented and felt "uncomfortable". But, hey, he was being totally naive about it.

He didn't say "power corrupts." You misunderstood what he was saying in regard to being in a position of power.

 

[JusDoIt]

Glad he owned up to it, apologized, and stepped down. Peace to all involved.

 

[ckaneo]

Dont think he deserved to be fired.

 

[halfbeast]

Spoiler

(she's bi)

 

[Alienfan]

This apology will never be enough for most people on here, but all that matters is if the victims are satisfied.
As an apology to the general public though, it's kind of refreshing, moderates like Colin Moriarty, H3H3 and Pewdiepie could all learn a thing or two from this. Apologizing is not saying "I'm sorry you were offended", but saying "I know what I did wrong, I feel terrible, and I'm going to be better about it in the future".

 

[robotrock]

i think you are misinterpreting my post as trying to downplay what nick did as not tremendously shitty, which is absolutely not at all my point, and more that this would be no more notable a target than (p5 sidequest spoiler)

Spoiler

that asshole idol producer sexually harassing girls

thanks for clarifying, thought you meant his bullshit wasn't horrible enough to warrant a palace.

 

[Jebusman]

Flirting has gotten too real for me if what he did is what's considered as flirting now.

And again, as people point out, he's not apologizing for what he did.

He's apologizing that he did this while in a position of "power".

So if people are willing to dismiss what he was doing as totally okay if it wasn't for the "power" part, then we're not really in that much better of a situation.

Like good on him if he's "actually" going to change. But if he thinks the problem was the position he was in, and not what his actions actually were, then he really didn't learn anything from this.

 

[Real Hero]

If those involved aren't thrilled by this then there is not much else to say

 

[purseowner]

Dont think he deserved to be fired.

I don't think you're in a position of knowledge to be able to make that judgement.

And please remember there are victims here.

 

[klabautermann]

I think he could have admitted to the harassing and maybe spent a bit more time apologizing. I was really sad to hear about this because I was a big fan of his content on Polygon. I hope he can grow from this, but the damage has certainly been done for me, personally. Not sure if I can separate this from him. If I ever do, it's probably going to take quite some time. I hope he has sincerely apologized to all those who he hurt, but it seems like they aren't satisfied with this either.

 

[Mark L]

I don't want or need an apology because he didn't wrong me.

He owes apologies to the people he harassed, in accordance with the amount he harassed them.

To a much, much lesser extent he owes his former employers an apology for humiliating them through being connected to his behavior.

More than apologies, though, he owes the women he harmed some kind of reparation for the damage he caused. I'm not necessarily talking about money here, but some sort of good faith action that involves real, sustained effort on his part to fix whatever damage he did. The details of which are none of my business, unless the victims want it to be.

 

[Squire]

Dont think he deserved to be fired.

Good thing you're not in charge of the situation then.

 

[Zaph]

This apology feels like a lawyer went through it a few times before it was put out, I really dislike how much it leans on the term "flirting" when a lot of the things that were coming out just sounded pretty gross. Certainly not my place to accept or not accept this apology, but it seems like not a lot of people on my Twitter timeline are down with it.

Yup, it's often why these public apologies are always such cop-outs. Regardless of guilt or innocence, you would have to be crazy to admit to sexual harassment (or imply it) in writing. He was going to be fired anyway, so there's nothing to gain from it.

 

[Boke1879]

Hopefully he truly tries to better himself.

 

[ElBoxyBrown]

i just find it hard to believe that his brother never offered him any advice on how to navigate fame & "groupies"

You can just say women. No need to refer to them as "groupies".

 

[Joey Ravn]

He didn't say "power corrupts." You misunderstood what he was saying in regard to being in a position of power.

Yeah, you are right. What he is saying is that if he hadn't been a public figure with "power", he probably wouldn't have stopped "sliding into DMs".

It's not that he was drunk with power, no. His position just allowed him to be a harasser to a wider audience.

 

[bizzarewars]

I've read enough fuckboy apologies to know that this means jack and shit.

Good riddance.

 

[ckaneo]

I don't think you're in a position of knowledge to be able to make that judgement.

And please remember there are victims here.

I am in a position to form my own opinion and I did. I, let me clarify, I dont think he should have been fired.

Maybe there is stuff behinds the scenes that werent made public though, I'll concede to that.

 

[elohel]

Uh, the whole news at 11 meme is supposed to be for things that are expected.

White men don't give a fuck what others thing usually. They don't have to in American society. Him being genuinely (or if you want to be a cynic, pretending) being sorry for his actions is the opposite of news at 11.

people pretending to apologize for getting caught is well within the usage of the news at 11

entitled people do shit till they get caught and downplay it

This is par the course

 

[FinaruDensetsu]

He makes it all about himself, replaces "hearassment" with "flirting"... Eh, to a more discerning eye? Not necessarily.

As the twitter thread linked above notes, manipulators should be met with healthy skepticism.

After reading it again and also seeing what people who obviously know him a lot better have said, I do see what you mean. I don't really get what the mentions of having fanart and whatever the fuck was for other than self-fellation.

 

[paragonpro]

I hope he does change, actions speak louder than words

 

[Stormblessed]

To be expected, really. I suspect he probably subscribes to the idea that it's possible to have a good resignation. There was no way to come out of this unscathed - irrespective of whatever findings Vox's investigation may ultimately have had. This way he got to stage manage his departure.

Reminds me of nothing quite so much as HBomberguy's (similar) apology and the reaction to it. He has now split his detractors between people who think he will learn from this and do better, and the people who doubt his sincerity. The story will last maybe a week and the only lasting impact it'll have is to his future employment prospects. I doubt Vox have even thought about setting out a social media policy for employees, let alone refreshing them on what is and is not proper conduct.

 

[ScientificPizza]

Yeah, you are right. What he is saying is that if he hadn't been a public figure with "power", he probably wouldn't have stopped "sliding into DMs".

It's not that he was drunk with power, no. His position just allowed him to be a harasser to a wider audience.

Yeah, that's what makes this apology so transparent. He essentially says that what he did was fine if he was just a normal dude which it absolutely is not

 

[Human Trashcan]

If I PM'd all the women on this website asking for nudes I'd be banned for being a serial harasser, and I'm not famous.

Dude knew what he was doing and anyone who thinks he didn't got played

Spoiler

like a damn fiddle

 

[Doctor Decimate]

It is weird reading these comments how much nicer people are to Nick being separated from Polygon, as opposed to Arthur Gies choosing to leave to pursue art school.

Gaf gonna Gaf.

this shit right here is the truth

 

[Pacbois]

Yeah after reflecting on this, this sucks, while okay, cool he acknowledged the power dynamic it does read like not only he still considers this as just flirting and not gross harassment but also that he's only apologising for doing this as a public persona.

Also the end just feels like he'll be back to public facing stuff in a few weeks and boy that will be bad.

I sort of feel bad for buying it on the first read.

 

[Icedburden]

"A mistake" implies one. This was a long pattern of behavior. You are, bluntly, incredibly naive if you think he didn't know what he was doing. Someone who has manipulated for years will do so to save their own career. The proof is in the pudding.

Never said he didn't know what he was doing. I'm saying there are a lot of saints here on GAF.

 

[Joey Jo-Jo Jr]

I still don't know what he did, other than "flirting".
Depending on what Nick Robinson's "flirting" entailed the apology could range from unnecessary to completely insufficient.

Just mildly playful, inoffensive banter that isn't even sexual can be flirting.
"Hey sexy baby, send nudes and come round my place lets get nekkid" isn't flirting.

But I don't know what he did so I can't judge him, unfortunately.

 

[Seiru]

Never said he didn't know what he was doing. I'm saying there are a lot of saints here on GAF.

You don't have to be a saint to restrain yourself from serially sexually harassing women over a number of years, like holy fucking shit

 

[ElBoxyBrown]

I am in a position to form my own opinion and I did. I, let me clarify, I dont think he should have been fired.

Maybe there is stuff behinds the scenes that werent made public though, I'll concede to that.

If Polygon terminated him it's best to assume they found good evidence and acted accordingly, which is rare when these types of cases usually get swept under the rug like in comics.

 

[Goldfishking]

Never said he didn't know what he was doing. I'm saying there are a lot of saints here on GAF.

The pre-requisite for becoming a saint is not harassing women? Sweet, you can all call me saint goldfish from now on.

 

[Jebusman]

Never said he didn't know what he was doing. I'm saying there are a lot of saints here on GAF.

About 15 give or take 1 (I think the search is cutting off one or two names).

 

[BTA]

I am in a position to form my own opinion and I did. I, let me clarify, I dont think he should have been fired.

Maybe there is stuff behinds the scenes that werent made public though, I'll concede to that.

I've said this before and I'll say it again: consider that a lot of the people who started talking about this last week were in the industry, talking about themselves and other women in the industry.

Consider all the logs and such we have are from a couple women who weren't in the industry, just fans.

So yes, there's plenty of stuff behind the scenes no one has seen.

 

[Wamb0wneD]

That's some really good apology there. That's rare. Good on him, hope he finds a new job soon.

 

[Jobbs]

I wasn't sure what he had actually done so I took a sec to look it up. Wow, what a fucking creep. I wouldn't want to be friends with him, whether the apology is sincere or not. Normal decent people don't behave this way.

Dont think he deserved to be fired.

from an (at the time) 18 year old fan of his

I wouldn't want my employees using their position to talk to people and do this shit. Firing is the right call.

 

[Squire]

To be expected, really. I suspect he probably subscribes to the idea that it's possible to have a good resignation. There was no way to come out of this unscathed - irrespective of whatever findings Vox's investigation may ultimately have had. This way he got to stage manage his departure.

Reminds me of nothing quite so much as HBomberguy's (similar) apology and the reaction to it. He has now split his detractors between people who think he will learn from this and do better, and the people who doubt his sincerity. The story will last maybe a week and the only lasting impact it'll have is to his future employment prospects. I doubt Vox have even thought about setting out a social media policy for employees, let alone refreshing them on what is and is not proper conduct.

Wait, what? What did he do?

 

[RPGam3r]

Uh, the whole news at 11 meme is supposed to be for things that are expected.

White men don't give a fuck what others thing usually. They don't have to in American society. Him being genuinely (or if you want to be a cynic, pretending) being sorry for his actions is the opposite of news at 11.

Um wtf, why does anyone think this kind of generalization is ok to do?