Friday links! Specious redemptions edition

Everybody loves a redemption story. The wrong righted, the villain reformed, the catastrophe undone—these are the themes of our collective fantasy, whether in movies or in the news. The problem with redemption stories is that, statistically, they are unlikely to happen. Your initial sample is “people who did bad things,” and your criterion for success is “person A doesn’t do any bad things in the future.” I don’t want to be a Gloomy Gus or, worse, a Determinist Dave, but that sort of change just doesn’t happen very often. That’s what makes a redemption story so good, but it’s also what makes us willing to settle for off-brand shit—the appearance of redemption, at least, when no actual wrong-righting is available. In preparation for a weekend in which you will almost certainly transgress, apologize, and transgress again, this week’s link roundup is all about questionable redemptions, unsorry apologies, and maybe one genuine turnaround. Won’t you join us after the break?

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