How do people get away with saying "I made a mistake" when in fact they have willfully misbehaved, attempted to deceive, and then gotten caught?

I would hope that they mean, “I made a mistake and willfully misbehaved and/or attempted to deceive.”

~ Because it was a mistake to let them go. ~

And then to have that person’s wife standing next to him, trying not to cry or vomit or look unhappy, and make her try to smile and say she forgives him, and that this is a private marriage matter, and not an issue for his fitness for office is just awful to watch!

Because “I’m sorry if I upset anyone” doesn’t get you very far any more. But that was the standard “apology” for years- don’t apologize for what you did, apologize if someone was bothered by it.

It’s all part of a general era of non-responsibility guided by PR hacks.

Oh dear God…reminds me of my ex, who used that line for his willful, deceitful and cheating behavior. Out of the mouths of narcissistic sociopaths. lol

It’s the same with calling car wrecks a traffic accident, it’s not an accident, someone is always to blame.

I’m with you, josie. A mistake is when you step on the gas instead of the brake, or forget to “carry the one”.

People make crappy and creepy social choices, and when they are caught, hope that calling their willful act a “mistake” will excuse everything by making others think….

“Well…..sure…..we ALL make mistakes !”

I agree with you.

But for the sake of disagreement, aren’t a lot of things only mistakes once there’s a consequence?

I could be wrong here, but it sounds like you may be lightly referring to the Anthony Wiener story. Wasn’t it only a mistake once it got out? When he took the pictures, and the girl received them, that was stupid, but maybe not a mistake. Could it be that it was only a mistake once it got out? At the time it was maybe just “risky.”

When it got out, then yeah, he says “Well…that was a mistake.” Which then turns into a learning experience. That’s kind of how I view mistakes most of the time. You did something that at the time you probably knew was wrong, but maybe you don’t know how wrong until someone else knows.

Humiliation can go a LONG way in correcting mistakes from happening in the future. Maybe that’s why it’s considered a “mistake.” Because there’s a chance it won’t happen again!