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Barilla pasta has been working overtime to figure out how to apologize for the company's chairman, Guido Barilla, saying that gay people "can always go eat someone else’s pasta" if people don't like the fact that the company will never feature a gay person in their ads. And the company has more work to do: in Mr. Barilla's formal apology, he insinuates that gay families aren't real families.
Here's Guido Barilla's apology on Facebook, translated by America Blog's John Aravosis. Think of it as a template for how to apologize for one blunder and create another:
With reference to my statement yesterday, I apologize if my words have generated controversy or misunderstanding, and if they have offended the sensibilities of some people.
For clarity, I wish to point out that I have the deepest respect for all persons, without distinction of any kind.
I have the utmost respect for homosexuals and for the freedom of expression of everyone.
I also said and I repeat that I respect marriages between people of the same sex.
Barilla in its advertising has always chosen to represent the family because this is the symbol of hospitality and affection for everyone.
When you're apologizing, as Barilla is doing, for saying that you are not using gay people in your ads because you're choosing to depict a "traditional family" (even though in America, Barilla's ads usually involve some kind of pasta seduction narrative), it's a bad idea to reiterate/defend that idea — that gay families are somehow different — in the last line of your apology.