My theory is that they are living in a world of hierarchies and apologizing is admitting a mistake, which takes them down a few levels on the hierarchy of power/popularity.
My theory is that they are living in a world of hierarchies and apologizing is admitting a mistake, which takes them down a few levels on the hierarchy of power/popularity.
I didn’t interpret this comic to be about situations like baking an apple pie for someone they didn’t know is allergic to apples. Who would call that “acting really awful?” I interpreted it as when someone does something mean or hurtful, like actually genuinely hurtful that they should not have done and should not do again, and they refuse to acknowledge it just because their intention wasn’t to hurt someone’s feelings. This is how people respond when I ask them to, e.g., stop saying bigoted things or using manipulation tactics.