In the theatre of social media, most individuals who express views that are racist, sexist, discriminatory or out of sync with social norms are shamed into retracting their views — at least publicly. The exception to this rule seems to be Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Ontario president Fred Hahn.

During the Olympics, Hahn, also a vice-president of CUPE’s national branch, shared a video on Facebook of an Israeli athlete diving into a pool; the video had been edited to depict the diver as a bomb descending on Palestinians. Hahn apologized on Sunday, but it was insincere and empty because he has a history of posting antisemitic messages and then offering vacuous apologies.