Offense

Posted 2:00 AM by Gerald So

Paris Olympics organizers apologized Sunday after an intended opening ceremonies depiction of Greek god Dionysus featuring drag queens offended people and religious groups for its similarity to Leonardo Da Vinci's 15th century "The Last Supper" painting.

Art historians point out the depiction was not a parody of "The Last Supper" but an allusion to Jan van Bijlert's 17th century painting "The Feast of the Gods."

In the organizers' and performers' apologies are the phrases "if I have offended," "if people have taken offense." There's no "if" they offended. People have expressed offense. The apology phrasing should've been "that I have offended," "that people took offense."

I understand it was not a send-up of "The Last Supper," but if the organizers had been more concerned they might offend, it might have occurred to them, "We can't do this. It will bring to mind 'The Last Supper," not what we want."