Apology to Women

In earlier years I have thought and written things about women of which I am now ashamed, and I want to offer an apology to all of the women on my legal team and to the female sex in general.

There were several reasons for my earlier resentment of women (and I present these only as causes, not as excuses): youthful machismo, my own lack of success with women, a fund of frustrated anger, and the fact that in youth I never had the opportunity to know well any women who were worthy of much respect. (Those of my female relatives to whom I was closest weren't worth much, and the only two women I ever dated turned out to have serious defects of character.)

Over the years my resentment of women has faded. I've learned that there are many women who are far more worthy of respect than those I was close to early in life. I have my angry feelings sorted out so that I now have a clearer idea of the real sources of my anger. And as I've grown older I've come to appreciate more and more the characteristic virtues of women, such as warmth, gentleness, and sensitivity to others' feelings.

But I've come to feel especially ashamed of my earlier attitudes toward women since getting to know the women on my legal team. They are of stronger and better character than any of the few women whom I knew well earlier in my life, and I respect them highly both as human beings and in their professional capacity. I also like them very much personally.

So, once again, I want to apologize to them and to all women for my earlier attitudes.

Ted Kaczynski