What does a sincere apology consist of?

[Anonymous]

For example: somebody says “When you said/did this, it upset me.”
If the persons response is to act confused, list off reasons why you shouldn’t be upset, ask why you’re upset over something menial, topping that off with “I’m sorry you feel hurt.”
Does that sound sincere to you?
In my opinion, someone telling me they feel hurt by my actions is enough. They shouldn’t have to explain themselves. If I know I said something that hurt someone close to me, I’d take responsibility and genuinely apologize.

[caring__1]

A sincere apology acknowledges what the person did and how it impacted the other person. Just saying "I'm sorry" or "I'm sorry you feel that way" is saying "I have no idea what I did, and I can't understand how it might impact you. I'm saying I'm sorry just to get you off my back."

It is common for people to minimize the feelings of others or rationalize their actions or simply change the subject when someone identifies what they are feeling. If you care about the person, focus on the feeling the person has identified rather than focus on getting yourself off the hook. Acknowledging and addressing feelings show people you care about more than just yourself and draw people closer together.

[Кураж]

Someone feeling hurt because of your actions is NOT a valid reason for you to apologize.

You should apologize when you have hurt someone on purpose/acted in ill will.
But someone choosing to get offended by something you haven't perpetrated with malicious intent has no grounds to demand an apology for, that's just emotional blackmail.

They wouldn't be getting an apology from me, that's for sure.
Yes, I'm sorry that they feel hurt, but I'm NOT going to apologize for my actions.

[Anonymous]

Id say that's a decent apology.

[Asker]

Do you mind on elaborating?
To me, the apology didn’t sound genuine. I felt as if my friend who decided to tell me why I shouldn’t be upset, told me basically why I was upset was menial, made me feel minimized