Apologies are by definition when you apologies for your own actions. To claim that it applies to people based on their reaction or is explicitly for people who

Apologies are by definition when you apologies for your own actions. To claim that it applies to people based on their reaction or is explicitly for people who reacted a certain way is not IMHO a real apology. This type of conditional apology (called the 'Carey' apology where I'm from http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/my-vile-apology/story-e6frf7jo-1111119116136 http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/my-vile-apology/story-e6frf...) is an apology for the reaction in others, not the act itself.