I like this response best so far (from the actual mailing list): https://lwn.net/ml/linux-kernel/10576437.nUPlyArG6x@lichtvoll.de/ (from Martin Steigerwald)

Do you really think that power-playing Kent into submission by doing a
public apology is doing anything good to resolve the issue at hand?

While it may not really compare to some of the wording Linus has used
before having been convinced to change his behavior… I do not agree with
the wording Kent has used. I certainly do not condone it.

But this forced public apology approach in my point of view is very likely
just to cement the division instead of heal it. While I publicly disagreed
with Kent before, I also publicly disagree with this kind of Code of
Conduct enforcement. I have seen similar patterns within the Debian
community and in my point of view this lead to the loss of several Debian
developers who contributed a lot to the project while leaving behind
frustration and unresolved conflict.

No amount of power play is going to resolve this. Just exercising
authority is not doing any good in here. This needs mediation, not forced
public humiliation.

To me, honestly written, this whole interaction feels a bit like I'd
imagine children may be fighting over a toy. With a majority of the
children grouping together to single out someone who does not appear to fit
in at first glance. I mean no offense with that. This is just the impression
I got so far. The whole interaction just does not remind me of respectful
communication between adult human beings. I have seen it with myself… in
situations where it was challenging for me to access what I learned, for
whatever reason, I had been acting similarly to a child. So really no
offense meant. This is just an impression I got and wanted to mirror back
to you for your consideration.

This quote is not the entire response, but most of it. Edit: I totally forgot to include a link. Added now.