The Mel Gibson "Debacle"

The Question

The Question

Eternal
I'm sure you all know what happened -- Cliff's Notes for those who don't:

Dumbass got drunk -- and basically it was girly-man drunk, he BA''d at a .12 -- and got pulled over for it. After this, he compounded his spectacular performance behind the wheel by resisting arrest, which I'm surprised they haven't charged him with. After he was finally in the PC, he spouted off some tripe about "Fucking Jews" and "the Jews start all the wars in the world" and other charming Hallmark sentiments of a similar delineation.

Now, the really interesting thing about all this is: What's the main angle in all these news reports been? What are they ranting about all over TV Land? A celebrity DUI? A celebrity resisting arrest? The first, to some degree, the second not at all... no, the big feature attraction is how Gibson said mean things about the Jews.

Um -- WHY? Okay, you've got a Kennedy hopped up on fucking NARCOTICS driving around and literally crashing into shit, he gets sent home. Here comes Mel Gibson breathalyzing as a guy who's BARELY over the line into stupid -- the theory here being that he was endangering peoples' lives by driving impaired, which is what SHOULD be the big whoop here... but the thing that makes him the anti-Christ isn't criminal recklessness, but talking shit about the Jews?!

I don't think the media realizes it, but when they hang a guy out to dry for claiming the Jews have too much power... they kinda prove he's right.
 
Well, I think what he said was offensive and anti-semitic. I am not saying he's an anti-semite...but his words were definitely anti-semitic. What makes this newsworthy is the fact that his movie, "The Passion of the Christ", was the subject of intense debate on whether the movie itself was anti-semitic in the way it portrayed the Jewish characters. And now, his anti-semitic tirade appears to confirm many people's suspicions that he's an anti-semite or at least holds anti-semitic views.

He was drunk but that is no excuse for bigotry. He obviously holds some very disturbing views of Jewish people. Therefore, the media attention he's now getting is totally warranted, in my opinion.
 
The original angle on the story when it broke (I saw it on Drudge) was that the police locked up the original report that included the details about his rants, and wrote a new report sans-mishebrewny.

And it's not just that he said those things. It's that he said them 2 years after releasing a movie that many found to have anti-Semitic over/undertones, as well as past reports of his father making statements about the validity of accounts of the Holocaust. (DING!)

There's history behind the slurs, which makes it newsworthy and quite reportable, with or without any spin. It happened and it's out there, whichever angle you view it from.
 
Eggs Mayonnaise said:
Which do you think is the worse offense?
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The one where he might've caused an accident or run down a bicyclist or pedestrian.

I would have thought that would be a no-brainer. You know, driving impaired = could kill somebody. Talking shit about the Jews = piss people off.

That's not exactly a tough call.
 
So he has an irational hatred of a group, dont we all?

How many of us hate the french?

Mickey Roake used to send money to the IRA, Frank Sinatra was in the mob, Rob Lowe had video taken of him sleeping with two underage prostitutes, actors get caught with whores, directors get caught being a whore, they all carry on in their carears, sometimes with better sucsess than before.

Gibson says Jews start all wars, and now he'll never work in hollywood again?

WAs it a stupid thing to say?

Yes

Is it a horrible attitude to have

Yes

Is he a different man to the actor we like in Leathal Weapon

No
 
Oh, I'm sure if he grovels sufficiently to the right people, he'll still get work.

It's the fact that he'll have to grovel at all that proves that -- while he's completely off his nut -- he's not completely wrong.
 
The Question said:
So... why is that worse than him driving drunk?
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How many times have Hollywood celebrities been caught driving drunk?

How many times have Hollywood celebrities who made a movie that many thought to be anti-semitic and then been caught going on a tirade of anti-semitic remarks?

Which is more newsworthy? The one that occurs rarely.
 
The one where he might've caused an accident or run down a bicyclist or pedestrian.
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Fully agree. Drunk driving causes deaths frequently, usually not to the driver but to passengers and pedestrians. It is easily the more serious point of this story. I'm not saying his anti-semetic rants weren't news worthy but driving drunk is WAAAAY worse than ranting about jews starting all the wars in the world blah, blah.
 
GB boiled down my point more succinctly. The real NO-BRAINER is that the hate speech is by far the less common occurrence among celebrities, and therefore is it MUCH more newsworthy, no matter which side of an issue one falls on, and to be surprised about that is, well, kind of silly.

You can argue which is the greater offense, both sides have merits. One drunk on the road can take out a few people, while hate speech that goes unchecked can lead to oppression, war and/or genocide, killing thousands to millions. Pick your poison.
 
The "news" is that someone who should be media-savvy enough to know better said something politically incorrect.

DUI's are not news, too common. "Man Bites Dog" type of thing.

This may end up de-railing this thread...but I've never understood anti-semitism. Maybe I was just never exposed to it as a child or something...but why do so many people so passionately, privately or publicly, or both in Mel's case, dislike or hate them?

I've dated Jewish women before, they take a spanking pretty much the same way that non-Jewish women do. ;) And one of my Brother's in Law is Jewish as well, again I don't see much difference between him and any other person. His New York mannerisms are much more distinct than his religion. So what's the big deal?
 
I saw The Passion..... I dont see where anything anti-Jewish was there. Of course I was so repulsed by the butcher shop graphics I wasn't paying much attention either. So is the guy allegedly Anti Semite? Anti Jew? or Anti Israel? Seeing as how not all Semites are Jews, Not all Jews are Semites and not everyone living in Israel is either.

Was is just him exercising his right of "free speech" or was he spray painting threats on Temple whatever? I have all kinds of so called racist/sexist/whateverist thoughts every day when I express my annoyance at groups of people for what ever it it they're doing. I want to be able to express my annoyance without being made to feel I'm a hate monger.


;)
mm
 
I dont get it either, but I guess its the way your brought up, if your parents hate them, chances are you will too
 
Maybe it's different in the States. In the UK drunk driving is one of the vilest most awful things you can do. Of course being an anti-semite is as well.


We have it drilled into our heads all the time there how fatal drunk driving is.

Mel is clearly an idiot for both actions but nobody should play up some drunken rants past the fact that he had an empty bottle of tequila in his car and was driving it down the road endangering himself and everyone else anywhere near him.


I personally can't stand how any criticism of Israel makes the concerned an anti-semite. Nothing could be further from the truth. I used to spend a huge amount of time with a very religious Jewish family as a kid and they are wonderful people who I stay in contact with to this day.

But there are no shades of grey to it. If I have something to say against Zionism and the facist practices of Israel then I'm an anti-semite. Except I'm unaware of when I singled out a race. I can say all those things and still like Jewish people. I'm going off on a tangent here but it's something that really bugs me and is disproportionate compared to slating the actions of any other goverment body or countries actions as a whole.


Disproportionate like Israel's attack on Lebanon.. *snaaap*

That has nothing to do with Mel though, I'm sure whatever he said was racist and anti-semetic if he singled out "jews" as a people and he should be taken to task for it.


What I'm taking a side-line against is the way that people are unable to question anything with the label "Jew" attached without being a Nazi and an evil bigot and how much shock and outrage it recieves in comparion to anything else.


Just trying to clear a few points up.
 
Well, you all know my views on the ill-conceived indiscriminate bombings by the IDF of civilian targets in Lebanon. It is one thing to criticize the policies of the State of Israel and a whole other thing to make anti-semitic remarks motivated by racial or religious hatred. The latter has caused enough problems in the world, including a near genocide complete with the most heinous atrocities and crimes against humanity the world has ever seen. Not to mention the millions of lives that were lost in the ensuing war. Couple that with the history of his father's alleged anti-Jewish philosophy and Gibson's movie which had some anti-Jewish overtones and you got a recipe for a media frenzy. That's why Gibson's remarks have generated so much attention.
 
Sadistic Bastard said:
So what's the big deal?
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The big deal is Munich 1938. If we don't learn from our mistakes we are bound to repeat them. And I sure as heck don't want to see a repeat of the events of that era.
 
A) I don't think Mel Gibson is too worried about not being able to find work in Hollywood. He has more money than God and has proven he doesn't need Hollywood's back to make a blockbuster of epic proportions.

B) After all the crap he got from some jewish organizations when Passion of the Christ came out how could you blame the man for being a tad annoyed with the group?

and

C) I'm with Menty and The Question on this one, driving drunk is a crime, spouting off about jews is not.

For the record, I have nothing against jews, I have/had lots of jewish friends and I admire their traditions and customs. Jewish customs and traditions have always fascinated me.
 
Mentalist said:
Fully agree. Drunk driving causes deaths frequently, usually not to the driver but to passengers and pedestrians. It is easily the more serious point of this story. I'm not saying his anti-semetic rants weren't news worthy but driving drunk is WAAAAY worse than ranting about jews starting all the wars in the world blah, blah.
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Exactly my point. One is a "sin", ah-boo-hoo-hoo. The other could have gotten someone killed. They're not exactly equivalent.
 
Grammour Boy said:
The big deal is Munich 1938. If we don't learn from our mistakes we are bound to repeat them. And I sure as heck don't want to see a repeat of the events of that era.
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I hardly think thats going to happen with Israel armed to the teeth and ready to invade anywhere at the drop of a hat. Whats concerning me is falling over backwards to "protect" Jews/semites/whomever from anyone saying anything negative about them out of some sort of sense of guilt and allow their government(Israel) or powerful lobbyists to get away with things they shouldn't be.

;)
mm
 
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