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Audacity of Truth
Move Along:
""The whole issue of this - of talking points, frankly, throughout this process has been a sideshow. The whole thing defies logic. And the fact that this keeps on getting churned out, frankly, has a lot to do with political motivations."
Pres. Obama on GOP demands for Benghazi answers, 5/13/2013
Mel Gibson’s defining moment
One of the big stories buzzing around in the MSM and blogosphere the last couple of days has been that of actor/director Mel Gibson who, according to TMZ.com, was arrested Friday on suspicion of drunk driving. In the process of his arrest, it’s been alleged that Mr. Gibson made some incredibly disparaging remarks towards two law enforcement officers, and some eye-opening -shall we say less than charitable – remarks about Jews. Via TMZ.com:
TMZ has learned that Mel Gibson went on a rampage when he was arrested Friday on suspicion of drunk driving, hurling religious epithets. TMZ has also learned that the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s department had the initial report doctored to keep the real story under wraps.
What was allegedly said during Gibson’s arrest?
TMZ has four pages of the original report prepared by the arresting officer in the case, L.A. County Sheriff’s Deputy James Mee. According to the report, Gibson became agitated after he was stopped on Pacific Coast Highway and told he was to be detained for drunk driving Friday morning in Malibu. The actor began swearing uncontrollably. Gibson repeatedly said, “My life is f****d.” Law enforcement sources say the deputy, worried that Gibson might become violent, told the actor that he was supposed to cuff him but would not, as long as Gibson cooperated. As the two stood next to the hood of the patrol car, the deputy asked Gibson to get inside. Deputy Mee then walked over to the passenger door and opened it. The report says Gibson then said, “I’m not going to get in your car,” and bolted to his car. The deputy quickly subdued Gibson, cuffed him and put him inside the patrol car.
TMZ has learned that Deputy Mee audiotaped the entire exchange between himself and Gibson, from the time of the traffic stop to the time Gibson was put in the patrol car, and that the tape fully corroborates the written report.
Once inside the car, a source directly connected with the case says Gibson began banging himself against the seat. The report says Gibson told the deputy, “You mother f****r. I’m going to f*** you.” The report also says “Gibson almost continually [sic] threatened me saying he ‘owns Malibu’ and will spend all of his money to ‘get even’ with me.”
The report says Gibson then launched into a barrage of anti-Semitic statements: “F*****g Jews… The Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world.” Gibson then asked the deputy, “Are you a Jew?”
The deputy became alarmed as Gibson’s tirade escalated, and called ahead for a sergeant to meet them when they arrived at the station. When they arrived, a sergeant began videotaping Gibson, who noticed the camera and then said, “What the f*** do you think you’re doing?”
A law enforcement source says Gibson then noticed another female sergeant and yelled, “What do you think you’re looking at, sugar tits?”
We’re told Gibson took two blood alcohol tests, which were videotaped, and continued saying how “f****d” he was and how he was going to “f***” Deputy Mee.
Gibson has apologized in general for the remarks, but did not confirm or deny what he was alleged to have said about Jews.
Why does any of this matter? It probably would barely register on the news meter had it been just about any actor other than Mel Gibson, but Gibson stirred up a firestorm of controversy in the Jewish community over his film The Passion of the Christ (2004), which Jews felt was an unfair Biblical portrayal of them and blatantly anti-Semitic. No doubt what fueled such speculation about this movie even prior to its release was the fact that Gibson’s father was and is a Holocaust denier. Before the movie was released, Mr. Gibson repeatedly denied in so many words that he was ‘cut from the same cloth’ as his father on that front yet at the same time refused to publicly condemn his father’s remarks.
I, like many who went to see The POTC and sat numb at the end of it with tears streaming down my face, defended Gibson from charges that the disputed parts of The POTC meant he was a bonafide anti-Semite.* The fact that he wouldn’t condemn his father’s comments, I thought at the time, was merely an indication that he felt it was a personal family matter best dealt with by talking to his father directly and privately. I felt confident that if the Reverend Billy Graham could comfortably endorse The POTC, that it in no way should be considered an anti-Semitic film.
I still don’t think it was an anti-Semitic film, but I do now believe that Mel Gibson is an anti-Semite and as a result of the disgraceful comments he is alleged to have made during his arrest, those who argued that Gibson was following in the footsteps of his father when production of The POTC started now have one more reason to believe that he specifically set out to target Jews with the film. Not only that, but any fence-sitting Christian who was moved by the movie may now be having second thoughts about what they saw. True, Gibson didn’t set out to change the world with his movie, but he isn’t stupid and knew – as a deeply religious man – the impact a movie of that magnitude could and eventually did have on believers and non-believers alike. In fact, he banked on it – in more ways than one.
Even if Gibson hadn’t directed The POTC, knowing his feelings about Jews now will make it difficult – if not impossible – for fans (former?) of the star to sit through past Gibson films like the Lethal Weapon series, Mad Max, What Women Want, The Patriot, Braveheart, etc. There are certain things Hollywood actors/singers can say that reasonable people, in turn, can disagree with and move on from, while continuing to enjoy that artist’s work. But once that actor or singer crosses a certain line, it’s hard for them to recapture the glory they once had as a Hollywood celeb. Just ask Gibson’s Lethal Weapon co-star Danny ‘I support Fidel Castro and Hugo Chavez‘ Glover, who lost a deal to be the spokesman for MCI because his bizarre statements of support for dictators like Castro, what it feels like to watch your star fade after you show your true colors.
I suspect that after this, Hollywood will not – nor will those who defended Gibson from charges of anti-Semitism over The POTC – want to have much, if anything, to do with whatever Gibson touches in the future.
This is, sadly, his defining moment.
Update: MSN News has confirmed that the police report did indeed initially contain all of what Gibson said – including the anti-Semitic remarks.
*Note: I didn’t write about The POTC here at the blog, but defended it on a political message board I frequent.
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A most unfortunate and sad episode. As a fan of Gibson and his work, I was greatly dissapointed by this news. For me, it will in no way change my opinion of the POTC, because the purpose of the film was to depict just how much Christ loved us. There is no question that Jews were responsible for His death. That He was a Jew, His followers were Jews, and the first Christians were Jews, should be enough for the rational observer to conclude that of course (as in “DUH!”) not all Jews were responsible for His death, only the hypocritical and corrupt Jewish religious leaders, who were most threatened by His message.
When it comes to drunkeness, I have a hard time with those who use that state to deflect responsibility for their actions. I’ve never felt I’ve ever lost the ability to know right from wrong, and every word said or action taken when enebriated were conscious choices nonetheless. However, I have to allow that this is not the same for everyone, and that some people should never allow the demon drink to touch their lips. Gibson seems to be one of these and has stated both being of a very addictive personality and one with some personal demons.
Having said all this, there are those who believe that drinking heavily makes people more honest, or rather that the real person is exposed when one is drunk. This simply cannot be true of all people as evidenced by my personal testimony, and what Gibson said may not necessarily be what he really felt, but what he felt like saying at the time. Drunk or sober, some people simply latch onto the first obnoxious thing that comes to mind when being surly, and they run with it. But as stated by him and noted above, he admits to character flaws and that he is not proud of them. Thus, even if he feels these things inside, when sober, he may be truly ashamed of them as his apology indicates.
And that’s another thing upon which a fan can hang his hat, that he gave a real apology, and not the typical apology to which we are often treated by the famous, that is “If I offended anyone…blah, blah, blah”. His public apology doesn’t qualify his actions in any way, but states that they were dispicable and that he is ashamed. Seems remorseful enough for me, but I’m not Jewish. As no one was physically harmed, I hope it’s enough for most people. But I suspect that somehow, he’ll be made to suffer in perpetuity, and mostly by those who’ve not necessarily been pro-Israel, too, and by those who see this as an example not of human frailty, but of Christian hypocrisy.
- Marshall, while I wouldn’t quible with any of your points, there is one thing about this “the jews killed him” emotional response that is, I think miss-placed. Jesus himself, was a Jew. Christianity was in it’s earliest stages, so many of the “Christians” still thought of themselves as Jewish. There’s considerable material that talks about the formative years leading up to the events of that time.
- So basically the punishments carried out were those of his fellow countrymen, fellow Jews. I’m not sure there was any religious “fevor” behind the entire episode, I doubt if there’s enough documentation to say one way or the other. The motives assigned to the crucifixtion of all the condemned men that day depends entirely on which source you read.
- Public executions were carried out on a pretty regular basis, the Romans looking to make “examples” of anyone they considered a problem to preserving the peace, or guilty in some way of breaking Roman law, which at that time included any opposition speech of any kind, political or otherwise. Jesus, to the Roman Magistery, was just one among many, a trouble maker in their eyes, and in addition he lost the support of the temple elders when he caused the scenes at the tax collection tables.
- From the things I’ve read it’s more probable that business, and politics, coupled with the Roman desire to maintain public order, was more likely the cause rather than religious factors. In other words politics as usual. Thats just my take, but it would be ironic if after all these thousands of years, one of the chief bickering points between Jews and Christians was never really true. Of course religious fervor always seems to intermingle with political beliefs sooner or later, so maybe it really boils down to the same thing.
ST – On the Gibson thing you covered the thought I had at the time of the dustup over the passion movie. I was surprised to learn Mel’s father was so strongly anti-semitic, and I remember thinking the same as you mentioned; Well why isn’t he saying right out his dad’s idea’s are wrong. It sort of left it up in the air, but I figured, well maybe he just doesn’t want to take issue with his father publicly, and then it all died down. but it would seem his true feeling’s surfaced under the influence, which of course brings out the things you tend to normally suppress.
- Question now is, will he suffer in his career because of these comments. Time will tell. If he really feels the way he expressed himself, unfortunately it wouldn’t be all the unusual for Hollywood.
- Bang
In vino veritas?
Before Hollywood Lethal Weapon, he made Mad Max, alcohol can release demons.
stackja
You are 100% accurate, you have made the most sense of any of the comments so far, people that get drunk do not know the difference between right and wrong no matter what people like Marshall beleive. Why else would so many people get busted when they are drunk is because they don’t know longer know the difference. They are no longer using any rationality.
I will agree. Alcohol changes a person. I know this from personal experience, not me but a several very near and dear to me. I won’t hold this against this man, especially since it, in my 25 year following as a Mel Gibson fan, is a lone incident. We are under grace and that is each and every one of us. Sadly we do stupid things, and Thankfully there is Grace. This is only newsworthy due to the Passion. Otherwise this would of been forgotten about yesterday.
I also don’t see this as a defining moment, but I do see what comes after this as a defining moment. Mel has already asked for forgiveness, and as said his remarks were desicable. He has entered a rehab program, what more could you want?? We shall see. – Lorica
Mel has long been in the same class as Eastwood to me.
What becomes of him is his own responsibility.
Lorica, one can forgive, but forgetting is another matter. And to this point, he’s not admitted that he did indeed make those anti-Semitic comments. So what is he asking for forgiveness for? Sounds to me like he’s asking for people to forgive him for being rude to law enforcement, without admitting to what he specifically said.
This story would not have made national headlines had it not been for the fact that it was Mel Gibson, the director of a film (POTC) that sparked so much controversy from the Jewish community about its alleged anti-Semitic undertones, who made the comments. The statements he made are at odds with his denial that he was just like his father on that front.
This is similar, but not exactly the same as the reactions people had to the Dixie Chicks. Now granted, when put in perspective what the Chicks said versus what Mel said, clearly what Mel said was worse, but conservatives can’t find it within themselves to move on beyond the Chicks’ comments, even though they issued an ‘apology’ of sorts afterwards. The damage, at that point, was already done. I feel similarly towards Mel Gibson right now. He might have apologized and asked for forgiveness in a general sense, but the damage has been done. He’s crossed a line that he won’t be able to ‘uncross.’
I also think alcohol tends to aid people in ‘dropping their inhibitions’ (so to speak) – which is (IMO) why so many people drink in the first place. Not saying it’s like that for everyone, but it’s been my experience through observation that that’s the case.
Phil,
Take your comments and apply them to Ted and Patrick Kennedy.
I’d point out that he blew .12, that’s not that drunk. Remember that in the old days that would only be borderline for DUI. The BAC allowed has gone steadily downwards, first to .10, now to .08, I can remember days when .12 would have been either legal or right on the borderline.
Sev – good point. Jaime mentioned that this morning on the show … it’s something I hadn’t even thought about. Maybe Mel was more sober than we think he was.
A ‘sobering’ thought (no pun intended).
While I would agree with some things I do know for a fact the some people can drink Beer and just get happy and when they sober up remember what they said and did. Then take the same person and they can drink Gin or Tequila or what ever and become a totally different person they can become mean and or verbally abusive and not remember a thing when they sober up. People have different reactions to different alcohols or drugs (Legal or Illegal) and this is not to excuse their actions. Yes I would agree that sometimes alcohol can get people to show their true feelings but not always otherwise why would we need sodium pentathol? Since Mel Gibson has admitted to having a problem with alcohol there could be a chance he is one of those people who say and do things they wouldn’t normally say or do. What has happened to the “Innocent until proven Guilty” Mel has now been tried and convicted in the public square from newspaper articles; shouldn’t he have his time in court?
“What has happened to the “Innocent until proven Guilty” Mel has now been tried and convicted in the public square from newspaper articles; shouldn’t he have his time in court?”
- Normally I would aggree fully with that Jim, but in this case the evidence is so complete and damning it’s hard to see any possible defense, given Gibson’s mannerism’s and statements, and the open tequila bottle in his car.
- Incidently, Disney did announce today that they have cancelled Mel’s planned series on the Holocaust, which given his indicated attitudes from this incident, makes pretty good sense. His business management people have moved at lightening speed to damage control, issuing statements today that Gibson will be attending an alcohol recovery program as soon as possible, which could impact some on going productions.
- Bang
By not giving him special treatment, the police department did Mel a favor. Mel Gibson should thank the police officers for doing thier job. He could have hurt or killed someone. Possibly himself.
Sis, you are very clearly angry, and anger never makes a good judge. The article I read on Drudge said that he was sorry and his comments were despicable. It did not specify which comments but should the man be forced to walk around the country and make apologies to every person of Jewish decent in this country??
This is also not about forgetting. It is about not holding this against a man who is clearly feeling condemnation. I am not giving him a pass, but since you can’t find it in his past, are you going to hold it against his future??? I cannot, nor would I attempt, to sit in judgement of this man just because 1 time he said something stupid. I will declare to the heavenlies that he said a very stupid thing. But I will not help those that want to do him harm by holding this against him. – Lorica
Lorica, I am not angry. I am disappointed. And I don’t want to do Mel Gibson any harm. He’s done that to himself.
Also, we judge people every day – politicians, other public figures, movie stars … and we do so without regret (most of the time). What makes Mel so different?
PS Lorica: I hope you won’t call off our engagement because of our disagreement on this
new comments from gibson offer some redeeming aspects of his taking responsibility.
From a friends blog:
Mel Gibson has finally confirmed that the “despicable” comments he made,
while he was being arrested for alleged drunk driving, were in fact
anti-Semitic. And now he’s asking for help. Here’s his latest statement,
issued today, via the Associated Press:
There is no excuse, nor should there be any tolerance, for anyone who
thinks or expresses any kind of anti-Semitic remark. I want to apologize
specifically to everyone in the Jewish community for the vitriolic and
harmful words that I said to a law enforcement officer the night I was
arrested on a DUI charge.
I am a public person, and when I say something, either articulated and
thought out, or blurted out in a moment of insanity, my words carry weight
in the public arena. As a result, I must assume personal responsibility
for my words and apologize directly to those who have been hurt and
offended by those words.
The tenets of what I profess to believe necessitate that I exercise
charity and tolerance as a way of life. Every human being is God’s child,
and if I wish to honor my God I have to honor his children. But please
know from my heart that I am not an anti-Semite. I am not a bigot. Hatred
of any kind goes against my faith.
I’m not just asking for forgiveness. I would like to take it one step
further, and meet with leaders in the Jewish community, with whom I can
have a one on one discussion to discern the appropriate path for healing.
I have begun an ongoing program of recovery and what I am now
realizing is that I cannot do it alone. I am in the process of
understanding where those vicious words came from during that drunken
display, and I am asking the Jewish community, whom I have personally
offended, to help me on my journey through recovery. Again, I am reaching
out to the Jewish community for its help. I know there will be many in
that community who will want nothing to do with me, and that would be
understandable. But I pray that that door is not forever closed.
This is not about a film. Nor is it about artistic license. This is
about real life and recognizing the consequences hurtful words can have.
Its about existing in harmony in a world that seems to have gone mad.
Well, I’ll give Mel credit for one thing, he apologizes better and apparently more sincerely than the usual apologies that aren’t apologies common from so many celebrities and politicians. Compare the above to Cynthia McKinney’s for example. He’s getting a bit close to overdoing it though IMHO.
I’ve always liked him as an actor, ever since Mad Max blew me away the first time. Lately, over the past few years, when I’ve seen him on talk shows he seems kind of frentic, almost manic, a lot of strange energy, kind of puts you on edge to watch him. Whatever his problems are, I wish him well in getting them under control. The very environment he lives and works in, Hollyweird, makes this all just that more difficult. Having watched TPOTC, I have to say I was impressed with his directing talents and for having the stones to film a picture in latin and aramaic. Stunning direction and cinematography in that film regardless of what anyone thought of the content. He has talent and vision, and I hope he can get his kit together.
Drudge has linked to this, which is interesting if really sad if true:
Mel Gibson Suicidal?
Thanks Severian for that link and as I have said I have witnessed people that can have a couple drinks and totally change like a “Jeckle and Hyde” if you will.
I plan to blog this tonight, but essentailly my first thought is that if my charactor had been judged by how I acted when I was drunk once, i would be toast.
Will be tell a college girl who gets drunk and has sex that she is a whore because of her actions while intoxicated?
I understand the theory that when alcohol reduces inhibitions the true self comes out, but that is not a hard and fast issue of truth.
Sometimes it just makes you into a jackass.
ST and Lorica are getting engaged? Someone tell me more…
Dear, I would never call off our engagement. I knew as I wrote the word ‘angry’ that I wanted to say disappointment. My apologies.
As far as judging people everyday, yes we do, but on the stupid things they say in their right mind. Mel was not. And I am not happy in any way shape or form about the stupid things he said. They were completely assnine.
I would never, ever believe that you my Dear, would ever desire Mel Gibson to be harmed by all of this. You have such a sweet, warrior’s spirit, that I could not believe that you would not have mercy on someone once they are down and out. Always – Lorica
Thank you, Lorica
I think everyone is missing an important point. There has been a trend in Mel’s movies towards more and more bizarre subject matter, some of which promote credulous and wacky beliefs. This is what I most object to; that he promotes such beliefs via his films. His “Conspiracy Theory” is straight out of radical extremist (American) literature and propaganda. Remember Timothy McVeigh and the Militia movement? Yet, there is the fact that sometimes there really is a ["vast right wing"] conspiracy”–as in the radical religious right’s Reconstructionism and Christian Nationalism”. Pat Robertson’s “New World Order” comes to mind.
If you think Stalinist or Nazi-like totalitarianism couldn’t happen here,you haven’t been watching the news re the current administration’s dance with the American Taliban! Nevertheless, that Gibson would use the paranoid premise that he used in “Conspiracy Theory” shows an underlying conspiratorialist mindset. (Given that all movies have to start with some premise, even if weird sometimes.) Then to top that off, he made the film “Signs” which dealt with crop circles and aliens, fer gosh sakes! While a generalization from these example made be an overstatement, it is still alarming because the trend into such paranoid and paranormal subject matter, as in “Conspiracy Theory” and “Signs”, respectively, says something about how Mel’s mind works. I’m not trying to psychologize, per se, but it is my experience, having taught college critical thinking and anti-prejudice courses that a person who tends to believe one wacky thing is drawn to another, and another, and another. People who believe in crop circles as alien visitations tend to believe in government conspiracies, ala Area 51; in Big Foot and the Loch Ness monster; in recovered memories and alien abductions and autopsies, etc. The gullible have minds that are so open that their brains tend to fall right out!
People who espouse belief in paranoid conspiracy theories tend to readily accept Nazi propaganda, re “The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion,” and Goebbels propaganda machines’ “Big Lies”. Such people deny the Holocaust, as Mel’s father does, and blame the Jews for everything that they think has ever gone wrong in the world, including all the wars; maybe eventually causing the end-of-the-world Armegeddon. Mel made the POTC in, I think, this same “blaming” mindset.. While he may not consciously be anti-semitic (if we give him a huge swath of the benefit of the doubt–which I don’t), he was raised by a rabidly Jew-hating, Jew-blaming father. That upbringing has apparently made an impression, at least on Mel’s sub-conscious while ‘under the influence’. Mel may not think of himself as hating Jews or even blaming Jews (for example, for the death of Jesus). Yet, I firmly believe that when he deliberately set out to make POTC such an excessivly violent and brutal film, (with more blood than the human body can hold several times over!), he did so at least in part to stun the viewer with an undercurrent of “somebody did this”. “Who can we blame?” Christians familiar with their own religion’s lore know full well that the history of Christianity is rife with virulent prejudice, hatred, and persecution of the Jews AS CHRIST KILLERS! He didn’t have to have Jews say any words revealing alleged guilt or culpability for Christ’s terrible death. That notion is still all too common among Christians (and even Moslems) and he simply played to it! As far as I’m concerned, he did not make POTC in order to show Christ’s suffering and loving self-sacrifice for humanity; he made an anti-Semitic film that was as over-the-top as possible. The totally non-subtle stereotypical so-called Jewish “traits”–the hooked nose, the alleged avarice, etc., were the result of Mel’s buying into classical anti-semitism.
To reiterate, I believe the three films that I have discussed reveal something of Mel Gibson’s inner mindset. It is one that is full of conspiratorial views and distortions of the truth (and what is the purported to be history’s longest running conspiracy? Why, the Jewish one “to take over the world”; to be the sinister unseen hand in history, still at work in the world today). Such a mindset leans toward the pseudoscientific and pseudo-historical. And it has a strong, strong undercurrent of inherent anti-Semitism. Mel Gibson may be fighting the latter, but with his recent tirade, he is revealed to have a very long way to go before he can be said to be free of that evil demon–anti-Semitism.
One way Gibson could redeem himself would be to make a film that tells the truth about the world’s conspiracies against the Jews! For example, he could make a film which depicts the genealogy of the anti-semitic literature which culminated in the forgery “The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion” and the effects such literature had upon the world–most especially, in leading to the Final Solution and the Holocaust. Or he could donate a sizably massive amount of the tainted money he received from pandering to Christians in POTC to Israel, so that it can continue to fight to exist in a world which continues to hate the Jews. In its most recent virulent form, the world seems to hate the Jews for defending themselves against terrorism in the very same way that the U.S. did in going after Osama bin Laden and his terrorist organization Al-Queda in Afghanistan! Why this double-standard? Why is the term “occupied territory” used in reference to Israel but to no one else. (Is the America “occupied” by Europeans?) To be sure, not ALL or even most criticism of Israel is anti-Semitic, still far too much of it is. Especially from the Islamic world; Hezbollah, Hamas, and Iran in particular, all of which vow to wipe Israeli Jews from the face of the earth!
Let us hope that Mel Gibson and perhaps many, many others may learn from this unfortunate episode. Mel Gibson is in crisis, which in Greek means “turning point.” Whether he is severely depressed, an out-of-control alcoholic, has a death wish, etc. all needs to be addressed. I hope he searches his most inner self and learns from this experience. He may yet make many films, perhaps even a great film. But first, he has to admit the truth to himself. Also, to the Jews! That is the first step to recovery and redemption.
I hope this adds to the discussion and I welcome responses.
skepticelt