Posted on 07/31/2006 9:45:46 PM PDT by monkapotamus
Mel Gibson's Apology OK With Catholic League
Monday, July 31, 2006 3:51 p.m. EDT
Catholic League President Bill Donohue commented today on the furor over the comments Mel Gibson allegedly made after his arrest for drunk driving Friday morning: "What Mel Gibson apparently said is indefensible. The remark attributed to him, The Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world, is anti-Semitic and irresponsible.
Fortunately, he has apologized for his bigoted outburst.
"Unfortunately, his apology is being rejected by some who should know better. To wit: Abraham Foxman, head of the Anti-Defamation League, has branded Gibsons apology unremorseful and insufficient.
"Moreover, Foxman concludes that it shows what a sham it is for Gibson to portray himself as the tolerant, loving person who made The Passion of the Christ.
"We have quite a file on Ted Turner at the Catholic League. Unlike Foxman, I have accepted every apology Turner has ever made for his anti-Catholic outbursts, all of which were made while he was sober.
"Indeed, I even went so far as to say that no one in his right mind would ever put Ted Turner in the same camp with a Klansman or an inveterate bigot.
"More recently, when radio shock-jocks Opie and Anthony apologized for their orchestrated anti-Catholic stunt in St. Patricks Cathedral a few years back, I not only accepted their apology, I was the first guest on their new CBS radio show and welcomed their return.
"But Mels enemies will never cut him a break. Their real goal is to discredit The Passion of the Christ, and that is why their propaganda machine is in full gear. Never mind that Mel has said that Anti-Semitism is not only contrary to my personal beliefs, it is also contrary to the core message of my movie.
"How ironic it is to note that the core message of his film forgiveness is sorely lacking in his critics.
"In 2003, Roman Polanski, the convicted child rapist, received a standing ovation when he won an Oscar for The Pianist. Nice to know what really offends Hollywood.
That explains my house... I've got 13 computers at home, all in working order. Well, I think that I've got 13... Sometimes it's hard to find them all under the clutter. But 13's the "magic number." Once I fire up #14, breakers start blowing!
Mark
I wonder why?
What if he was referring to Karl Marx?
You and the other freeper echo the sentiments of a lot of people who've seen it. I am going to see if I can get it from the library.
Can't respond to nonsensical posts. My words stand by themselves, who my friends are is irrelevant.
Foxman has already declared a jihad against the Passion. Accordingly to Foxman the New Testament is inherently anti-semitic. Period.
Its a very good film. See if you can find it.
No, I don't want a "special apology". He doesn't need to apologize to me. However one of the things that has gotten people worked up are his anti-semetic comments and you'll notice he doesn't specifically address that issue in his apology. My only point is that if he doesn't address that issue, one can hardly say that he is apologizing for it.
And yes, specificity is part of any good apology. If you aren't specific, you aren't really dealing with the offense.
I agree with you and have seen proof of it.As I said on another thread tonight,you should hear what many people in Arizona say about Mexicans when they've had a lot to drink,it can be pretty nasty.
Usually the remarks are triggered by having seen or been in an accident with an "uninsured driver",having their house broken into,waiting in line anywhere while a long transaction took place with a clerk who only spoke english and a non citizen who spoke no english,went to an ER that was packed with non citizens etc. and so forth.
Sometimes the person is an Arizona born Mexican but usually it's just a person who works with,lives close to,went to school with,goes to church with and generally counts many Mexicans as good people and is friends with at least a few of them. Under normal circumstances they would never say anything unkind about Mexicans because they don't even think it. Yet occasionally something as described above will trigger a diatribe that is truly ugly.
Not only did he apologize for his statements, he called them "despicable."
Actually I think the NAACP would have handled this better. The black civil rights movement has been very good at not bearing grudges. There are a lot of white Southern politicians who said worse things than Mel Gibson ever did in defense of Jim Crow. The civil rights crew, whatever their other faults, took the high road and let bygones be bygones.
Frankly, but for the fact the Bush White House wanted their own man running the senate, Trent Lott would have skated on his controversy and remained majority leader. He apologized on BET and I think he would have moved past it if Rove hadn't thrown him under the bus.
The purpose of an apology, even if it is sincere, is to make the person making it feel better about themselves.
There is no onus on the recipinet to accept it and let the apologiser off the hook.
He states that his father "never lied to him".
His father denies the Holocaust was as severe as portrayed. His father believes Israel is the root cause of the Middle East's generations-old problem.
Anyone that can sit down and view "Obsession" can see the correlation here.
That said, I cannot believe that Mel Gibson cares whether he works another day in his life. The proceeds from Passion of Christ by itself should ensure he doesn't need to care.
When Mel gets drunk, he hears his father telling him to come join the jihad.
Mel was a movie star in Australia. He left and came to Hollywod for one thing. Filthy lucre.
I can just imagine the conversations he had with his father about that.
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