Posted on 08/01/2006 7:04:55 AM PDT by gopwinsin04
So is Mel Gibson's drunken anti-Semitic spew really headline news -- or is it just another celebrity DUI? Another high-profile addition to The Smoking Gun's mug shot gallery (Nick and Glen, meet your new buddy Mel)? Monologue fodder for Leno, Letterman, Conan, and Kimmel? Nothing but a tempest in a tequila bottle?
Maybe that would be the case if these were ordinary times. But, with extremists gaining power and garnering sympathy all across the world, there is nothing ordinary about these times.
And that is why this could prove to be a seminal moment in our cultural history. Particularly in the cultural history of Hollywood.
Taking a page from our president, I see the Gibson story as "a moment of opportunity," a chance for reasonable people to stand up and be counted. For the sane among us to identify, separate, and condemn the extremists, the fanatics, the fundamentalists, the bigots, the hate-mongers and say 'no more.'
In the same way that ordinary Muslims need to separate themselves from the blood-drenched ideology of Hezbollah, Hollywood needs to separate itself from the odious racism of Gibson. And I don't make that connection lightly. Remember, during his DUI tirade, Gibson claimed, "The Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world." That kind of thinking makes him psychological soul mates with Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, who has said, "If we searched the entire world for a person more cowardly, despicable, weak, and feeble in psyche, mind, ideology, and religion, we would not find anyone like the Jew."
Gibson's no-longer-deniable brand of bigotry has led to the extermination of millions -- and continues to fuel much of the strife and suffering in the world today. Which is why Hollywood cannot sit this one out and wait for the reviews to come in.
For years, social conservatives have questioned the morals and ethics of the entertainment community -- tossing around the shibboleth of "Hollywood values" as an oxymoronic grenade in the culture wars. Well, now is the time for Hollywood to show what those values really are by making Gibson pay the price for his bigotry and intolerance.
For starters, the town's power players need to step up and publicly condemn Gibson's vile comments (in effect, saying in public what they are already saying in private conversations I and many others have had). I mean, it shouldn't be so hard to publicly denounce someone -- even an Oscar-winner -- for being a raging anti-Semite.
But that's not happening. From this morning's Los Angeles Times:
Although many of the town's senior executives are Jewish and Hollywood has a long history of supporting Israel and Jewish causes, there was no widespread public condemnation of Gibson's comments over the weekend. Although some high-level executives privately expressed dismay at the statements attributed to Gibson after his arrest, none of those contacted would speak on the record.
Talk about lacking the courage of their convictions. Which makes Ari Emanuel's no-holds-barred post all the more praise-worthy. But is Ari the only high-profile figure willing to publicly draw a line in the Malibu sand? How disgusting and disappointing is that?
I know this is, at its heart, a very cautious town -- a place that always likes to keep one eye on the bottom line -- but this is no time to play it safe or to put dollars ahead of doing the unquestionably right thing.
Which is why Gibson's agent, Ed Limato, should immediately drop him as a client. And not because his boss at ICM, Jeff Berg, is Jewish, nor because so many of his clients, including Billy Crystal, are Jewish. This isn't a matter of Jews sticking together or non-Jews showing solidarity. It's about choosing sides in the real battle being fought all across the globe -- the fight between extremism and rationality, between hatred and common decency.
And Bob Iger at Disney needs to pull the plug on two Gibson projects that are in the works. The company is slated to distribute Gibson's latest directorial project, Apocalypto, opening on December 8. They should refuse to do so. And ABC, which is owned by Disney, should, without delay, scrap its head-scratching plan to develop a miniseries about the Holocaust with Gibson's company (yep, you read that right).
Yet when asked about the status of the still-in-development miniseries, an ABC spokeswoman said, "It is not at the point where you would make those determinations. There is no script."
Question for ABC: Do you really need to see a script to know that the idea of having a Holocaust-set miniseries produced by a guy who thinks "the Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world" is a god-awful one?
Reading the horror stories of the survivors of the Qana bombing, any rational person's instinct is to criticize the tactics Israel is using to take on Hezbollah. Then a thought arises: will this criticism come across as part and parcel of the anti-Semitic worldview of the Gibson crowd?
Which is yet another reason Gibson needs to be ostracized: his lunatic ravings make it all-the-harder for legitimate criticisms of Israel's methods to be expressed and to be heard with uncluttered ears.
Last time I checked, Gibson apologized, while the Dixie Chicks have remained strident. I've suggested on other threads that Gibson might be bipolar. If so, I wouldn't pass judgment on what is in his heart based on his words and deeds. Does he need to pay the legal consequences? You bet! But I will withhold judgment on his character until after he has been treated by professionals.
Whoa, I am sorry if anything I said sounded like 'slander'.
"There are more non-Jewish Dems than Jewish Dems"
Haminahamina Wha? Are you denying that most American Jews are Dems?
Yeah surw the Joos are comspiring against The Mel
There is an old saying that goes "when out for revenge...dig two graves".
sw
I could not get thru with the reply button - thats why I ereased your name in the "To:" space.
OK ... Surely there is video proof of what Mel did, and surely we shall get to see very soon what exactly did happen.
"he hates Bush, he's verbally attacked him on many occassions...He's against the war...why are you so willing to give him a pass?" This, IMO, is what this is all about. If Gibson supported the war and Bush, she would be defending him. I have taken issue with some of the outlandish comments Ann Coulter has said and most of the people on FR defend her, simply because she's on our side. Coulter's comments were made when she was presumably lucid and she doesn't apologize for them, yet she gets "a pass" and is even cheered for her comments. Gibson is on the wrong side of the war issue so, even if he apologizes, he is to be reviled. I am inclined to believe the police reports are accurate. But I am also inclined to believe he was beyond drunk....
> It is now reported that the arresting deputy is Jewish.
So?
> Its probable he knew who was driving the vehicle prior to pulling over the car and I will now reserve judgement as it is plausible that the deputy was a Mel basher.
He seems decent to me. http://apnews.excite.com/article/20060801/D8J7BHR00.html
> And based on personal experience, I know that no radar detector or breathalyzer is rig proof.
Personal experience-- fascinating...
All I know is that Mel needs to take responsibility for his behavior. I'm appalled by those who would excuse him. Although Arianna chastising him is a joke.
What is your point - are you denying that most Jews are anti-Mel?
Careful what you ask for. I don't think Gibson wants that released. I don't know why a cop would lie if he has the video to back him up. I'm afraid this is one case where the video may be worse than the report.
OK, I'd be REALLY mad if he did that! ;)
susie
Permit an alternative viewpoint if you would? First Hollywood and the Liberal Jewish Mafia would like to lynch Mel Gibson for proving them wrong on "The Passion Of The Christ". There was no Anti-semitic Violence. It never happened. The Left hates Christians and especially Conservative Opus Dei Catholics.
Robert Downey Jr. repeatedly failed rehab and he was given a Free pass. This is Conservative Bashing, get even with Mel Hollywood and Liberal hypocriscy. Nothing to see here folks move on. Gibson makes movies that make money. Hollywood would embrace the Devil himself if it means more money. As to Babs Walter she is a hyprocrite. Just another Spin Sister selling Liberalism and Socialism to our herd Mentality Womenfolk.
Try thinking for themselves for a change. Even the major studios have had to cut Star Pay as their products have not been selling to the public. They want to get even with us brain dead Knuckle draggers who "don't get it". Trouble is we don't want what they are peddling.
Let's not forget Mel is the victim here. That gives him the moral high ground
I have no doubt that Mel is getting hit harder on this than others would be. Compare the way he is treated with the way Jesse Jackson was treated. I'll stipulate there is a bias against Gibson. But that doesn't negate the fact that his behavior and comments were reckless. I honestly think he's bipolar. He's apologized. He's seeking help. He's been arrested. What more do people want from him?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.