Posted on 11/20/2022 3:27:18 PM PST by nickcarraway
'Bull Durham' star regrets buying into pandemic lockdowns, demonizing others
Robbins, 64, spoke out early and often during President George W. Bush’s presidency, savaging the war in Iraq and what he saw as chilling infringements on free speech.
The versatile star’s film resume has quieted of late – his last big-screen role came in 2019’s “Dark Waters.” Pandemic lockdowns deeply impacted what he could do on stage or film sets.
Now, he’s speaking out to independent journalist Matt Taibbi about the past two-plus years in America, and it’s safe to say he’s nauseated by what he’s seen.
Robbins, who works extensively in theater as well as big-screen projects, mourned the loss of theatrical attendance both during the pandemic and after. Vaccine mandates and other draconian restrictions, he says, are partly to blame.
“If you start specifying reasons why people can’t be in a theater, I don’t think it’s a theater anymore,” Robbins told Taibbi on the journalist’s Substack platform. The actor/director compared America’s return to “normal” to England’s shift, where more stages opened without caveats.
“When you’re told you’re not welcome, you might not necessarily want to go back,” he says.
Robbins admits he did as told at the start of the pandemic lockdowns. That included demonizing those who didn’t follow the government narratives. In short, he was part of the problem, and he has no qualms about admitting it.
He later joined a BLM protest, mask over face, and later reflected on the hypocrisy of such “approved” mass protests.
Lockdown rules directly impacted his art. Both SAG-AFTRA and Actors’ Equity insisted artists couldn’t even audition for a role if they didn’t get the jab. Now, as we’re learning the vaccines didn’t prevent the virus’ spread, the rules make even less sense.
“Their livelihoods are threatened. They can’t participate yet… there’s no rhyme or reason with it.”
What about those with conditions that preclude them from getting the vaccine, like musician Pete Parada, or those who previously caught the virus and had natural immunity, he asks.
Robbins worries for American culture, noting our increasingly tribal in-fighting and inability to connect with those who hold different political views. Even rock-ribbed liberals have morphed into something unrecognizable during, and after, the pandemic.
“You go from someone that is inclusive, altruistic, generous, empathetic, to a monster,” he says. “Where you want to freeze people’s bank accounts because they disagree with you. That’s a dangerous thing. That’s a dangerous world that we’ve created.”
He blasted people like Jimmy Kimmel and Howard Stern who argued unvaccinated people didn’t deserve medical treatment, noting how addicts and obese people similarly hurt their bodies but deserve our love and care.
Robbins says he went out and talked to people protesting the lockdowns, expecting to find hateful souls on the streets. Instead, he found “old hippies and homeopaths,” but when he shared his impressions Twitter Nation excoriated him.
“I have kind of a hard line on freedom. You can’t over-regulate people’s lives. I don’t know what that makes me, what label that puts on me, but I am an absolutist on freedom,” he says.
Dead Man Walking Official Trailer #2 - R. Lee Ermey Movie (1995) HD Robbins’ Oscar-winning drama “Dead Man Walking” typifies his approach to art. The 1995 film, starring Sean Penn as a killer on death row who bonds with a nun (Susan Sarandon) in his final days, wasn’t an overt attack on the death penalty.
“I wanted to make it for everybody, and I wanted people to have a discussion about it,” he says. “So we had to give dignity and screen time and respect to the people that had lost their family members, and were for the death penalty.
Robbins on the unvaccinated: “I bought into it. I demonized people. I was guilty of everything that I came to understand was not healthy.”https://t.co/9OU5NisivZ
— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) October 26, 2022
Robbins also indirectly referenced Cancel Culture in his Taibbi chat, suggesting the arts are under attack in today’s society.
“It’s now not only just the scolds from the right, like in the old days when the Moral Majority wanted art to die. Now it’s unions and people that are, again, claiming virtuous reasons for all of this.”
Not buying it. He should have done this when there was a price to be paid. He didn’t.
Tim is a little late to the party, but better late than never. I bet he also does not like how hard it is for an old white man to get an acting part these days.
Lol!
Formerly knows as Mrs. Timothy Sarandon.
No you can’t, more is better.
I don’t think they are married.
Shawshank Redemption was a great movie. That was 1994...
It’s an honorary title.
I wouldn’t be honored to hold that title, but you do you.
Gee, Tim, that is mighty nice of you.
You are a classic loudmouth, ill-informed Leftist. You created a lot of damage with your opinions, so simply apologizing is not sufficient.
Move out of one your mansions and let a poor black family live there rent/utility/property tax free. Oh, not THAT sorry? Then shut your damn mouth.
Robbins says he went out and talked to people protesting the lockdowns, expecting to find hateful souls on the streets. Instead, he found “old hippies and homeopaths,” but when he shared his impressions Twitter Nation excoriated him.
“I have kind of a hard line on freedom. You can’t over-regulate people’s lives. I don’t know what that makes me, what label that puts on me, but I am an absolutist on freedom,” he says.
—
He sounds like he’s on the verge of red-pilling.
That was the point, Poindexter.
You’re as sharp as sledgehammer.
Context is required as hes a hardcore woke liberal socialist.
He means non-socialists can’t push for what they want because socialists call any pushback and god help us, reversals of socialism and wokeness, “over-regulating peoples lives.”
He has been for so many socialist woke policies that over regulate average peoples lives.
So you must put his comment in the proper context. This is why Tim and all the other socialist wokesters never feel they are hypocrites. Their context prevents them from having to admit it.
Too bad for him.
ITS AN ACT. Cripes I cant believe you believe him.
Says the dope who called the police when they wouldn’t let him vote in 2008, because he’d gone to the wrong polling place. He claimed he had voted there twice before, but election officials said he hadn’t voted in the two previous elections, nor had he voted in the 2008 New York State primary. He got a court order from a NY State Supreme Court Judge so he could vote, most likely for Obama. He was upset that the Elections Board had sent his voting record with his address to media outlets, and threatened to sue for invasion of privacy. Robbins had moved in 2004. He supposedly filed a new voter registration, but never took note that he was to vote at a new polling place. Apparently he never sued either. Must be he realized the screw-up was all his fault.
I am not in the mood to forget and forgive those who went out of their way to treat others so poorly during covid.
No, its Andy DuFrame
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