While Mel may be bipolar, that does not excuse his actions.
I don't think anyone here is arguing that his actions (actually...in this case words, no actions) were appropriate.
I think the argument is...will he never work in Hollywood again because very nasty things said in private were made public?
I've thought on this for years, believe me. It's hard to come to these conclusions. It's hard to believe someone can't help screaming racial obscenities. If he has true bipolar, he will have delusions and hallucinations that convince him of the rightness of his actions.
Does that mean he should have to compensate people for the rotten stuff he's put them though? We had to.
Bipolar and Schizophrenia are the two big psychotic illnesses. Believe me, bipolar makes you as crazy as schizophrenia does. That does not mean the diagnosis is not abused by people who don't have the real, flaming illness but use it as an excuse for total stupidity.
Real bipolars have people floating from the ceiling, angels and demons and whatever. We can't know how bad Mel is. But he behaves exactly like my family member, who used to have nazis and jews chasing him through the house.