Posted on 07/31/2006 12:29:38 PM PDT by veronica
Edited on 07/31/2006 1:43:28 PM PDT by Admin Moderator. [history]
I was just in the middle of writing a long and tedious essay, about how to tell a real anti-Semite from a person who too-loudly rejects the charge of anti-Semitism, when a near-perfect real-life example came to hand. That bad actor and worse director Mel Gibson, pulled over for the alleged offense of speeding and the further alleged offense of speeding under the influence, decided that he needed to demand of the arresting officer whether he was or was not Jewish and that he furthermore needed to impart the information that all the world's wars are begun by those of Semitic extraction.
Call me thin-skinned if you must, but I think that this qualifies. I also think that the difference between the blood-alcohol levels—and indeed the speed limits—that occasioned the booking are insufficient to explain the expletives (as Gibson has since claimed in a typically self-pitying and verbose statement put out by his publicist). One does not abruptly decide, between the first and second vodka, or the ticks of the indicator of velocity, that the Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion are valid after all.
There's a lot to dislike about Gibson. He is given to furious tirades against homosexuals of the sort that make one wonder if he has some kind of subliminal or "unaddressed" problem. His vulgar and nasty movies, which also feature this prejudice, are additionally replete with the cheapest caricatures of the English.
Oh please. The Oscars always slight some. Do you believe the movie Crash deserved the oscar more than Munich?
But some will never forgive him. I read that some Jewish groups even want to sue him for hate crimes. Brother.
Are you in the group that believes that drunks are honest?
The guy gets drunk, mouths off and it's front page news. People must be bored.
There are too many reports about his statements to think they aren't real or true. If his publicist thought they weren't true, he wouldn't have issued the apology he issued, imo.
The bottom of the article had some links you could click to see the arrest report, etc. I didn't click those but maybe they'd answer your questions.
Yep. That's a pretty unflattering pic.
I'm in the group that believes that drunkenness doesn't endow one with a bigoted streak out of thin air.
I believe that when you're drunk, the feelings you suppress are released. That's why there are some drunks who will tell you how much they love you and others who will beat the crap out of you.
As a former drunk, I can tell you that that is only partially true.
Sometimes, the "real you" comes out and you say things that express your true beliefs.
More often, you just say a whole lot of crap that you know isn't true just to get things stirred up.
That pic must be Mel siphoning the ethanol out of his car.
So you really like communists?
Aggreed, but I have to admit I was surprised by Hitchens this time. Usually, his most vicious attacks (Mother Teresa and Bob Hope come to mind) are written after the subject has died.
Since when is making anti-Jewish or anti-Israel remarks a crime? The PC world we live in is patrolled by the thought police. In the real world, groups, ethnicities, races, religions, etc. are constantly being attacked, including by people of the same groups. What has Gibson done that has had any real impact on Jews or Israel? He is not a member of the government nor in a policy making position. Many of the same people who attack Gibson were defending the Dixie Chicks.
Criticize him for his comment only. There is no need to use newbie as some sort of derogatory term. (You were a newbie once).
Excellent commentary....
Um...that's straight out of the Gospel of John, isn't it? Where they say something like "let His blood be on our own heads," or respond to Pilate in the affirmative when he says something like that?
}:-)4
I work with a woman who was telling me that she could tell by looking at someone's face if they disliked or were uncomfortable around Blacks, and at first I dismissed what she said, but as I thought it over, I began to see how it could be so, that is, be able to recognize, through physical signs, a dispostion of someone at odds with your race, etc.
I don't care how much or how good the booze was that was involved here. He espoused opinions that he holds, and his apology may be nice, but what does it really mean or matter?
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