Mel Gibson--In Vino Veritas?

Yes, but I think he does need a doctor! A shrink.

"I'm not an anti-Semite. I'm an alcoholic. I would never say those things sober when my arrest was being taped."

He's not taking responsibility for his actions. He's blaming a social disease. He's trying for "damage control". He's looking for the right spin.

He's a coward. He doesn't want to take responsibility for his own actions--he wants to blame John Barleycorn and to elicit public sympathy for his problem drinking.

His lies revolved around his possible anti-Semitism during the making of his movie, The Passion.

He said he wasn't.

He lied.

That he is anti-Semitic is now established beyond any doubt. Before there were only inklings and suspicions, but now the disgusting truth has come right out of his mouth, and it was apparently recorded for all posterity.

But I really think he's gone beyond anti-Semitism and right into frank paranoia regarding the Jews. Here the man is being arrested for drunk driving, and is ranting about how this will ruin his career, he's threatening to destroy the arresting officer and reminding him, "I own Malibu", he's unleashed a stream of obscenities, he attempts to resist arrest by running away from the police car, and suddenly he brings up the Jews? The Jews? What, on earth did the Jews have to do with what was happening to him at that moment? That the Jews popped into his mind, right then and there, suggests a rather insidious paranoia, which may be the final end product of a rather virulent and long standing hated of Jews. The man did grow up with a father who believes that the Holocaust is largely a fiction. Did old Mel believe that the Jews caused his arrest--he did ask the cop if he was Jewish. What's next, seeing himself nailed to the cross--as another victim of "the Jews"?

This isn't his first arrest for drunk driving, he was arrested in Toronto for the same thing in 1984. And the L.A. police had stopped him twice before, on suspicion of drunk driving, but gave him a pass (he's a heavy financial contributor to L.A. police causes). Nick Nolte had no such luck, the police let his very unflattering mug shot leak to all the papers. But Mel apparently rates special treatment from the LAPD, they tried to sanitize all the details surrounding this arrest to protect his reputation.

Among other things, Gibson revealed his enormous arrogance that night--toward everyone. He insulted both male and female police officers, tried to remind them of his power and influence, and behaved in about as boorish and revolting a manner as possible. Sorry, a .12 blood alcohol level doesn't explain that kind of bile and contempt pouring forth, and it certainly doesn't excuse it. He was too drunk to drive, but he wasn't drunk enough to be so completely out of control. The alcohol, and the stress of the arrest, simply blew the lid off his inhibitions, but this is the man that lurks beneath the surface.
And he probably believes he can walk on water. I just hope he doesn't walk away from this criminal charge. Driving drunk at 87 miles an hour, with an open bottle of tequila in his car, and then resisting arrest, threatening a police officer, and then trying to smash the phone in the police station, should add up to more than a slap on the wrist. He may think he's above everyone else, but he should not be above the law simply because of his celebrity status. I think he needs a heavy dose of reality.

0.12 percent alcohol might be too drunk to legally drive, but a non driving person would not be considered drunk by most people with that reading.

A few decades ago, the legal limit for driving was 0.15 percent. If this was the 1970's, Gibson wold not have been arrested for drunk driving.

As I have had it explained to me, it is only at 0.15 that a person begins to act drunk to the average observer. So the lawmakers made that the limit.

Later, driving tests were conducted, and it turns out that while a person might speak and act normally above 0.10 percent, his driving ability declines sharply at that point. It starts to decline with the first drink, but sort of nosedives around 0.10 percent.

From what I understand, however, those driving tests measure things like how well a person can do slaloms between orange cones, or how well they do in situations requiring the driver to judge inches. But that is not the problem with drunk driving, in my opinion. The problem with drunk driving is the guy who gets so drunk he wobbles to his car-whose reactions are very severely slowed. Let's face it-most of us can drive home safely, in the vast majority of instances, with much less driving ability than we have.

At any rate, 0.12 percent is not really drunk-a person is in full possession of his senses and will not be slurring his words with that reading. Again, back in the seventies it was legal to drive with a level up to 0.14 percent.

But, when you do it at 87 miles an hour, aren't you radically decreasing the probability you can do it safely, even if you are only slightly tipsy? In fact, even if you are completely sober, just driving at that speed carries significant risks.



Then, you are implying that Gibson was fully aware of what he was saying, and the impact of his remarks, when he threatened the officer, ranted about the Jews, let loose with a barrage of obscenities, and referred to the female officer as "sugar tits". I guess the only thing he didn't count on was it all landing in the media. Or maybe he was only proudly exercising his right to free speech and didn't care who heard him. Good, then let him live with the consequences of his behavior, and not try to blame it all on the booze.

Look, a car is a potentially lethal weapon, something Mr. Gibson should know a great deal about. I don't care if the man gets as drunk as a skunk night after night, I just don't want him behind the wheel of a car when he's doing it. He can certainly afford a limo and a driver. But, being stopped twice before by the cops, and not arrested, may have emboldened him too much, which is why the cops should always do their job and stop being star struck.

So now Gibson is allegedly in a rehab licking his wounds, the police are being investigated for a potential cover-up, and ABC-TV will likely not proceed with a deal to have Gibson's production company do a mini-series on the Holocaust. And this is only the beginning of the impact on his career. Mr Gibson should start praying now that the judge he will appear before in September won't be a Jewish female. That possibility might really send him off the deep end.

excellent, excellent post firefly.





aside...


also, I wonder what is going to happen with the release of his Disney film about the mayans.

Sugar tits: For some ethnicities, a "sugar tit" is a piece of gauze, that contains within it a tablespoon of whiskey. Function of this
"sugar tit" is to sedate, calm and put to sleep an infant., who sips the whiskey.

Perhaps, Gibson's use of the term "sugar tits" results from his
mother's use of booze to pacify him, as a baby.

Can't help but wonder whether babies sedated with alcohol- containing "sugar tits" don't group up to be alcoholics.

The laws in California are some of the most stringent. A .08 is legally too drunk to drive. Even under that, if one breaks a traffic law the can get a "wet reckless," meaning they were under the legal limit but it appeared to be instrumental in the driver running a red light, making an illegal left-hand turn, et al.

This morning on The Today Show, it's reported Gibson is entering into a recovery program. I think he was in denial about how serious his alcoholism had progressed and also about whether he was anti-Semitic.

Many have defended and rationalized the anti-Semitic content of "Passion of the Christ" (not fractured flicks title today ) but it is there and not-so-cleverly hidden. True, it also blames the Romans who actually condemned Christ to the cross -- presented as a strawman's argument for the gullible to swallow. The film was not endorsed by the Pope, but a false quote was circulated in the media which those who wanted to believe that, believed it even after it was discredited. The Catholic church does not endorse Passion Plays.

Mel Gibson's apology
Here is the statement released Tuesday by Mel Gibson, referring to his arrest and tirade on Friday.

"There is no excuse, nor should there be any tolerance, for anyone who thinks or expresses any kind of anti-Semitic remark. I want to apologize specifically to everyone in the Jewish community for the vitriolic and harmful words that I said to a law-enforcement officer the night I was arrested on a DUI charge.

"I am a public person, and when I say something, either articulated and thought out, or blurted out in a moment of insanity, my words carry weight in the public arena. As a result, I must assume personal responsibility for my words and apologize directly to those who have been hurt and offended by those words.

"The tenets of what I profess to believe necessitate that I exercise charity and tolerance as a way of life. Every human being is God's child, and if I wish to honor my God, I have to honor his children. But please know from my heart that I am not an anti-Semite. I am not a bigot. Hatred of any kind goes against my faith.

"I'm not just asking for forgiveness. I would like to take it one step further, and meet with leaders in the Jewish community, with whom I can have a one-on-one discussion to discern the appropriate path for healing.

"I have begun an ongoing program of recovery and what I am now realizing is that I cannot do it alone. I am in the process of understanding where those vicious words came from during that drunken display, and I am asking the Jewish community, whom I have personally offended, to help me on my journey through recovery.

"Again, I am reaching out to the Jewish community for its help. I know there will be many in that community who will want nothing to do with me, and that would be understandable. But I pray that that door is not forever closed.

"This is not about a film. Nor is it about artistic license. This is about real life and recognizing the consequences hurtful words can have. It's about existing in harmony in a world that seems to have gone mad."

-- Associated Press


That is a masterfully worded statement in the clear service of "damage control" to protect his career.

I may be very cynical, but I find it much less an appreciation of the impact of anti-Semitic statements, and much more an attempt to beg for mercy from the powerful forces that can influence his livelihood.

Consider this comment:



Oh, so in a film, such as "The Passion of the Christ", Mr. Gibson can implicate the Jews in the killing of Christ, and thereby potentially stir up the most historically vicious and homicidal attitudes toward Jews, because this is his "artistic license"? Are we to believe that this would then have nothing to do with "real life"? Have the hurtful words "Christ killers" not had very real and dire consequences throughout history? Did Mr. Gibson, in his more rational and sober moments, ever show full appreciation of that fact--or an awareness of the hatred he was potentially stirring up with his film? And when Gibson's father described the Holocaust as being largely a fiction, why could Gibson not publicly disavow or challenge that absurd (and anti-Semitic) statement? Were his father's "hurtful words" not without real life consequences?

I suspect that the only "real life" Gibson is concerned with right now is his own. And the "hurtful words" he is concerned with are things such as "anti-Semite", which, when applied to him, can have terrible consequences for his career.

Or, am I being too cynical?

I am glad that Mr. Gibson appears to be working the 12 Steps of AA by trying to make amends. I am glad that he acknowledges that his remarks were anti-Semitic and that he takes responsibility for having said them, even though he is appropriately puzzled by why he (of course, not an Anti-Semite :wink: ) might have had such words flow from his lips under the influence of alcohol. Searching his soul on that matter should be good for him. He might discover things which he would rather not see.

To beg the Jewish community for forgiveness, and beg them to help in his recovery, is both a humbling act of contrition and an effective public relations ploy. Should the Jewish community turn it's back on him now, they will seem hard-hearted, callous, intractable, and cold--in other words, "bad guys"--and Gibson will then become the suffering victim who held out his hand, only to have it stepped on. Very clever strategy. Should they, more likely, take him up on this offer, and openly help him to understand some of his attitudes, actions, and words--and their consequences--perhaps true enlightenment, and amends, might occur. For Gibson, this is a win-win public relations move.

I really hope that Gibson is sincere in wanting to open his mind and his heart to what the Jewish community might want to say to him. I hope he would like to understand how Jews perceive anti-Semitism and what it means to them. Remarks, and the effects of films, aren't just "offensive", they can have down-right deadly consequences. Contrary to what Gibson's father believes, the Holocaust did occur, and it followed hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of years of discrimination, dislocation, torture, and killing which came before it. And anti-Semitism is alive and flourishing all over the world right now, and still leading to killings and hatred.

Maybe Gibson needed a small taste of feeling like a victim in order to understand all of this this, and what the fuss is all about, and, perhaps, having his career on the line puts him in that position. Maybe that will be the key to helping him understand, on a deeper level, what it is like to feel rejection, isolation, vulnerability, the hatred of others, and profound fear, simply because you are a member of a particular group. It's not just about the Jews, it's about the power to target, scapegoat, and destroy entire groups of people based on irrational attitudes, distorted views, and stereotyping. Gibson has a lot of potential power to illuminate this situation, change attitudes, and inform others, if he first really understands it and is motivated to try to help put an end to it. But, he must first understand that it is always insanity to blurt out the sort of things he said (like "Jews are always responsible for all wars") the night of his arrest, whether said by a drunken or fully sober person. He must then understand that events, actions, and dire consequences can occur from the influence of such statements--and from the effects of the films that he makes.

Perhaps some good can come out of all of this. That would truly be making amends.

Incredible post, firefly! Wow. I agree completely with your assessment.

Especially:

To beg the Jewish community for forgiveness, and beg them to help in his recovery, is both a humbling act of contrition and an effective public relations ploy. Should the Jewish community turn it's back on him now, they will seem hard-hearted, callous, intractable, and cold--in other words, "bad guys"--and Gibson will then become the suffering victim who held out his hand, only to have it stepped on. Very clever strategy. Should they, more likely, take him up on this offer, and openly help him to understand some of his attitudes, actions, and words--and their consequences--perhaps true enlightenment, and amends, might occur. For Gibson, this is a win-win public relations move.

I do think to throw himself at the mercy of the Jewish community--even if he IS just doing this to save his ass, may have (wry smile) a very enlightening experience.

<sees Mel a la Clockwork Orange, with eyes held open, forced to watch a parade of images from Jewish history, and speak to Jews all over the world about how life is for them>

I would personally like to invite Mr. Gibson to my family's next Passover dinner. We will supply a yarmuka, complete with bobby pin, and a copy of the Haggadah. My Aunt Shirley will ask him intimate questions about his sex life, my Uncle Iriving will bombard him with investment and career advice, my three times divorced cousin Leah will rub his shins under the table with her bare toes, my Uncle Leo will tell him the entire history of the Middle East using finger puppets and my little nieces and nephews will help him to do the war cry from Braveheart. We will try and keep him from getting into the Manichevitz, but if he does - my brother-in-law Seth will see that he gets home safely. I promise he will come out of the experience a better man.

GreenWitch's Passover: A definite stop on the Mel Does Judaism Tour.

I have a story involving a Jewish friend of mine. His name is Samuel Goldberg and I had invited-

Wait a minute, perhaps a little background information is required before I continue with the story:

About seven hundred years B.C., Sargon, king of Assyria, in subduing a revolt in central Palestine, carried away and into captivity over twenty-five thousand Jews of the northern kingdom of Israel and installed in their place an almost equal number of the descendants of the Cuthites, Sepharvites, and the Hamathites.

So, anyway, I had invited Samuel Goldberg over to my house for a barbeque. There were twenty people invited and Samuel was the first to arrive. We hugged and he took of his yarmulka and flipped it on to the couch where it landed on my sleeping cat. The cat let out a scream and bolted into another room. We both chuckled and I made a comment about the fine quality of Samuel's yarmulka.

Then we made small talk until four more people arrived in a group. There was Tim Dobson, Ralph Kliner, Billy Bob Jackson, and, lastly, Fred Kimtir.

Samuel smiled at them as they entered the room, but his smile quickly turned to a frown and I could see a look of what appeared to be hatred flash in his eyes when he saw Fred.

The two had never met and I could not understand this inexplicable display of hostility on the part of Samuel. I took him by the elbow and led him into the kitchen. "Samuel", I asked, "Do you have a problem with Fred Kitmir."

"I think he's one of those damn Sepharvites" Samuel hissed.

He then bolted from the house, grabbing his yarmulka on the way out.

I never saw Samuel again. Word is he moved back to Jersey.

Isn't it amazing how people can hold a grudge for all those years?

It's certainly nice to se that Mel has the wherewithall to be able to afford good pr writers instead of having to say somthing like "doh"

Gus, if you knew those Sepharvites, you wouldn't have to ask that question!

Some of my best friends are Sepharvites.

Forgive me for being new and coming right out of the gate like this, but why beat around the bush, right?

I don't know if Mel Gibson is an anti-semite or not, but I think this overwhelming condemnation of him is wrong. Were his comments incredibly offensive? Sure. Were they factually incorrect? Yes, although there are plenty of people out there that sympathize with the general principle of his statements. Nevertheless, I challenge anyone to claim that they have never felt biased against or somehow angered by another group of people. Or that they have never said something in the heat of the moment that they later regret. I can't speak for anyone else, but I know I have crazy thoughts that pop into my head all the time, but thinking something and acting out on that something are two completely different things. I'm sure everybody has wanted to physically harm another human being at some point in their life, but most people know that it is wrong to act out on that urge. Alcohol tends to blur this barrier between thought and action, especially in alcoholics.

I can tell you from first-hand experience that alcoholism is no mere "character flaw." It is an insidious disease of which drinking is but a symptom. That's why alcoholics can go for years, even decades without drinking, and still be crazier than a loon. Upon resumption of drinking after these extended periods of time, it can be only a matter of days or even hours before the alcoholic is again spiraling out of control.

I have no problem with people who never want to watch his movies again or something like that, but to call for him to be ostracized from Hollywood and such is completely cruel and unjustified, in my opinion.

PS- If "The Passion of the Christ" was anti-semitic, then so is the Bible.

PPS--

Mel is anti-Semitic.

It's not about the alcohol.