Thursday, August 03, 2006

Regarding Mel...

Is it just me or is way too big a deal being made out of Mel Gibson's drunken outburst. The focus is being placed on what he said in the drunken outburst, not on the fact that he was driving while intoxicated.

Now maybe it's just me, but any of us who have ever been inebriated, haven't we all said things we didn't really mean or agree with while under the influence? Did our friends or relatives hold us responsible for the things they heard us say in our state of inebriation?

I'm not saying we give Mel Gibson a free pass on driving while intoxicated. He should be punished the same as any Tom, Dick, or Harry. But it seems that we, as a culture, don't want celebrities treated the same as us-- we want them treated HARSHER than us. We want them judged on a much harsher scale. Why, when we wouldn't expect to be held accountable for the foolish things we say in a state of inebriation, are we as a society holding Mel Gibson accountable for his drunken rantings and ravings?

If the following sins have been forgiven and/or excused, why can't we forgive Mel for his drunken ramblings? He's even taken the time and effort to apologize which is more than can be said for some of the following:
  1. Former D.C. Mayor Marion Barry was caught on tape snorting cocaine. After serving his sentence he once again ran for mayor and was actually elected by the people of D.C.
  2. Director Roman Polanski is a convicted rapist. If he sets foot on U.S. soil he WILL go to prison. Despite this, he not only won an Oscar for directing The Pianist, he was given a standing ovation in absentia for winning the Oscar.
  3. Woody Allen married his own stepdaughter! Not illegal, but certainly not moral. He did wait until she was legal before doing so. But people still go to his movies. He's essentially been forgiven.
  4. Jesse Jackson once referred to NY City as "Hymietown" and has been known to use the K-word ("kike" for those unfamilar), but we don't see him getting raked over the coals for his remarks-- and he was sober when he was saying those things! To my knowledge he's never apologized for his remarks either
Maybe it's just me, but I felt actions spoke louder than words. If Hollywood is so willing to forgive a convicted rapist living in exile and give him an Oscar to boot, the city of D.C. is willing to re-elect a coke addict, and Jesse Jackson isn't held accountable for disparaging the Jews while sober-- why is there so much fuss over Mel Gibson's drunken comments and remarks?

He was drunk, he's apologized. Forgive and forget already. And why not focus on the real issue-- not the remarks he made, but the fact he was driving when he really shouldn't have been. Is it just me or does Hollywood and the news media kind of have their priorities out of whack on this one?

Current Music: Billy Joel - Captain Jack (live) (this song is fantastic, it's always been my fave of Billy's)

7 comments:

LoraLoo said...

I wandered over here from Barbara's blog. :)

You make some really good points here. It's time to get over it, and prosecute him for drunk driving like anyone else.

Keshi said...

na I feel the same...while what Mel did was not right, there r far too many imp issues to make a big deal abt than this one.

ppl just like attention so they grab it from such events.

Keshi.

Keshi said...

btw I think Mel just misses his vegemite :)

Keshi.

Greg the Surly said...

Isn't polanski also a convicted pedophile?

St. Dickeybird said...

Mel's always been anti-semetic. It's a part of the whacked out ex-catholic cult that he was raised in. I read about it a few years ago. I guess it just takes a short paragraph of a DUI quote for the masses...

And Polanski is a pedophile. I hadn't heard rapist. Although all pedo-sex is rape - kids can't consent.

Anonymous said...

The National Jewish Outreach Program is holding a poll on their website, www.projectforgiveness.com where you can vote to forgive him or not.

:P fuzzbox said...

I like to give an occasional barb now and again to celebs but by and large what they do does not really effect my life. Todays celeb focused media really makes me wonder why people are more obsessed with the lives of celebreties and not the actual world in which we live in.