Amazing << Hear this. Feel this, and tell me that this isn't music.
And dont sleep on these two, either.
Posted on 01/23/2009 6:43:23 PM PST by shortstop
In the movies, he’s the nice guy.
Which proves he’s a great actor.
Because in real life, Tom Hanks isn’t such a nice guy. He’s actually kind of nasty.
At least that’s the clear impression after some recent comments he made about the Mormon Church. Basically, he called Mormons “un-American,” a claim that is both innaccurate and – coming from Tom Hanks – hypocritical.
More about that later.
First, the history.
Tom Hanks has been causing trouble for the Mormon Church in recent years through his HBO series “Big Love.” The series – which Tom Hanks makes – depicts a fictional polygamist family in Utah.
The problem is that the show creates the impression that the people are Mormons. Many of the details and religious references are right out of the doctrine or culture or the Mormon people – with the glaring exception of the polygamy.
Though the Mormon Church practiced polygamy in the mid to late 1800s, it hasn’t in more than 100 years and it has gone to great lengths to distance itself from its distant past. Talk about polygamy is embarrassing to the Mormon Church and confusing to the general public.
The problem with “Big Love” is that it capitalizes on and refreshes century-old religious stereotypes and prejudices. It’s akin to using a storyline that depicts Jewish people as greedy moneylenders. At worst it is religious bigotry, at best it is a nuisance that Mormons all across the country have had to deal with.
And it came from Tom Hanks.
Who has decided to up the ante.
“The truth is this takes place in Utah,” Tom Hanks said of “Big Love.” “The truth is these people are some bizarre offshoot of the Mormon Church.”
Then he went political, and made reference to a recent vote in California that essentially banned both gay marriage and polygamy.
“And the truth is,” Tom Hanks said, “a lot of Mormons gave a lot of money to the church to make Prop-8 happen.
“There are a lot of people who feel that is un-American, and I am one of them.”
Let’s correct the record. Nobody gave anything to the church to “make” Proposition 8 “happen.” Rather, a great many Mormons donated money to a political fund and volunteered their time to help pass Proposition 8. They did this shoulder to shoulder with Roman Catholics, the evangelical group Focus On The Family, and any number of black and Latino churches.,p>
They did this because conservative religious people are opposed to gay marriage.
But though a broad spectrum of conservative religious people supported Proposition 8, gay activists have chosen to focus their ire on the Mormons, staging disruptive protests outside their temples and churches. The Roman Catholic archbishop of San Francisco has come to the defense of the Mormon Church in this matter, and an ecumenical group of conservative religious leaders bought a full-page “New York Times” ad to denounce the political attacks on the Mormon Church.
Because all the Mormons did was exercise their rights as Americans. They volunteered in a political campaign, they donated money as allowed by law, and they voted their conscience.
That’s all the Mormons did.
And that’s what “a lot of people” Tom Hanks knows consider “un-American.”
“And I,” he said, “am one of them.”
So Tom Hanks considers giving money to a political campaign, and volunteering time, un-American?
That’s odd. And hypocritical.
Because Tom Hanks is himself a frequent and large contributor to political causes and campaigns.
Let’s look at the numbers.
Tom Hanks gave $28,500 to Barack Obama last year. And he gave Al Franken $10,000. He also donated to a liberal campaign fund called Midwest Values PAC.
The year before that, he gave other tens of thousands of dollars to Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and Al Franken. In earlier years, he has donated to John Kerry and Patrick Kennedy.
And he’s never given a dime to a Republican.
So Tom Hanks has the right to donate very large amounts of money to liberal causes, but individual Mormons – contributing dramatically less per person – are “un-American” for donating to a conservative cause?
How does that work?
How is that anything other than a clear example of the arrogant superiority of the Hollywood liberal elite? A group of American citizens dare to disagree with them politically, and exercise their rights, and they are denounced.
That’s crazy.
Or, as Forrest Gump said and Tom Hanks proved: “Stupid is as stupid does.”
Essentially, Hanks called anyone who supported Prop. 8 "un-American." But he focused on Mormons because he doesn't have the spine to go after other groups who voted for Prop. 8 in overwhelming percentages. ...like blacks, for instance.
Amazing << Hear this. Feel this, and tell me that this isn't music.
And dont sleep on these two, either.
Being a bizarre cult, they probably get a lot of that.
Having lived among Mormons—probably longer than Mr. Hanks has—I know they are profoundly American.
I used to think highly of Tom Hanks, now I can see that he is just another piece of liberal scum! ;-(
Tom Hanks missed the boat on this one. Hollyweird has warped his thinking. People can support things Tom don’t approve of and not be “un-American”. O’bummer said today repubs need to quit listening to R. Limbaugh and and quit thinking “partisan”. I assume partisan means anything his party doesn’t agree with. Essentially Dims think their side is right and the other side is “un-American”. There is something wrong with trying to control what other people think, vote for or listen to on the radio.
A follower of the present administration shouldn’t criticize anyone else for being a member of a bizarre cult.
Yep, I agree. I think he’s a good actor, but he’s sorely lacking in other areas.
> Being a bizarre cult, they probably get a lot of that.
A mere five posts before the Mormon-bashing begins. Congratulations, mate: you’re tiresome.
Batchelor Party was good.....haven’t seen anything he’s done since then...
“WILSON!!, WILSON!!, DON’T LEAVE ME WILSON.”
takes on a whole new meaning doesn’t it?
A lot of us are about to be called un-American.
For instance, those living in Germany in the 1930’s and early 1940’s that didn’t support the Nazi Party was considered un-German.
Mayhap he has something hidden in his closet? Methinks he doth protest over much. ;-)
I post a lot on other forums and most of the Mormons I correspond with seem alright. I don't agree with their religion but they're like the rest of us, searching for answers.
On a side note (judging from your handle), I would assume you have and shoot guns, I went to the gun shop today and was shocked to see ammo shelves almost emptied and prices elevated substantially. I haven't been keeping up and my ammo is low. I hope this changes soon.
You can say a lot of things about the Mormons and Mormonism, but as I heard from an ex-Mormon, as they know themselves and I tend to agree, that when it comes time to sort out the mess that the Obama supporters have created (now that’s a weird cult, Obama worship!), I think the Mormons will be some of the key ones still around to sort out the mess. Look at them—unlike many Protestants, Catholics and Jews, they actually maintain, in large numbers, in-tact families. And say what you like about their founders, their doctrines, they are no weirder than most of the other Monotheistic religions. And, I’ll say again, they have weathered the storm of the Hippie Cultural Revolution much better than the rest.
And since a large number of prop 8 voters were blacks Tom Hanks must view them as un-American as well...so from a liberal's perspective, Tom Hanks is a racist.
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