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.
Yes, he is an idiot and has a drinking problem but to call him a bad actor and worse director is, in my opinion, incorrect.
I believe that we now know Mel's true colors, but this piece is a prime example of really awful writing.
There was more than only antiSemitism that Gibson did badly.
While I've often wondered about Hitchens' obvious hatred of Israel (which might explain his rush to attack someone else for this reason--"No, no, there's a REAL anti-Semite!")...he happens to be right. You don't just get drunk and turn into a Jew-hater. Something you're holding in emerges.
I think you are correct. If I got all stupid drunk and started spewing trash talk it wouldn't be about the Jews...It would probably be about the Boston Red Sox, liberals or IslamoNazis...
In Mel's defense, he said nothing that Hillary Clinton or the New York Times haven't already said.
Pat Buchanan is a Jew-hater, but since he hates Bush just as much, all is good.
"Bad actor and worse director"?? Hitchens needs to get real. Whatever else Gibson might be, these do not apply.
I hear some whining from somewhere off to the left, I wonder what it is.....
...and Hillary(!) was sober.
We think she was...
Oh, please. I am going to need more evidence than a single drunken tirade to reach that conclusion.
Hitch probably still PO'ed at the success of "The Passion."
But please, Mel... get help... and realize that that guy you made a movie about was and still is a Jew.
Shut up Hitchens. Mel is an a$$hole but so are you. You dislike anyone that believes in God. That's your real beef. The biggest problem with Mel isn't that he expressed some anti-semitic views. His biggest problem is that he is a selfish drunk. Maybe Hitchens doesn't want to focus on that problem because it hits a little too close to home. BTW, I enjoy both Gibson and Hitchens, but they are both a$$holes.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.