Give Mel Gibson a break? Give me a break! The whole point of the linked blog is that people can't help what they say when they're "likkerd up." Supposedly his reputation is already damaged by this so we ought to let it go. If we let it go, exactly where would this damage be?
"You've suffered enough, Mel. It must have been so rough being like countless other slobbering drunks who make jackasses out of theirselves, and endanger lives in the process. It must be horrible to have to stand by your actions, to face up to the hateful words you spewed."
Look, this isn't Mayberry, and Mel isn't Otis the Adorable Alkie! When I get drunk I hug people -- strangers mostly. When I sober up, I accept the fact that my extrovert had went carousing. Mel has some verbal diarrhea and his inner anti-semite came spewing out. We all know that drunks say things they don't completely mean -- sometimes they give into hate, but I don't think drunks say things that don't have a glimmer of truth for them either. For this man to be blasted for his portrayal of a group of people and then be heard to spout hatred for the same group after his tongue is loosened? I don't buy that this was not in his heart.
I'll give Mel a break around the time he acknowledges that his life, alcoholism aside, is pretty frikkin' good, and much of his good-fortune is due to the people he seems to think are the cause of war. (Of course, he's not giving back that money any time soon.) He is where he is because of huge box office which you don't get by just selling tickets to devout Catholics.
Then we have the whole issue of people who can afford limos, cabs, whatever, driving while intoxicated. A poor schlub is bad enough when he gets behind the wheel, but Mel doesn't even need to wipe his own butt, let alone drive anywhere. People, imo, should be just as upset about that as they are his comments.
And why does it seem that somewhere between the 20th and 30th year of fame that people are losing their minds? Just when you think that being Tom Cruise's publicist has to be thankless, you have to contemplate Mel's people spinning this. Anyhow, why are these people, who have been sheltered for so long, seeming to become even more isolationist? I understand how a fishbowl can make you buggy, but the complete breaks with reality are a little much.
In the end, people have prejudices and grudges, even fortunate people. They shouldn't be burned at the stake for them, but neither should their words be excused because they're drunk, or rich, or have pretty blue eyes... Sometimes, when people get a hard time, they deserve it. People get to say what they wish, but agreeing they have that right doesn't mean that there should be no repercussions or reactions to those words.
