--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "shempmcgurk" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > I found this view of the Gibson affair -- quite different from the > Hitchens one -- that also makes a very good point. > > > This is an excerpt of the full piece found at birdofparadise.blog > > Don't Forget that Mel Gibson Was Drunk > Mel Gibson was arrested for drunk driving the other day. The police > who arrested him described his uncooperative behavior, his repeated > use of the "f**k" word and his making several clearly anti-Semitic > statements. > > Apparently, this somehow "proves" that Mel Gibson is an anti-Semite. > > No it doesn't. All it proves is that Mel Gibson was drunk. > > If (let's imagine) that Mel Gibson's outburst is proof of his anti- > semitism then the circumstances of his arrest would also prove > that . . . > > --Mel Gibson is an advocate of expressing anger in public places; > that > --Mel Gibson believes that it is good and right to resist arrest; > that > --Mel Gibson feels that it is OK to drive while intoxicated; that > --Mel Gibson, deep, deep down, approves of resisting police officer. > > No one in their right mind would draw these conclusions about Mel > Gibson from his behavior and actions the night of his arrest.
The logic of this excerpt out of context is a bit, well, strained. But the guy goes on to extend the point in a way that makes a lot more sense: I don't know about you but, in my experience, "drunken behavior" rarely reveals deep truths about anyone. On the contrary, alcohol removes the self-imposed disciplines of self-control that keep the inner "raging beast" (that lies within most of us) under wraps. Drunks do and say things they would never, ever, ever say or do when they are sober. They sincerely regret those words and behaviors afterwards. I am not suggesting that Gibson's drunken comments were not offensive. They were both offensive and disgusting. But what we saw with Mel Gibson was not Dr. Jeckyll but Mr. Hyde . . . not Robert Bruce Banner but The Hulk. Which is the real Mel Gibson? Well, I would have to say that the real Mel Gibson is the person that, in his heart, he truly desires to be. We all know the stories of Mel's father's anti-semitism. Clearly the son grew up with this along with all the anger that accompanies such beliefs. Such upbringing stays with us the rest of our lives. We cannot purge ourselves of it but we can tame it, subdue it and hope that it remains dead and buried and beyond recall. When our inhibitions are diminished through alcohol, rage, stress or impatience those things we had hoped were "dead and buried" find ways to express themselves completely against our will and against our own moral values. Read more: http://tbirdofparadise.blogspot.com/ I think he's wrong that drunken behavior doesn't reveal "deep truths"; the deep truths in this case would be that despite his best efforts, Gibson hasn't been able to eradicate the effects of his upbringing. The issue is more whether he should be condemned because he hasn't been able to eradicate them. Seems to me as well that his alcoholism may be at least partially a function of this conflict, the stress of resisting his father's influence and becoming his own person. To have a father you love deeply but who holds views that you (along with society in general) consider unacceptable, to be a very public person, and to have a physiological tendency toward alcoholism is a really tough combination to deal with. I hope he gets some really, really good therapy. To subscribe, send a message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Or go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ and click 'Join This Group!' Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
