Tuesday, August 08, 2006

Mel Gibson messed up! (don't we all?)

If you have read my favorite film list on my MSN space then you may have guessed I am a big Mel Gibson fan. It was with sadness I read of his re-lapse with alcohol and of his comments when stopped for speeding.

Of course there is no excuse for drink driving on any level and thank goodness the Police stopped him before he injured or killed himself or someone else. He must face whatever penalty the law requires of him with humility.

The statement he put out I thought was honest and fairly humble. He has battled alcoholism for years and this re-lapse must be very upsetting for both him and his family. He has wisely sought to get help for this episode and I hope he picks himself up and is all the stronger for it in his recovery.

Now for the remarks he made in a rant after he was stopped. I don't know what prompted the remarks or what his actual feelings are but it is fair to say that when drunk people say things that are not necessarily what they mean and wouldn't otherwise say.

I think it is deeply sad and shameful that the press has jumped on and focused on the comments rather than the tragic re-lapse of falling off the wagon and the potentially deadly drink driving. Those above all must have been incredibly difficult for his family and him.

In this day and age supposed free speech has absolutely gone out the window. What used to be just passed off as criticism or someones opinion is now taken as say Islamophobia, homophobia or Anti-semitic. It is fine to criticise certain groups in this country or the US but say anything against minority groups who happen to have a big loud voice and you are immediately labelled as a phobic of some sort. The PC crowd go mad!

The Jews may yet have some sort of part to play in the future before the return of Christ, depending on your theology, however as they have done many times in the past they have lost their way currently I think and must still acknowledge Christ as the only way to be saved. I don't agree with the intense military action being carried out by either side in Lebanon. But Israel is being very heavy handed in targetting civilians and if any other western country did the same there would be hell to pay, as indeed there will be. Of course Hezbollah targets civilians, they are a terrorist movement and have dumb rockets and there is no justification for it at all. But even the US, with their reputation for missing sometimes with accurate smart bombs, don't target civilians if they can help it at all. Western democratic nations must set a higher example of compassion for the innocent and bringing justice to murderers.

I am not Anti-Semitic in any way but that doesn't mean I can't criticise them! A large amount of the problems in the Middle East are indirectly associated with Israel. Don't get me wrong I am not saying they are the cause of most of it. But with fundamental Islamics desire to see 'Zionist Israel' wiped off the map then there is not much hope for peace in the region until all sides accept violence absolutely will not sort this problem out. History shows that to be the case!

As is obvious from reading anything I tend to post I am a card carrying Christian. Last year when Jerry Springer the Opera was shown on BBC2 there was a lot of complaints from Christians as quite frankly the content of that play is blasphemous in the extreme. However the Christians who complained were labelled as fundamental evangelicals and then ignored completely. If that play had been about Islam or Judaism or any other religion for that matter then the outcome would have been very different. The inbalance and hypocrisy is quite staggering in the media.

Well my own rant over back to Mel. As for if he will work again etc... in hollywood. Of course he will! He is a brilliant actor and a great director. I know Hollywood has a lot of Jewish influence within it but I doubt very much if it is enough to affect Icon or Mel himself in any long term way. I also think he is wise enough and has indeed done so, to build bridges with the Jewish community.

Keep on that Wagon Mel!