BREAKING: Gibson Says He Doesn't Hate Jews

Mel Gibson says in statement #2 " I don't hate Jews".

This is really terrible Mel. Its too late. The words have been spoken, the wheels set in motion. The damage is done. The world is an unforgiving place (from personal experience) It will never be the same from this point on. You can apologise and the people will say they forgive you but, there will always be the seed of the words you said in the back of their minds.

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" I don't know about you - but I feel better about the whole thing". Duh!! It's called "Damage Control".
The man isn't a idiot - well actually he is, but he's also a hypocrite. "Hatred of any kind goes against his faith". Really? Is that why in an article that was published some time ago - he more or less said he hated Gays because they (to quote Mel) "Take it up the bum". Don't let this guy fool you - this is pure damage control - he's smart enough to realize that his actions will have a direct effect on what's left of his career.

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Looks like a modern day blacklist is shaping up with Ari Emmanuel as the self appointed listkeeper. Who will be the next speech crime violater. Seems like a bigger story than Mel.

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I doubt his family and close friends are at all shocked by what he spewed the night he was arrested for drunk driving. The thing about being intoxicated is that it lowers the barrier of self-editing before you speak and can be quite revealing. If you want to know what someone really thinks and believes, hang around when they drink too much.

Mel Gibson has simply gone public with being creepy weird in his dangerous personal beliefs -- although I am certain he never planned for the public to know. Oops for Mel -- and sorry Mel but some bells cannot be unrung.

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If memory serves, he had a round table discussion with the gay community in response to the comments that OoglyGoogly is referring to.

But of course it's damage control. What's he going to do? Say he stands by his comments? I think the thing we're missing here is that Mel is being very careful with his words and always has been in reference to anti-Semitism. He says that it goes against his faith to "hate." He doesn't say that it is against his faith to be suspicious of, or have a general dislike for a group of people. He doesn't have to "hate" Jews in order to say what he said, drunk or not.

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So Alex, do we not have a even the right to be suspicious of those who disagree with us on issues of fundamental value to our lives? It seems to me that, like chimpster says, Ari Emmanuel has very deep seated suspicions of those who disagree with his religious, ethical and, mostly, political beliefs. He wants Gibson ostracized and shunned but no, he doesn't hate him. Right?

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Yes, the comments to police were terrible. Mr. Gibson apologized, and should be given another chance. Suddenly we are back to the trite old saying "drunks always speak the truth", therefore Mel must have meant everything he said. Ridiculous. When a drunk person panics and gets out of control, they may say almost anything. Everyone blows and gets out of control now and then. Drunks are especially belligerant and often say cruel and hurtful things out of fear or anger. How many can say truthfully that at sometime during their life they didn't lose control and spout out something they had heard from others, and immediately feel bad because they really knew better and didn't mean it literally. Unfortunately, I have had enough experience around heavy drinkers and alcoholics to know what I am talking about.

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"If you want to know what someone really thinks and believes, hang around when they drink too much."

This is not always true. Being drunk, especially if you can be an angry drunk, also can make you aggressive and spiteful - you can find yourself saying things that are intended to hurt other people's feelings... and NOT ALWAYS things you think are true.

Not saying Mel isn't anti-semitic, but in all the discussion of this I keep reading "the truth comes out when you are drunk", and that isn't always the case.

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There seems to be the belief that alcohol alters thought and makes individuals act and say things that are inconsistent with their "normal self". The belief that what Mr. Gibson said and did was a true representation of his real being.

Perhaps there is a truth that when understood reveals why he said what he said and did what he did “Human beings are vessels for feelings and thoughts".

Alcohol does what it is supposed to do; it separates the two aspects of being and anesthetizes the center of what we feel. Alcohol turns dominance within the being to what is thought and not what is felt. Those feelings that determine the morally right from wrong, the sense that prevents transgressions against fellow human beings is numbed, dissolved, allowing the person to act out on what they think. Behavior that would not be acceptable to the individual when sober becomes acceptable once a person is under the influence of alcohol.

Consumption of alcohol, to a greater or lesser degree, creates a type of insanity brought about by the division (separation) within the human being. That is why some many tragic things occur when alcohol is introduced into the human vessel. The inebriated acts out on what they think without the governance of what they feel.

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Wow! Who would have ever thought so many people would take anyone's drunken ravings so seriously. It is a commen misconception that booze makes people somehow more truthful. Anyone who believes that has never sat in a bar listening the enormous whoppers that come out of the mouths of drunks. I myself have told incredible untruths while under the influence and had people swear to me that I must have been telling the truth because I was drunk. C'mon, I WAS DRUNK!!. So was Mr. Gibson. Drinking and driving is a far more serious offense then drunken ranting.
He is trying to apologize so let him. If he is indeed dealing with alcoholism and not just using that for an excuse for breaking the law, then he needs to get the help he appearsto be seeking.
How about a little compassion here? We've all of us, if we are honest, done something encredibly stupid in public. Except of course we don't have the whole world watching. Fame is as much of a curse as it is a blessing.
Mr' Gibson's family must be mortified right now. He has a lot to deal with in the coming days, months and years. Andhe seems to be making a sincere effort to repair the damage. So all of you ready to throw your stones go take a good long look in the mirror and think again.
One more thing. While y'all are so incensed about his so-called prejudice you seem to be exhibiting a good deal of spite yourselves.

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Comments # 6,7,8, and 10 ... I agree with your posts.....it's too bad we live in a society of unforgiving people - and some bring their religion with them to stir the pot - forgetting that they have been commanded by their creator to forgive. For some reason - they cannot. Alcoholism is another nasty disease that causes a lot of damage. Some refuse to buy into this - but I've also had a lot of experience with alcoholics to know that it truly is. Mel isn't blaming his behavior on his alcoholism. He realizes what he has done, the damage, and will do the right thing.

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Where's the outcry for Gibson being an "anti-Englishite" based upon him working on two historically inaccurate films (although only one was actually popular) with a bias against the English?

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What really bother's me about this whole situation is the outrage at what Gibson said about Jews. I'm so damn sick of the political correctness in this world. Who cares if he really doesn't like Jewish people? When did it become a crime to have an opinion no matter how absurd or bigotted? We should be more upset that he was given preferential treatment because of his celebrity status and the fact that he was driving drunk.

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Yes Julie. His celebrity is the most important thing. Racism is so overrated.

Apathy kills.

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Julie, as a proud Jew, I care.
I care, not because its not his right to have an opinion; he does, no matter how absurd. But because whenever someone in his position, someone of his worldwide stature says the things he does, even if he was bombed out of his mind, it gives license to others who believe that such behavior-and worse-is correct and justified.
It's very easy to leave people to their opinions. It's much harder to understand that some opinions simply should not be left unchallenged. I'm not advocating a blackballing of him, or any other such action. But Justin is right: apathy kills.

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The kneejerk hysteria to Mel's offhand comments indicates that there are a lot of people that want to be free speech hall monitors. Seems there are a lot of new recruits for Ari Emmanuel's hall monitor blacklisting team. apathy kills indeed. Ari should apologize.

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So, wait, let's get this straight. Are you saying it's ok for one to have an opinion, just as long as no-one in power shares that same opinion. Aren't you sensoring freedom? Gibson wasn't using his celebrity to promote a viewpoint, to incite hatred or a particular belief. He was expressing an opinion -- one which many find morally apprehensible, but an opinion nevertheless. In my opinion, what creates apathy, is the supersensitivities of some people who exagerate the meaning of such statements beyond any reasonable relevance. I'm appalled at what Hitler did to the Jewish people, but I'm equally appalled at Pol Pot's killing fields, at the massacre in Rwanda (where people were slaughtered at a rate far greater than during the Holocaust) at the genocide in the Sudan, at Mugabe's killing and destruction of people, etc. etc.. Gibson's comments were no doubt morally apprehensible, but he is entitled to have them, and without protecting his right to say what he wants, we destroy our own freedom.

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Why is this "BREAKING NEWS"?!? Let me reiterate my thoughts about celebrities and the media pushing stupid stories to the public...(ahem) WHO CARES?! Really, are we the public that fickle to allow the media to tell us that "BREAKING NEWS" is about a a stupid celebrity?! The issue is the media and how they force feed us crap. Not about Mel, InSync, or Lidsay LOhan! Rise up People-- RISE UP!

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Jews feel they are entitled to what is written in the Bible (leaving all others out) but will not break bread with those opposed to their faith. Listening to NPR I heard a Jewish leader voice his view that they would not stop fighting until they received what "belongs to them" in Palestine(land). No matter how much you hold him for his statements even Mel Gibson is not that ignorant. Holding humanity against religious beliefs is ludacris.

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No one dares to comment that Mel is only 33.3% correct. The Arabs are the other 33.3% and the Christians are 33.3%. Religion is the single cause of all humanity's problems. I hope this Mel Gibson issue continues to spark more debate.

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