Far too many people think that money and celebrity gives them the right to do and say as they please, never considering what affect their words or actions my have on someone else. Mel Gibson’s actions depressed me when I read the news account of his arrest and subsequent reaction. I once was a big Mel Gibson fan and now I am truly disillusioned.
My son and daughter both work in law enforcement and as enforcers of the law, they do not deserve the treatment that they sometimes get from the very public they are sworn to defend. Nor do the people whose character that Mel Gibson maligned with his bout of mouth run-off deserve his jeers and taunts for their religious beliefs.
I’m sure he truly regrets acting as he did and saying what he did, whether to salvage his own personal position in the public eye or because he feels real remorse. Whatever the reason, I’m afraid it’s too late. Of course, some of the Jewish community will forgive him and others will take it with a grain of salt. The damage is done and no matter what he does or says now, his words cannot be taken back and erased as though they had never spewed forth like so much bile from an R rated exorcist movie. We can’t go on forever blaming each new generation for what its ancestors did.
Actions are worth a million words and some type of community service for him to perform would sit very well with me and, I’m sure, most people. And I don’t mean some type of monetary penance, but work that he would have to perform himself.
A slap on the hand and a large fine is not something that would work on someone who has more money than couth. Look at some other celebrities who don’t seem to learn their lessons easily---Dennis Rodman, Robert Downey Jr., Nick Nolte.
I often wonder why these people who have so much to lose can just throw it all away for a moments release of built up steam. Mind you, I’m not saying that only famous people tend to act this way, but these are people that our children look up to as heroes and mentors. These are people who are in the limelight and the whole world watches their every move, people who form the reflections of America as a whole. How can we wonder why other countries are beginning to look down on us as an uncivilized nation?
Is anyone besides me embarrassed by the actions of some of our celebrities, our service men and women, and our presidents??????
I wish they would think before they develop hoof and mouth disease!
END
Sandra E. Graham---author of Amos Jakey, published by American Book Publishing, soon to be followed by Nicolina and Ernestine.
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