Megan Basham at Townhall.com has some comments on the pathetic Mel Gibson story – comments that resist the general piling-on, without excusing Gibson’s sins.

The actor has never made a secret of his struggle with alcoholism, and his immediate willingness to accept full responsibility and openly apologize for his actions is commendable. Unlike another well-known individual recently caught driving while intoxicated, Gibson hasn´t hidden behind lawyers or tried to attribute his behavior to some other cause like sleeping medication. The day after the incident, he commented simply, “After drinking alcohol on Thursday night, I did a number of things that were very wrong.’ He didn´t say, “I don´t remember doing wrong things, but I´ve been told that I did.” Nor did anyone have to track down bartenders to confirm he´d been imbibing. He acted like a man and admitted it.

Gibson also hasn´t taken a cue from a certain Congresswoman and blamed the police for his lack of self control. Said Gibson on Saturday, “The arresting officer was just doing his job and I feel fortunate that I was apprehended before I caused injury to any other person… I take this opportunity to apologize to the deputies involved for my belligerent behavior. They have always been there for me in my community and indeed probably saved me from myself.”

But neither his apologies nor his clear understanding of the gravity of his crime will stop certain groups from reveling in his shame. Thank Heaven Gibson’s God is one who offers forgiveness and second chances—because when it comes to Catholic moviemakers, the American media sure won´t. The details that have been leaked to the press are ugly, but those rubbing their hands together in glee over Gibson’s downfall are pretty ugly themselves.

Her points about Gibson taking quick responsibility for his behavior are all fair ones, which I haven’t seen anyone else focus on. However, he’s going to need to go a lot farther than that to make amends for the behavior. Some, admittedly, won’t be interested in anything he says or does. Maybe it is as bad as it looks; maybe not. RWB doesn’t know Mel Gibson. I did not think “The Passion of the Christ” was anti-Semitic — I thought it was a valid film representation of the relevant portions of the Gospels, and I don’t think the Gospels are anti-Semitic. I thought then that Gibson could have done a much better job, however, in explaining why his film was not anti-Jewish. The absence of strong arguments coming directly from the director himself was odd. Of-course many conservative Christians made the arguments for him, and made them well. Now, they have to be feeling rather badly burned.

An artist’s personal flaws don’t impinge on the quality of a work of art — or else there would be no really sublime art at all — but the direct bearing that Gibson’s alleged anti-Semitism has on the perception of that film can’t be denied. And can it even be called “alleged,” anymore, with a straight face? That’s really the point. It’s a shame, for the film, which involved a whole lot of other people besides Gibson, and which deeply moved a whole lot of people who are not anti-Semitic. They’ve been robbed, in a way, by Gibson’s outburst and seeming exposure as a Jew-hater after all.

But, I didn’t want to pile on. It’s surely not impossible for Gibson to make amends — assuming he sincerely wants to — just as nothing is impossible, but I think it will take a whole lot more direct engagement with the issues at stake than his history would lead one to expect that he can deliver.

…

Update: Gibson Takes A Step

...................
Share this!

Posts which might be related to this one based on a mysterious algorithm:

• Gibson Takes A Step
• A Little More Mel
• To Mel With It