Tom Teicholtz of Tommywood.com:
What has complicated the discussion about Gibson was that most American Jews of recent vintage spend a good deal of time hearing about anti-Semitism (and donating money to fight it), but few actually have experienced it.
Anybody would have thought that Mel Gibson had drugged and raped a 13-year-old girl. Or perhaps screamed at, insulted and threatened his 12-year-old daughter. Or beaten women and used narcotics and prostitutes. Or even been such a drug addict and criminal that he’d served serious time in prison.
But no, that’s Roman Polanski, Alec Baldwin, Charlie Sheen and Robert Downey Jr., all beloved of Hollywood and described in the media as being misunderstood or in need of medical help and sympathy.
One definition of being a racist is saying racist things, and Gibson has certainly done that. But other than shocking punctuation marks for his arguments, is he serious?
Gibson has no aversion to working with minority actors such as Danny Glover in the Lethal Weapon series and Tina Turner in Mad Max. In 2006, he directed Apocalypto, a movie that featured only aboriginal actors, who spoke in an ancient Mayan dialect. The effort won Gibson a raft of prizes, including from Latino and aboriginal advocacy groups, not to mention three Oscar nominations.
Gibson might say racist things to hurt someone when he’s mad, and that’s not OK. But the bulk of his life’s work speaks of cross-cultural understanding. (…)
Baldwin, Polanski and Sheen are perfect liberals; Gibson is a Christian conservative. So Sheen was signed to do two more seasons of Two and a Half Men at nearly $2 million per episode. Gibson’s agency dropped him.
