Battling the bottle, stone-throwing

Where is the passion for compassion?
Mel has apologized and I believe him. Listen to how his apology differs from so many other celebrities when those people, instead of claiming responsibility, blame the recipient of their actions.

Wednesday, August 02, 2006
by Jonathan Flora


There is this scene in a movie you may have heard of. In it, a man stoops down and places his finger in the dirt to write. As he does, the dust from the ground explodes with the power of the words being drawn. We then see several defeated men toss their stones to the ground and walk away.

Why is it certainly no surprise that many of these same men (and women) are back and hurling their stones at another man with all their might? Shame on any of us, if we do not step in front of this man to deflect the rocks that are thrown with no other intent other than to cause pain and destroy his life.

There is no excuse for Mel Gibson’s actions this past weekend. But, where is the compassion to understand how this man got to the place in his battle with the ugly disease of alcoholism that a situation like this can occur? Where did we lose the knowledge that ALL men are not without sin, even those prideful and self declared "sinless" stone-throwers that have so quickly stepped out from the dark shadows to once again attack. As angry as they make me, their colors have been known and known for years.

One of the first to throw a stone that has been in his arsenal bag locked and loaded since The Passion of the Christ is Abraham Foxman, the head of the Anti-Defamation League. Foxman claims, "His tirade finally reveals his true self and shows that his protestations during the debate over his film The Passion of the Christ, that he is such a tolerant, loving person, were a sham." What happened to the ADL’s claim a few years earlier that they, "do not know what is in his [Mel’s] heart?"

At the same time, the ADL announced they are launching a website to monitor "hate" groups, of which they include pro-life organizations. This is the same ADL that in a 2000 press release cheered the Nebraska judicial decision barring the partial-birth abortion ban signed by the President of the United States. This of course proves they can hurl rocks with both hands.

The stones are coming from all directions. In today’s USA Today, it was written that the View’s Barbara Walters told viewers she would not see another Gibson film and agent Ari Emanuel posted the public call for studios to boycott Gibson.

As Catholic League President Bill Donahue points out, "Mel’s enemies will never cut him a break. Their real goal is to discredit The Passion of the Christ. How ironic it is to note that the core message of his film – forgiveness – is sorely lacking in his critics." Yet, "In 2003, Roman Polanski, the convicted child rapist, received a standing ovation when he won an Oscar for The Pianist."


Full commentary at Spero News