Staff Blog
Oy Mel
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| Apparently so. |
I’ve given Mel Gibson slack for his vile anti-Semetic rantings. He’s an asshole for saying something so pernicious, stupid and racist. When assholes drink, and drink hard, they should just shut up. For the sake of knowing this much about drunken assholes, we’ll let his apology stand.
We know he drank. Icepack — that’s me — reported back in September and October of 2001 that when he wasn’t filming M. Night Shyamalan's Signs he was running around Philly giving peeps, male and female, big massages while pounding drinks at area boites Happy Rooster, Rouge, Smith & Wollensky and Bar Noir. I was there at a few of those sessions. He was a hoot. A little loud. And very into shoulder rubs. They called him “the Cruncher.” Right chiropractic Mel was. One night Robert Downey Jr. was there. Another night Mel offered to arm wrestle people in Bar Noir.
Oh Mel. You daggone crazy massaging arm-wrassling anti-Semite… I mean, asshole.
Somebody told me they saw him at AA meetings near his Rittenhouse Hotel digs during this same time. OK. At least he felt bad. Somebody told me too that there were ladies around him that might’ve made more of the Mel.
Were there women around? Yes. But you never really got the sense that they were much more than late-night women in late-night bars who just happened to follow him from Rouge to Bar Noir on the off-nights he was there.
Late night women in late night bars – that’s what they do. Hang around. Men do it to.
Why, when Sandy Duncan hung out at Chaucers… I didn’t get home until 6 a.m.
Anyway — Mel.
It wasn’t so easy to follow those women back to Mel’s hotel apartment to see if they were fucking him.
So. Story ends.
Then again — it don’t.
Not only did I hear yesterday that this week’s National Enquirer will feature a big story about all the late-night women in late-night bars yakking back about the passions of Mel they felt while he was in their town (and I can only imagine how waaaaaack the Apocalypto shooting was! A boozy Gibson. Faux Mayans? That beard!). The Daily News’ Dan Gross — from this report — says he’s got a young Jewish lady on tap with whom Gibson hung with, and an older gal (now 36) who not only claims she canoodled with Gibson at his pad: she’s got nude Polaroids of Mel holding his happy rooster in one paw and a phone in his other.
The thought of Dan Gross looking at naked Polaroids of Mel Gibson — yeah. I‘m laughing.
To think Gibson might have been grabbing his prick then grabbing my shoulders. At least I had on sleeves.
Oh Mel, you daggone joint-grabbing Jewish-girl-loving cheater — I mean, asshole.
Stay tuned.
Just so you know, the “Anonymous” in Alcoholics Anonymous refers to the fact that no AA member’s name should be published in the media. One of the AA Traditions is “principles before personalities,” which basically means that AA would like to concentrate on the principles of the program, rather than celebrity spokespeople. If you could please refrain from publishing names of people seen at AA meetings, it would be very much appreciated. Thanks!
If YOU (anonymous) sign up for AA, you shouldn’t publish or repeat names. If someone outside of AA does, it’s up to them–not you.
Luckliy, in our legal system, if you sign a contract (or just dig an agreement), the rest of the country is neither bound by your responsibilities under it nor is liable to uphold it.
Imagine that!!
Jesus H Democrat
JESUS H DEM: here’s a thought. There ARE other ways to settle disputes than in the courts. The fact that there exists a legal right to disclose information doesn’t make it right or respectful. ANONYMOUS requests–not demands–anonymity for AA members. In a civil society, we try not to offend needlessly.
So, correct, “in our system” we are not legally “liable to uphold” such niceties.
But neither are we required to refrain from, say, anti-Semitic remarks. Gibson will not be prosecuted for his Jew-hating tirade. Doesn’t make it right. Learn to distinguish crimes from wrongs.
Counter Culture: We (or at least I) refrain from making remarks, such as anti-Semitic ones, because being Jewish is not an “issue”. It’s either your matrilineally born-into or chosen religion. Becasue some people slur Jews, it doesn’t make it a valid point of view–that’s why it’s considered hate speech both socially and legally.
If Mel Gibson is going to engage in hate speech and inappropriate, alcohol-fueled behavior while being a de facto mouthpiece for conservative Catholics, he’s set himself to a high conduct standard. If he and his apology posse want to blame it on alcohol, you have to ask yourself a couple of things: Is this his usual behavior? If so, does his chosen “high-moral conduct” poisition mesh with this behavior? Does he believe these things, or is it the booze talking?
All of those questions require a big-picture view of the man. AA attendance unarguably adds to Mel’s big picture. Understanding the context of Mel’s utterances, beliefs are more important than the “rules” of someone else’s club, and the bottom line is that people should NEVER hide behind excuses like “offending” the sensitivities of wingnut bullies like Gibson.
Also: Alcholism is not a “disease”. It is horrible, it affects the lives of the alcoholic as well as family, friends and communitites–but it’s not cancer or polio. There exists no disease you can sit down and choose to give yourself unless you lick a petri dish of plague. There is no “disease” you can give to yourself by sitting down, choosing to lift a drink to your mouth and repeatedly swallowing.
If you’re an alcoholic and you’re battling it, you have my respect. But also don’t go looking for special “invalid” treatment by calling it a disease and then abusing people or groups of people and then hiding behind the anonymity of a huge international cult–AA.