Goddamnit.
Ok, this whole Mel Gibson bullshit.
Look, the guy was drunk, he's a Catholic, and Australian.
Um....Russel Crowe?
Anyway, he got busted saying some pretty shitty things about a group of people who happen to have a fancy word to describe the racism/creedism involved in negative sentiments toward this particular group of people.
Hollywood...the bastian of political, philosophical and ethical standards has been weighing in. Rob Schneider took out a full page ad a la the McCarthy Era denouncing Mr. Gibson, proclaiming that he will NEVER work with the man EVER.
Okaaaaaaaay,
The Dixie Chix have weighed in. I don't know what they have to say as I really don't give a flying fuck about what a country group, rock groupor folk group has to goddamned say about it. I'm waiting for fucking Bono to start some political movement geared towards making the world aware of "Unfair Things Said About People Sometimes".
This whole fucking thing is just another outlet for folks to have an opportunity to look down from on high at the people who got busted saying the things that everyone else has felt in some way, shape or form at some time in their lives, and feel relieved that it wasn't them. That's where all the judgement comes from.
We judge that which we hate and fear in ourselves.
In all fairness to Mel, and I give credit to my friend mpjedi for saying it first among my circle, the fact is, that Israel has been making some waves lately. And even now, I'm choosing my words carefully as anything remotely anti-Israel immediately gets twisted into that fancy word again. It's funny. You never see a big fat fucking uprising when the Catholics are attacked for a few bad apples in the priesthood, or the Fundamentalists and the Christian Coalition and the Intelligent Design folks who are constant targets of derision and ridicule. But, the majority of them are white, so, well, it's ok, because that's the majority. So, it's ok, I guess to pick on groups that are composed of white people. Bullshit, I say!
Does anyone have any idea how many "caucasian" cultures have been oppressed or vilified??
But I digress... Israel just staged a huuuuge invasion.
Now, this, coming after I saw Munich...directed by a Jewish man...I am not as blindly forgiving of the Israelis as I once was. Just as most of the world's view of the United States has been irrevocably tarnished.
Mel was drunk, he's human, he got arrested, he got angry...maybe one of the officers had a "Jewish Last Name". I'm not saying what he said or did was right.
I'm just saying the dude has some rage, he has some issues, and he is apologizing. And I think he means it.
No man is perfect.
And all this pontificating about who will never work with whom again is just ridiculous.
And hypocritical.
It fucking reeks of Pharasitical thought.
So, enough.
Gibson's work has always been pretty noble.
Have I had some less than pure thoughts?
U-huh,
Have I been drunk and let some of them slip?
Yep.
Have I been taken to task for them?
Fuck yes.
But, I was given the opportunity to explain myself, to learn something from the person I offended, and most importantly, I was forgiven.
Can someone tell me...for serious... Jewish folk, please chime in, Catholics have "confession" wherein we confess our sins willingly and believe that God forgives us. And we are taught to forgive our neighbor. Is there a Jewish equivalent of this? I am asking this in the most sincerest of terms, lest anyone read this with the usual biting cynicism that comes with the territory around here.
Look, the guy was drunk, he's a Catholic, and Australian.
Um....Russel Crowe?
Anyway, he got busted saying some pretty shitty things about a group of people who happen to have a fancy word to describe the racism/creedism involved in negative sentiments toward this particular group of people.
Hollywood...the bastian of political, philosophical and ethical standards has been weighing in. Rob Schneider took out a full page ad a la the McCarthy Era denouncing Mr. Gibson, proclaiming that he will NEVER work with the man EVER.
Okaaaaaaaay,
The Dixie Chix have weighed in. I don't know what they have to say as I really don't give a flying fuck about what a country group, rock groupor folk group has to goddamned say about it. I'm waiting for fucking Bono to start some political movement geared towards making the world aware of "Unfair Things Said About People Sometimes".
This whole fucking thing is just another outlet for folks to have an opportunity to look down from on high at the people who got busted saying the things that everyone else has felt in some way, shape or form at some time in their lives, and feel relieved that it wasn't them. That's where all the judgement comes from.
We judge that which we hate and fear in ourselves.
In all fairness to Mel, and I give credit to my friend mpjedi for saying it first among my circle, the fact is, that Israel has been making some waves lately. And even now, I'm choosing my words carefully as anything remotely anti-Israel immediately gets twisted into that fancy word again. It's funny. You never see a big fat fucking uprising when the Catholics are attacked for a few bad apples in the priesthood, or the Fundamentalists and the Christian Coalition and the Intelligent Design folks who are constant targets of derision and ridicule. But, the majority of them are white, so, well, it's ok, because that's the majority. So, it's ok, I guess to pick on groups that are composed of white people. Bullshit, I say!
Does anyone have any idea how many "caucasian" cultures have been oppressed or vilified??
But I digress... Israel just staged a huuuuge invasion.
Now, this, coming after I saw Munich...directed by a Jewish man...I am not as blindly forgiving of the Israelis as I once was. Just as most of the world's view of the United States has been irrevocably tarnished.
Mel was drunk, he's human, he got arrested, he got angry...maybe one of the officers had a "Jewish Last Name". I'm not saying what he said or did was right.
I'm just saying the dude has some rage, he has some issues, and he is apologizing. And I think he means it.
No man is perfect.
And all this pontificating about who will never work with whom again is just ridiculous.
And hypocritical.
It fucking reeks of Pharasitical thought.
So, enough.
Gibson's work has always been pretty noble.
Have I had some less than pure thoughts?
U-huh,
Have I been drunk and let some of them slip?
Yep.
Have I been taken to task for them?
Fuck yes.
But, I was given the opportunity to explain myself, to learn something from the person I offended, and most importantly, I was forgiven.
Can someone tell me...for serious... Jewish folk, please chime in, Catholics have "confession" wherein we confess our sins willingly and believe that God forgives us. And we are taught to forgive our neighbor. Is there a Jewish equivalent of this? I am asking this in the most sincerest of terms, lest anyone read this with the usual biting cynicism that comes with the territory around here.
posted by LC Greenwood at 12:22 AM
5 Comments:
With all due respect - this entry is full of shit - Definitely unworthy of a virtual discussion, but I'd be happy to sit down and talk with you about it sometime.
It's an opinion. Nothing more, nothing less and a question that i'm asking sincerely.
There are key philosophical and doctinal differences between Judaism and Christianity...for example the existence of Hell. From what I understand, the Judaism doesn't acknowledge the existence of Hell. Christians do. The Catholics have the Sacrement of Reconciliation wherein we confess our sins, ask for forgiveness, and do penance for those sins to avoid going to hell. This forgiveness is expected of the people as well...Golden Rule and all that. I am curious to know what the Jewish process of repentance and forgiveness is. And my point was that hate breeds hate and ignorance breeds ignorance.
So, forgive me for sounding "full of shit". But I'm out here asking-seeking answers to make some sense out of a humanity right now that would just as soon punch someone in the balls as help them.
I agree. What he said was shitty. I don't think he should be cast out of Hollywood and stoned to death. We all say stupid shit - especially when we're drunk. I'd be surprised if Mel even remembers saying what he said.
Jewish Equivalent of Forgiveness –
Well there are two primary ways that would be the equivalent of confession/Forgiveness in Judaism
1) Viduy – Dying bed – Kind of like Last Rites – You know if a person is dying to ask for forgiveness, etc.—But depending on whether they are Orthodox, Conservative, or reform – There are differences around the belief of who can provide this service (Or any service really) – This would be something to discuss – for further clarity. – The person asks forgiveness and then there is a prayer, etc.
2) Then there is the annual holiday Yom Kippur which I’m sure you have heard of highlights/concludes a period of forgiveness – Where the Jewish people ask for forgiveness from God.
However the request for forgiveness is more communal (There are like 22 or something different situations/scenarios that the community asks for forgiveness) For example, let’s say the concept of wanton eyes (coveting) – As a community the request is for the community as a whole to be forgiven of this “sin” for this happening and to work on it during the course of the next. These are prayers or request as a community for forgiveness happen 6 or 7 times over the course of this period – I think.
The second part of this forgiveness relates to person to person actions that require forgiveness. Acts committed against another person. The belief is that God cannot forgive something you have done to personally hurt another human being. Only that person can forgive you.
During this transition period of forgiveness (That starts to gain momentum about a couple weeks or so ago with Tishabeb – I’ll explain a bit of that later) – It is up to the person who committed the act to approach the person they have harmed and ask forgiveness – If the person doesn’t immediately forgive, it is up to the person to approach for forgiveness up to 3 times. If they haven’t been forgiven by the person at that point, they are able to move forward as fulfilling their obligation.
Then there is another piece of forgiveness related to “Bad Mouthing” - Sinat Chinam (“Pure Hatred”) - I forgot some of the stuff that was relayed on this topic – but it was brought up in relation to Tishabeb which I think started last Thursday. And this period marks like an 8 week journey related to forgiveness that concludes with Yom Kippur. There is also something interesting about the start date of Tishabeb – There were 12 terrible things that all started on this same day on the Jewish Calendar (e.g Spanish Inquisition, Holocaust, and others – Very interesting)
This was just from a quick conversation from a knowledgeable source. I hope I transferred the primary components properly, but I may have misinterpreted. Many things I didn’t know – because I’m pretty ignorant to the whole religion thing in general.
THANK YOU! Wow. That was incredibly informative and I will be posting it as a main entry, if you don't mind.
Thanks for taking the time to do that.
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