Does it seem a little strange that Mel Gibson, the man behind The Passion of the Christ, would in a drunken stupor utter anti-semitic remarks? He reportedly told his arresting officer that the Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world. This is a serious issue.

First, because The Passion of the Christ is a serious movie about the Savior that millions of people consider a faithful portrayal of the most tragic event in history. For better or worse, the movie is connected with Gibson in a way that the Scriptures are not. Second, anti-semitism is real. My own grandfather, whom I never knew, suffered in pogroms in eastern Europe. He was hung in a tree and saved by his grandmother–and had the scar for the rest of his life to prove it. We live in a world of prejudice, where ethnic diversity stirs up scorn and even hatred. Third, alcoholism is ugly. Gibson fell off the wagon. When he did, not only did this lead him to drive drunk (though this is not drawing the ire of anyone as far as I can tell) but it led him to speak atrocious words. The question remains, is Gibson’s ranting a reflection of his true belief or was he driven by the alcohol to say things he didn’t believe? In other words, did the alcohol bring out his true self? The question is not unimportant. I know someone who, when drunk, phoned up a friend and threatened to kill him. Nobody believed this person really wanted to kill my friend–he was drunk.

The powers-that-be are ready to hang Gibson out to dry. Take Maureen Dowd, columnist for the New York Times (subscription required):

Mr. Gibson appears to believe that the Jews control everything. It is an ancient anti-Semitic insult. But now that he has gotten into trouble for his bigoted views, he has thrown himself at the mercy of the object of his bigotry.

Case closed, according to Dowd, he’s a bigot. She finds it ironic that in the wake of his behavior, Gibson has turned to the Jewish community seeking help. Self-serving behavior for a man in the public eye? Perhaps. Or, perhaps his apology is genuine:

I want to apologize specifically to everyone in the Jewish community for the vitriolic and harmful words that I said to a law enforcement officer the night I was arrested . . . I’m not just asking for forgiveness. I would like to take it one step further, and meet with leaders in the Jewish community, with whom I can have a one-on-one discussion to discern the appropriate path for healing.

We don’t know the true state of Gibson’s heart but we know that his actions can prove himself not to be a bigot. Would Dowd deny him that possibility? Furthermore, at least he had the courage to come out and apologize. He owned his words as his own, regardless of the fact that he was “under the influence.” This is an honesty that is not often found in the lives of public figures today–something worth considering. As for the anti-Semitism question, this is an opportunity for the Church to be reminded that prejudice is a live issue. As Christians, we should be first in line to confront this issue head-on, and not leave it to the pundits.

Posted in Current Events |