Anyone who is even vaguely aware of Hollywood news and celebrity
gossip could not have missed the extensive drama surrounding Mel
Gibson currently. For those who are unaware, Gibson was dating Oksana
Grigorieva and the two had a daughter together about 8 months ago.
They have since split and have been involved in a bitter custody
battle. Within the last week or so, at least 4 tapes have been
released of Gibson screaming at Grigorieva, threatening her life, and
telling her she deserves every bit of violence that may come to her.
Additionally, these recordings are laced with a variety of racial
epithets. It has also come to light that Gibson at one point punched
Grigorieva, while she was holding their daughter, causing her to lose
teeth and need extensive dental work.
Everyone should agree that this verbal and physical abuse are domestic
violence and unacceptable. Also, his words while attacking Grigorieva
indicate that Gibson is very likely a racist and misogynist.
Accordingly, his actions should be widely condemned. This is made all
the more true by the fact that this is not the first time Gibson has
behaved and spoken in an absolutely deplorable manner. Many may have
forgotten that back in 2006, Gibson was stopped for drunk driving and
while being questioned proceeded on an anti-Semitic tirade. It would
seem that Hollywood had largely forgiven him for this incident.
This time, no one should be quick to forgive or explain away his
actions. The message needs to be that you can’t hit a woman. You can’t
threaten her on multiple occasions. You can’t lace these threats with
racial epithets. These are simply unacceptable actions and a person
shouldn’t be able to continue as a respected public figure after
having committed them. But unfortunately, this isn’t the message that
is being sent. It is clear that multiple studios and production
companies have projects in the works with Gibson. Rather than
condemning his actions and saying that they will not work with someone
who is an apparently despicable person, these organizations have
remained silent.
There are times when silence may be acceptable in order to not
increase the drama surrounding an event. But in this case, silence
implies acceptance of Gibson and his actions. These were not mere
verbal gaffes that can be ignored or explained away. They indicate a
history of discriminatory thoughts and behavior, as well as a history
of domestic abuse. Studios and colleagues must step forward to clearly
enunciate that they do not believe this behavior is acceptable and
that they will not support Gibson by continuing to work with him.
Anything else simply continues the disrespect and indignity Gibson
began.
Too often we allow people who have behaved in an appalling manner to
be quickly forgiven and then we forget about their actions and
continue to allow them into our homes and support them in their
endeavors. While forgiveness may have its benefits, it’s also
important to realize that sometimes this can’t really be given, and we
most certainly can’t forget a person’s actions. To do so does not
honor those people who were victims and only sends the message that
the behavior is somehow acceptable. Those who have not stepped
forward to recognize the truth and condemn Gibson’s actions are
sending precisely this message.
By Nicole E. Wise
