I saw another conversation with some acquaintances on, you guessed it, Facebook, who were talking about how Mel Gibson is just a regular man who is running into some problems with his wife in their child custody battle--it's not that big of a deal. However, the problem is that what Mel Gibson is doing is a big deal. Since when is intimate partner violence (IPV) and domestic violence not a big deal? It is always a big deal.
The fact that so many are rallying to Mel Gibson's defense, including his former wife amongst others, shows that many in this country are willing to excuse abusive behavior when the said abuser is a well-known celebrity--much like rape apologists and Roman Polanski-- and don't seem to deem it as any of their business. The longer IPV is regarded as a domestic, private issue, the less important it will seem to the American public and society as a whole.
Mel Gibson needs to be held accountable for his actions. Saying the vile and disgusting things he did to his wife, such as saying that she looked like a pin heat and deserved a bat to the head amongst other things, needs to be held accountable. Who cares if he's a well-respected actor? Who cares if he's Mel Gibson? I sure don't. Abuse is abuse, plain and simple and he needs to be held accountable for his actions, hands down.
In fact, there are so many people who look up to celebrities in this country (sadly), and if someone is in such a public light they should be setting a proper example. To say that Mel Gibson's abuse of his wife is his problem that the American people should not care about says to me that some still regard the concept of abuse as private and taboo.
I understand the concept of not prying into people's lives, but sometimes prying is necessary. I challenge you to all stand with me in boycotting Mel Gibson's movies--the man needs to learn that his behaviour--his abusiveness towards his wife--is not okay and will never be okay.
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3 comments:
hmm...that is an interesting point. I feel that this case should be covered by the media in order to shed light on IPV, however, in the past-as with the media's coverage of Rihanna- I was turned off by the media's invasion into the victim's personal life-the fact that they made her a spokeswoman, that they posted and reposted the photo of her injuries without her consent.
On Larry King Live last night, they held an hour-long discussion of the accuracy of the Mel Gibson tapes-judging by sound quality, tonal differences, etc. I thought that this was SO ridiculous because it completely shifts the attention away from the (already well established) fact that Mel Gibson is a racist, sexist, abusive individual. Who cares if one of the tapes was slightly doctored-the fact remains that he said those things, and has said similar things in the past. unbelievable!
I've heard so many disturbing comments about the Gibson fiasco. Many say that all that incredibly sexist drivel he said was fine since he seemed to have lost his temper when he said it. It gives a good look into how frighteningly indifferent people are to domestic violence against women.
Yeah, I completely agree. It makes me sick. On the Today Show (yesterday I believe) there was a lot of victim blaming occurring. Doctor Nancy Snyderman was saying that his wife provoked him and "kept pushing his buttons." It seems like when we're not invading the victims' life, we're victim-blaming. Sad and disgusting.
And in this case, the fact that the Mel Gibson tapes may or may have not been tampered with has completely overshadowed the fact that's he's probably always been extremely racist, sexist, and misogynistic.
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