Tua Culpa

I know that there is something satisfying in the arrest of Mel Gibson and his subsequent revelations of the real him (he owns all of Malibu, he looks like Saddam Hussein, he is anti-semitic, he's poisoning himself with alcohol, he can't stand his life after all), but I am not going to be the one to tell Hollywood to have nothing to do with him. In the first place, Hollywood wouldn't listen to me, so why bother?

I do want to thank Mel for showing George W. Bush something, which is how to apologize. When I went to the TMZ site and read the article about Mel, I didn't, given the prevailing cultural mood, expect an apology, but there it was, all the way at the end, and it was pretty remorseful and pretty eloquent. Now, I know enough to know that chances are Mel didn't pen his own apology; a PR person did that. But unlike GWB, Mel knew, and he knew within twenty-four hours, that an apology was in order! This could be a turning point in the zeitgeist, and I am holding out hope for that.

At the same time, Mel didn't apologize for what he actually did. His apology wasn't specific. He didn't say, "Yes, you were right about my movies, I am anti-semitic, and I meant what I said in The Passion of the Christ, and my secret ambition was to inflame anti-semitism in right wing Christians around the world, and for that I am truly sorry." In that way, his apology was typical of drunks' apologies that I have known. He felt remorse, but he didn't actually want to detail the specifics of his crimes. So, Mel, not good enough.

Should the Moguls of Tinseltown hand over to me the Penance of King Mel, I will be happy to exact it, and it shouldn't cost anyone anything (except Mel, that is. It should cost him is pride, to begin with). If Mel were truly Twelve-Stepping, then he would be inventorying his faults and failures, and I would have him inventory them on national television. I would have him acknowledge that he has been a lying arrogant bastard, secretly intent upon inflaming ethnic hatreds and fanatical prejudices. I would have him allow as to how he is a rich ignorant boob and no model for anyone, Christian or not. I would have him admit that he is not Jesus Christ and has no idea what the real meaning of the life of Jesus Christ is. After that, who knows? I would let Hollywood handle it. I think the penance I would exact would be good for Mel and good for the nation. And then they would hand me George W. Bush. That would be a good thing.