Wednesday, August 02, 2006

 

Apology Made, Apology Accepted



Mel Gibson issued the following apology regarding anti-Semitic remarks he apparently did make during his DUI arrest. I found it at the American Papist, and I'm reposting the whole thing here:

"There is no excuse, nor should there be any tolerance, for anyone who thinks or expresses any kind of anti-Semitic remark. 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 on a DUI charge.
I am a public person, and when I say something, either articulated and thought out, or blurted out in a moment of insanity, my words carry weight in the public arena. As a result, I must assume personal responsibility for my words and apologize directly to those who have been hurt and offended by those words.

The tenets of what I profess to believe necessitate that I exercise charity and tolerance as a way of life. Every human being is God's child, and if I wish to honor my God I have to honor his children. But please know from my heart that I am not an anti-Semite. I am not a bigot. Hatred of any kind goes against my faith.

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.

I have begun an ongoing program of recovery and what I am now realizing is that I cannot do it alone. I am in the process of understanding where those vicious words came from during that drunken display, and I am asking the Jewish community, whom I have personally offended, to help me on my journey through recovery.

Again, I am reaching out to the Jewish community for its help. I know there will be many in that community who will want nothing to do with me, and that would be understandable. But I pray that that door is not forever closed.

This is not about a film. Nor is it about artistic license. This is about real life and recognizing the consequences hurtful words can have. It's about existing in harmony in a world that seems to have gone mad."


How has the Jewish Anti-Defamation League responded? They've accepted the apology. ADL director Abraham Foxman says:

"This is the apology we had sought and requested. We are glad that Mel Gibson has finally owned up to the fact that he made anti-Semitic remarks, and his apology sounds sincere. We welcome his efforts to repair the damage he has caused, to reach out to the Jewish community, and to seek help. Once he completes his rehabilitation for alcohol abuse, we will be ready and willing to help him with his second rehabilitation to combat this disease of prejudice."


Now if only all the secularists, Christian haters and self-righteous hypocrites in the world would accept his apology as well we'd really have... well, ya know, on second thought, screw those people.


Comments:
I think it's pretty amazing these days that he made a heartfelt apology. The current climate of the world is that when one transgresses, never apologize - just dig your heels in and justify yourself, even if it means attacking those you've already offended.

Hooray Mel Gibson for modelling the proper personal response to one's own transgressions. And hooray to the ADL for modelling forgiveness.
 
Jerry: Hooray Mel Gibson for modelling the proper personal response to one's own transgressions. And hooray to the ADL for modelling forgiveness.

Ditto. This is the way it's supposed to work!
 
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