NO JUSTIFICATION

Apocalypto, the new Mel Gibson film, debuted on Friday in theaters. I've only heard rave reviews so far: a colorful, dramatic, albeit violent depiction of the last days of the Maya. The previews and trailers defintely drew me in, and I was fascinated by the idea of a movie where an indiginous language is spoken throughout. I would love to see this film, but I just can't justify it.

We all remember Gibson's drunken Jew-bashing episode. I don't care how much alcohol one drinks, racist diatribes can not be, should not be, excused. Gibson claims that it was the "alcohol talking", but I'm sorry, mi amigo, that was you, not the booze. Yes, my love of tequila has occasionally caused me to make errors in judgement, say things I wouldn't ordinarily say, but in the majority of those cases, many of the things I drunkenly uttered where things I had always felt or wanted to say anyway. I'm 87% sure that goes for most people. We become uninhibited while inebriated. And Gibson...well, the alcohol was just the megaphone, his words were his own.

Knowing what I know now of Mel Gibson's feelings towards Jews, I can in no way justify seeing Apocalypto, or anything else. I feel as though, in some small way, I am contributing to the continuation of the racist attitudes that are deeply ingrained in our society. If people flock to the theaters to see his movies, isn't that really just America saying it's ok, what Mel Gibson did just wasn't that big of a deal? After two to three weeks of media coverage, Gibson's outburst was pretty much forgotten. Is this what will happen with Micheal Richards? His spastic spewing of epithets at an African -American man during a stand-up comedy routine was one of the most horrifying things I've watched. Will this episode be forgotten as well?

I've been told that my "soapbox ranting" is being wasted on this issue, that I should save it for something "more important". I believe this to be terribly important: we can not, as people of color, and as human beings, accept this behavior from someone because they're a talented celebrity. Yes, both Richards and Gibson, especially, are talented in their field. But, again that is still no justification.

So my question is this: if you learned that your favorite musician was a longtime member of the Ku Klux Klan, would you continue listening to his music?