The Forgiveness of the Mel

Mel Gibson the subject of many a personal rant.  His high profile fall from grace has been the stone on which haters and hero killers have been grinding the edge of their headsman's axes.  People are upset that he slurred the Jewish people.  Fact - he was drunk and if we start holding everyone to what they say when they're drunk, we are going to have a lot of people eating non-food items.  What nobody seems to be upset with is that he was driving!  A public menace!  But what are we worried about - a drunken insult?

But I digress.  Several celebrities have stepped up to bat for Mel.  The latest being Robert Downey, Jr. - a man whose descent into drugs cost him time in prison.  But we forgave him.  Maybe because he didn't have an ethnic high. In any case, he recently made a plea to a gathering of power players in Hollywood for forgiveness.  A rabbi from the Simon Wiesenthal Center responded that if Mel wants forgiveness he needs to ask for it himself.  Sounds common sensical, doesn't it?

But wait!  Lets talk about forgiveness.  This isn't something that the dear rabbi can give and it certainly isn't something one can demand.  Forgiveness comes from God.  Perhaps that is a crucial difference between the belief systems of the Jewish faith and Christianity.  "Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors."  Of course we've seen many Christians mess this one up as well.  I'm looking at you, Reverend Jackson.  I'm not sure where these people think they get their power to speak for God and their respective races/creeds/religions/sexual orientation/whatever.  They take offense at any perceived slight and hold the offender's public reputation hostage until they are placated.  For you and me that probably doesn't mean too much, but for Mel and other public figures, that could mean the end of their careers.  They are essentially blackballed from their professions.  Anybody remember Fatty Arbuckle?

But the purpose of forgiveness is for the forgiver as much as it is for the forgivee.  Not only does it qualify one for their own forgiveness, but it softens their hearts and cleanses them of hate.  And isn't getting rid of hate what this is all about?

My advice to the rabbi: publicly forgive Mel.  If he truly is an anti-semite (which I doubt), it will show the world who is the better man and Mel will deserve his shame.  If not, then he deserves the forgiveness that you think you can withhold.  Ultimately, however, it is God who will forgive.  I realize these are Christian tenets, but Gandhi, a Hindu, realized that an eye for eye makes the whole world blind.  (It was Gandhi, wasn't it?)  Let's heal the wounds that have plagued us for centuries, real or imaginary, and cross the divide.  Live and let live.  And let Mel be.  If we can forgive a wanted child rapist and give him an Oscar (I realize some, including the US government, have not forgiven Roman Polanski, but his victim has), why can't we forgive Mel?

Harry Skywalker

This is another previous work that was published briefly, but I like it so much that I just had to share it.  If you know your geek trivia, you will realize that the following is true.

 

For some time now the world has been enthralled with the delightful tales of J.K. Rowling and her adventures of Harry Potter.  And to be forthright, I have found myself wrapped up in their ingenuity, until I began thinking about it in the shower (where all good ideas come from), and suddenly realized that I’ve heard this story before…in a time long ago in a galaxy far, far away.  What follows is a comparison of Luke Skywalker and Harry Potter:

Harry Potter	Luke Skywalker
Syllables in name = 4	Syllables in name = 4
Name ends in “er”	Name ends in “er”
Hidden for safety with extended family	Hidden for safety with extended family
Extended family doesn’t want him to discover hidden powers.	Extended family doesn’t want him to discover hidden powers
Evil nemesis kills family.	Evil nemesis kills family (in one version of the story)
Mother gives life for child	Mother gives life for child (well, children)
Evil nemesis is once left near death.	Evil nemesis is once left near death.
Evil nemesis name begins with V = Voldemort (can I say that?)	Evil nemesis begins with V = Vader
Evil nemesis changed name	Evil nemesis changed name
Evil nemesis is master of “Dark Arts”	Evil nemesis is master of “Dark Side”
Fights with special implement that has connection to evil nemesis. (wand)	Fights with special implement that has connection to evil nemesis. (lightsaber)
Seeks training from old master (Dumbledore)	Seeks training from old master (Yoda)
Best friend = Ron	Best friend = Han
Is a flying ace with a broom.	Is a flying ace with an X-wing.
Is the subject of a prophecy.	Is the subject of a prophecy.

I’m sure I could go on, but do you really need more proof than this.  Lets face it…Harry Potter is Luke Skywalker.  "…and there is no new thing under the sun." (Ecclesiastes 1:9)

Had a shocking realization that left a scar on your forehead?  Or took your hand off?  Tell me about it in the comments.

The Souper Salad Incident

Ladies and Gentlemen, I wish to weep openly.

Today I took my sweetheart and my two little sweeties to Souper Salad.  It's kinda like Golden Corral -Lite.  All you can eat salad must have been the idea of an American with a guilty conscience about his/her caloric intake.  In any case, my sweetheart had never been there so I decided it would be a good opportunity to build her an "Ultimate Salad" (tm)*  She liked the place and for 6 bucks/person, it was a good deal.  But this isn't the cause for my aforementioned lament.

As we were eating, we were serenaded with light music from past decades.  My heart sank into deep despair when I realized the music was Led Zeppelin's "Black Dog".  Not some jazz/easy-listening/muzak version-the real thing.  I was still a babe when this was released, so it is technically old to me, but this is hard rockin' music.  I blared this music from my stereo in youthful defiance of convention as a young man in college when I had my musical awakening.  It's suggestive lyrics, electric guitars, and funky groove were a great companion to my days of wild abandon.  And to sit there chewing spinach leaves while it played unnoticed in the background broke my heart.  Was I in the wrong place?  Was the song in the wrong place?  This song would have probably caused a riot of complaints to the manager 20 years ago.  And now nobody even noticed it.

Nobody but me.  I don't weep for my lost youth.  We all pass through life at the same speed and I got the same time as everyone else to enjoy.  I spent it well.  I weep for everyone else who can't hear the music and feel the stirrings in them.  All those poor people in Souper Salad today were chewing their cuds, too busy to notice the rock anthem playing.  I hope I never lose that spark.

Maybe they were dead inside...

* Not really a Trademark.  Just my personal claim.  And if someone starts making money on the "Ultimate Salad", I want a piece of that action...