Mel, Mel, Mel, Mel, Mel, Mel, Mel!

The Rodney King quote (or shall I say plea) "Can't we all just get along?!?" has been running through my head a lot lately.

Thank you Mel Gibson.

I'm not sure what surprises me more: Mel Gibson making a tirade against an ethnic group, or that he was drunk driving...family man and practicing Catholic that he is.

I was telling my husband tonight how I read Mel Gibson's apology, and how he said he wasn't a bigot. I know plenty of bigots who don't think they're bigots. Heck, maybe I'm one on some level. I can only say "I try NOT to be," but I realize that we all have world views in which we might say things we shouldn't or have thoughts about a certain race or class or nation that we wouldn't if we spent the time to actually meet people from those groups.

Another thing that eats at me is the allegation that this is just another piece of proof of his anti-Semite sentiments.

Personally, I don't think Mel was anti-Semitic in his making of the movie, "The Passion of the Christ" (starred in by JC himself -- James Caviezel, who went to my high school). Perhaps through the lenses of the Christian goggles I wear, I don't see it. The story is, Jesus was himself was Jewish by birth, and was killed due to the pressure of Jewish religious leadership (and its incited mob) on the Roman government. I didn't see any facts of the traditional story being misrepresented, and believe me, 18 years of Sunday School and church upbringing would have rung some bells.

But they keep bringing up how Mel has already faced controversy over being anti-Semitic due to the making of the the movie, and NOW -- boy howdy -- look at what he's spewing now.

We'll probably never know what he actually said unless the Internet does its job and produces a audio clip, and we'll probably never get the benefit of knowing what the heck triggered such a diatribe, whatever it was. I would LOVE to know exactly what was said so I could at least understand how outraged to really be. I mean, people have the right to say whatever they want -- but they also have the right to remain silent...although, he apparently lacked the ability -- as Ron White has said in his comedy routines.

But I also have the right to rail against what people say when they say stuff that stupid, whatever it was. No matter what he said, he was way out of line, as even he and his publicist know. But the reality is, I'll never look at him the same way no matter how many Yom Kippur celebrations he invites himself too.