Mel Gibson not a wingnut after all???

[liberaliraqvet26]

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/12052006/364/gibson-inspired-fear-mongering-bush.html

<<<Film star and director Mel Gibson has launched a scathing attack on US President George W Bush, comparing his leadership to the barbaric rulers of the Mayan civilisation in his new film Apocalypto....>>>

[Starbucks Anarchist]

1. He's a right-winger, but he's consistent.

He's anti-choice, anti-death penalty and anti-war.

[ElsewheresDaughter]

14. well I publically agree with 2 of these &.3 on a personal level...but,

I would never try to legislate/shove my personal "choice" on another.

[robbedvoter]

2. There's a backwash drain going on lately...

[Pale Blue Dot]

3. I'm beginning to think he never was a wingnut.

Or a liberal. Just a very, very savvy businessman.

He finds a way for his movies to make money. Even 3 hour epics with no star power spoken in a dead tongue.

He is PT Barnum reborn....

[cmkramer]

19. Never a rightwinger

I don't believe he was ever truly a rightwinger -- although I'm sure his personal values are conservative. But he's probably more of an anti-government "leave me the hell alone" guy like Bill Maher and Penn and Teller.

[Redstone]

4. No, he's still a wingnut.

The fact that he agrees with us on one or two issues doesn't change that.

Redstone

[graywarrior]

5. He's an actor.

A good one.

[PurityOfEssence]

8. No; he actually believes what he says he believes

The tiresome black-and-white knee-jerk reactions on this board give the typical blockheaded conservative a run for his/her money.

Just because one is a fiscal conservative doesn't mean one is a social conservative, etc., etc., etc.

Gibson is a pre-Vatican II Catholic with pretty strict beliefs along these lines, but he's not an economic thug or a racist or many other things that fall into the conservative camp.

See the movie "Conspiracy Theory" some time.

He praised Michael Moore for "Fahrenheit 911", much to the addle-headed confusion and outrage of reactionaries everywhere.

On most social issues, he's quite a liberal, and this is consistent with a lot of the traditional stances of the Catholic Church in this country. (Remember, he WAS born in the United States.)

To dismiss him as an actor is not only unfair, it's incorrect. To do so is to suggest that he's just playing the crowd for cynical gain and either doesn't truly believe in anything or is willing to lie to cover his true intents. Nothing could be further from the truth.

This guy, for all his many faults, stands up and says what he believes and doesn't shy away from most of it. He also puts his money where his mouth is; "The Passion of the Christ" was completely funded out of his own personal money, so for him to reap a HUGE windfall of profit is to his credit.

I personally hate the movie because it portrays anyone who doesn't believe in Jesus as a grotesquery, either mentally deficient, drunk, evil, greedy or just plain icky. This I find to be childish dismissal of anyone who disagrees and a form of dangerous bigotry. I also dislike the movie because it's not about anything; it's merely a travelogue of the events at the time, not addressing any reason for any of it. It's also a masochistic and sadistic bit of grand guignol spectacle. I also dislike religion, so that's a big issue. The point of the movie is that he went through such excruciating pain for us that we should fall at his feet in obedience. That's a crock. If you believe he's God Jr., then he knows he's immortal; the real agony of torture is the fear of death, crippling or disfigurement. God Jr. wouldn't have any such fears; he knows he's immortal. Big damned deal; he didn't do dick.

Nonetheless, he made the movie he wanted to, and stuck to his guns.

Yes, he's a difficult mix of beliefs, but when it comes to social and economic fair play, he's got a good heart and should be recognized for it. He's also an important player, and should be recognized as such.

[Placebo]

6. He's religiously conservative...

but I guess he just can't stomach a dictatorship when he sees one.

[tinfoilinfor2005]

7. Well, bless him and his philosophies, but why do his movies

have such a lust for torture and slaughter and bloodletting? I'm betting that this new gem about the barbaric rulers will try to beat out the suffering of William Wallace and even the Almighty. You've gotta wonder what's crawling around in this dude's mind. But as they say in Hollywood, "Let the Good Times Roll"...

[ShortnFiery]

9. No, This Rat is Smart Enough to Jump Ship Now.

We Were Soldiers? No Mel, you were NOT.

And phoning the press to give his 2 cents on "Terry Shiavo" was disgusting ... he's the same Right Wing Ultra-Conservative Catholic that he was last year, NOW he's acting to reposition himself away from The BushBotBorg.

On Edit: Mel can act though - I loved Mad Max and the sequel, Beyond Thunderdome. :-)

[APPLE314]

12. You're right.

[BrklynLiberal]

10. He is still a wingnut. Guess he decided that side of his bread did not

have enough butter, so he is trying the other side.

[regnaD kciN]

11. I think it's more the matter that...

...even the wingnuts are beginning to find Boy George too much for them.

[rman]

13. Some people will side with whichever side is winning

[bklyncowgirl]

15. Mel Gibson is a conservative Catholic

Catholics believe in the Just War theory. The Iraq War does not meet the standards for a Just War and is opposed by the Vatican.

I give the guy credit for consistency. Many Conservative Catholics tend to overlook their Church's teachings on peace and social justice.

[Totally Committed]

17. I have read in several places over the last couple of years

that he's Opus Dei. Opus Dei is the most RW of the RW Catholics.

TC

[bklyncowgirl]

18. Right wing but doctrinally pure.

They'd follow the Church's teachings on life and death issues.

[BlueManDude]

16. There's a difference between a wingnut and a Republican.

Republicans are worse.