Liam Neeson: Rape, Revenge, and Race Relations

[bennyboy]

People don't have a problem talking about racism. It's the all-or-nothing branding that is annoying. The screechy hysteria was working for a while, but to be honest I think it's pretty much seen it's day. People have seen that compromise or sense aren't going to work, so they're much more likely to just stand up and tell people to grab their fucking man-purses and their hemp sandals and get the fuck back to Starbucks where they belong.

At worst, Neeson made a bad choice of words, or a poor judgment call. And the very unfortunate thing is that he's on the right team. This is the real death knell of the PC bullshit-- not understanding that alienating those you should be aligning with is going to marginalize you sooner rather than later. Then you'll be back to screaming into your pillow.

[GrandizerII]

It's a poor judgment call in all sorts of ways. The most important thing he should've done is he should've picked up a different inspiring story to recount instead, one that wouldn't have negatively affected a significant subgroup of people with a history of oppression and violence afflicted upon them by white people. But even with the initial damage done, he could at least have not tried to insult the intelligence of those people in the second interview by saying such things as him not being [presently] racist (even if that was so) and saying he considered height as well and not just skin color ...

[bennyboy]

It's a poor judgment call in all sorts of ways. The most important thing he should've done is he should've picked up a different inspiring story to recount instead, one that wouldn't have negatively affected a significant subgroup of people with a history of oppression and violence afflicted upon them by white people. But even with the initial damage done, he could at least have not tried to insult the intelligence of those people in the second interview by saying such things as him not being [presently] racist (even if that was so) and saying he considered height as well and not just skin color ...

Eh?

He picked the story to illustrate a fork in the road involving racism, hatred, shame, and recovery.  It's a story that we should hope more people could tell.

Why would he white-wash a story which was exactly about the things you say he shouldn't be talking about?  Then there'd have been no point telling the story. Not sure you're getting the context, here.

[GrandizerII]

It's a poor judgment call in all sorts of ways. The most important thing he should've done is he should've picked up a different inspiring story to recount instead, one that wouldn't have negatively affected a significant subgroup of people with a history of oppression and violence afflicted upon them by white people. But even with the initial damage done, he could at least have not tried to insult the intelligence of those people in the second interview by saying such things as him not being [presently] racist (even if that was so) and saying he considered height as well and not just skin color ...

Eh?

He picked the story to illustrate a fork in the road involving racism, hatred, shame, and recovery.  It's a story that we should hope more people could tell.

He didn't mention the word "race" or "racism" at all in the initial interview. His story had little to do with race and more to do with revenge, which is supposedly the focus of the movie he was promoting. There were better ways he could've made his message clear on the idea of revenge without describing to the interviewer how murderously racist he was being at the time. I mean, did he really have to say he asked his friend what color the person's skin was? At the same time, he didn't even say that the racist aspect was wrong, only that the need for revenge was wrong.

Why would he white-wash a story which was exactly about the things you say he shouldn't be talking about?  Then there'd have been no point telling the story.  Not sure you're getting the context, here.

Do you?

I've listened to the audio and have access to the transcript. It was, at best, way too awkward what he was saying. And many black people remarked that they were disturbed by what he had to say.

At best, he's a good guy whose poor judgement and lack of empathy led him to fuck up big time.

[Athene]

While Neeson reflected on the negative toll that anger/rage/vengeance took on HIM personally, he FAILED to examine or even acknowledge the jump he made from knowing that single black man was responsible  to holding ANY and ALL of them accountable....and the devastating impact that line of thinking has on people's lives; People BESIDES Liam Neeson.

So, he's seen the error of his ways in giving in to his most violent impulses. Great. Good for him. Truly.
That does not mean that he doesn't believe the racist "logic" driving them wasn't sound and that it still doesn't inform his non-violent actions and decisions. They are two separate issues.
And of yet, Neeson has been decidedly unwilling or unable to address that shoddy "logic", other than vaguely alluding that his racial prejudice was somehow POWER-WALKED away right along with his violent rage and maintaining that he CAN'T be racist just because he no longer seeks to actually KILL 'black bastards'. 

Now, if Neeson doesn't think the racist mental leaps are worthy of analyzing so long as he controls his violent urges, so be it. He is free to do so.
Others are free to conclude that he's a lousy person because of that AND to sit out watching his tired-ass, shitty movies featuring SAME FUCKING PLOT over and over again.

Hit dogs are hollering, of course, and woefully outraged that many people will reach such a conclusion because casual racists require constant reassurance that they're "good people" despite harboring profound racial prejudice with little to no self-examination and are constantly seeking to GASLIGHT folks into believing that they're the victims in order to feel better about being pieces of shit. Because unlike decent people who harbor racial prejudice and DO make a sincere to effort examine their thoughts and feelings, casual racists are only concerned with having freedom from the social consequences of being an ASS. They envision a return to a world where their bigoted behavior and racist microaggressions will go unchallenged and ignored, and they can continuously be propped up and regarded as "great" people with great minds no matter what they say or do.

Well, they're not. not really.

And I, as well as many others, refuse to entertain this DELUSION in which they're okay, and everyone else has the fucking problem. 
LOL....Hit dogs can throw tantrums, cry "Fucking SJWs!", and toss around all the insults they want. 
It matters not.

Smart, decent people are hip to the bullshit games these motherfuckers like to play and expect nothing less. And they're not going be goaded into shutting up.
It would appear that racist motherfuckers who don't like being called 'racist' are just going to have to learn to deal with that.

[bennyboy]

I can't hear your voice in text, of course, but I'd imagine it's up to about level 11 on the screechometer. It's like you read all the things I said about nitwit PC internet trolls, and chose to manifest them all in a single post.

Here's what it really is-- America is too rich, and life is too easy. If a movie actor making a comment about his feelings and ideas at a moment 40 years ago (and which he didn't act on) can tilt you into this level of frothing hysteria, either you enjoy the experience of frothing hysteria, or you have too little to do in RL.

---

He didn't mention the word "race" or "racism" at all in the initial interview. His story had little to do with race and more to do with revenge, which is supposedly the focus of the movie he was promoting. There were better ways he could've made his message clear on the idea of revenge without describing to the interviewer how murderously racist he was being at the time. I mean, did he really have to say he asked his friend what color the person's skin was? At the same time, he didn't even say that the racist aspect was wrong, only that the need for revenge was wrong.

I don't know what to say. It's like people don't speak English any more, or don't want to understand what people are saying.

The guy mentioned that he generalized his rage at one black person to all black people. And then that he was disturbed by his feelings-- in other words, that generalizing anger toward an individual wrongdoer to a race upset him: he didn't like where his emotions had taken him, and he wasn't talking about Disneyland.

[Athene]

I can't hear your voice in text, of course, but I'd imagine it's up to about level 11 on the screechometer.  It's like you read all the things I said about nitwit PC internet trolls, and chose to manifest them all in a single post.  

Ah...bennyboy. Too much of closeted milksop to actually quote me and alert me to his whiny insults.
And sticking with the same old gaslightighting script, as usual.

So predictable.

[GrandizerII]

I can't hear your voice in text, of course, but I'd imagine it's up to about level 11 on the screechometer.  It's like you read all the things I said about nitwit PC internet trolls, and chose to manifest them all in a single post.  

Here's what it really is-- America is too rich, and life is too easy.  If a movie actor making a comment about his feelings and ideas at a moment 40 years ago (and which he didn't act on) can tilt you into this level of frothing hysteria, either you enjoy the experience of frothing hysteria, or you have too little to do in RL.

The sad part is you probably can't see how this response of yours towards Thena could be seen as sexist (and racist as well depending on what you know about her).

He didn't mention the word "race" or "racism" at all in the initial interview. His story had little to do with race and more to do with revenge, which is supposedly the focus of the movie he was promoting. There were better ways he could've made his message clear on the idea of revenge without describing to the interviewer how murderously racist he was being at the time. I mean, did he really have to say he asked his friend what color the person's skin was? At the same time, he didn't even say that the racist aspect was wrong, only that the need for revenge was wrong.

I don't know what to say.  It's like people don't speak English any more, or don't want to understand what people are saying.

The guy mentioned that he generalized his rage at one black person to all black people.  And then that he was disturbed by his feelings-- in other words, that generalizing anger toward an individual wrongdoer to a race upset him: he didn't like where his emotions had taken him, and he wasn't talking about Disneyland.

Yeah, you still don't get it. He was disturbed by the need for revenge by raging on random people. Not once in the initial interview did he show that he was bothered by the racist aspect of it. In fact, he didn't seem to realize that racist aspect until people made that clear to him after the interview. And that's when he tried to rectify that in the clarification interview, and failed to do so.

[bennyboy]

I can't hear your voice in text, of course, but I'd imagine it's up to about level 11 on the screechometer.  It's like you read all the things I said about nitwit PC internet trolls, and chose to manifest them all in a single post.  

Ah...bennyboy. Too much of closeted milksop to actually quote me and alert me to his whiny insults.
And sticking with the same old gaslightighting script, as usual.

?

I responded directly to you.  I would think that should be sufficient.  Would you like me to send you a special telegram next time, your Highness?

And if you don't want to be called screechy, screech less.

---

Yeah, you still don't get it. He was disturbed by the need for revenge by raging on random people. Not once in the initial interview did he show that he was bothered by the racist aspect of it. In fact, he didn't seem to realize that racist aspect until people made that clear to him after the interview. And that's when he tried to rectify that in the clarification interview, and failed to do so.

Nobody is denying that his feelings and actions 40 years ago were clearly racist. And I don't think any sensible person would think you'd need to say that's what he was describing.

But to go from "someone had racist thoughts and ideas 40 years ago, and they mentioned them today" to "Liam Neeson is a fucking racist, and his career needs to end, and anybody who thinks otherwise is a white supremacist" is an oppressive response.

[Athene]

Ah...bennyboy. Too much of closeted milksop to actually quote me and alert me to his whiny insults.
And sticking with the same old gaslightighting script, as usual.

?

I responded directly to you.  I would think that should be sufficient.  Would you like me to send you a special telegram next time, your Highness?

You respond directly to be members' posts by QUOTING them, Benny.
No one KNOWS that you replied to them unless they stay parked in the thread or happen upon your response at a later time.