He financed, produced and distributed The Passion of the Christ by himself.  That is because Hollywood would not help him since they did not like the message of the movie.  Before the film was even completed, it was called names.  And, he was called names, too.  His dad was attacked and called names.  And all of this happened in the USA, a country we are told is free and a country for which tens of thousands of young men and women are suffering, fighting, and dying.

 

I’m talking about Mel Gibson.  A Roman Catholic.  A man who has used his God-given talents to advance the faith in countless ways, but most notably with The Passion of the Christ.  And he has suffered for his works of Faith and Love of God.  He suffers now.  You see, he is being persecuted as he has been since he started living the Faith openly and bravely.

 

We are told that he was in a Lexus automobile traveling at 87 miles per hour in a 45 mph zone.  We are told that he had been drinking and that his blood alcohol content was .12 while the legal limit was .08.  We are told that he was “increasingly belligerent”, that he refused to cooperate with the police.  We are told that he said “F*****g Jew”, “Jews start all the wars in the world”, and that he asked “Are you a Jew?”

 

Within hours of the arrest of Mel Gibson, part of the police report appeared on the net courtesy of TKZ.com, whose editor is Harvey Levin (what religion is he, we wonder).  I say part of the report because what we were allowed to have was pages 5 to 8 – all handwritten, and barely legible in most parts of the report.  Well, there are exceptions.  For instance, the blood alcohol content was clearly .12; belligerent was written repeatedly; and of course the statements involving the word “Jew” were clearly readable.

 

Now, a number of things are rather peculiar.  Aside from the speed at which Levin obtained the report, it is an unusually long report for an alleged reckless driving and operating while intoxicated.  Eight pages describing Gibson’s words and actions in detail, particularly when that detail has nothing to do with the elements of a charge of reckless driving, or operating while intoxicated.  And, of course, we don’t get to see the first 4 pages of the report.  We can only speculate what was in those pages  -- perhaps why the Deputy stopped Gibson or what the Deputy was doing before encountering Gibson or what the Deputy did to antagonize Gibson.

 

In any event, it is certain that these comments are irrelevant for charges of operating while intoxicated and reckless driving. 

 

We do have one interesting item of information.  The officer writes that after Gibson started making comments using the word “Jew,” he, the officer, noted the following:  “S/Gibson’s conduct…frightened me….”  A police officer, a hero, a man’s man, admits to being frightened by someone who is allegedly inebriated?  

 

Now, I’ve done criminal prosecution and criminal defense.  I’ve been on cases involving drunk driving and even those involving high speed chases and violent altercations.  And never have I read of a police officer who was scared by the alleged rantings of one man., much less physical altercations.  But here, Officer Mee is frightened.  How interesting.

 

And why even mention Gibson’s comments?  How are these comments even relevant to the prosecution for the alleged offenses?  These comments have nothing to do with the speed of the car nor with Gibson’s consumption of alcohol nor with how he operated his car.  Why include these statements in the report?  .   

 

What happened before Gibson supposedly made these comments?  And what was his tone when he allegedly made the comments?  Perhaps we will never know.  The audio and video tapes are under the control and protection of the charging official, Ralph Shapiro (what religion is he?). 

 

Perhaps with that discussion we can ask why this story of Gibson took center stage in the national media for so many days.  Days during which the Israeli offensive against Lebanon, and it is an offensive utilizing disproportionate force as women, children, aged, and always, the innocent, are killed by “precision munitions” as neo-con commentator Krauthammer says.  The Gibson Story eclipsed coverage of the Qana massacre where 56 innocents were killed by Israeli bombs.  The Gibson Story kept the media from centering on the Israeli breaking of a 48 hour cease fire.  The Gibson Story looked as though it was an attempt to keep sympathy for Israel at a time when the great suffering of the Lebanese people was becoming ever more apparent to the world community.  Indeed, it could be said that the Catholic Bishops of Indonesia gave voice to what many were seeing, thinking and commenting upon  --  that Israel is a war criminal state.   

 

Oh, but let’s get back to the situation at hand.  Mel Gibson supposedly driving drunk and recklessly at 2 in the morning on a weeknight.  Hmm, seems to me that people should be concerned that he would be hurt or killed, or that others would be hurt or killed.  But that is not what is really important in the minds of the media, the elites of this American society, the creators of this culture.  What counts is, well, was he anti-semitic?  Whatever that means. 

 

Mel survived and prospered despite the hatred and bigotry directed at him as a result of The Passion of the Christ.  He will survive this latest vicious, unfair assault, and he will prosper and grow rich in the love of the Lord.

 

We at Roman Catholic Report are with him, through thick and thin.