Yes if the attacker was northern irish he would have would up and down the start looking for a white Irish person to kill? That's what your arguing here?
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Liam Neeson Good Morning America Interview
- Thread starter mutantmagnet
- Start date
The first question that Liam asked about the rapist was his race. That and the "black bastard" comment is what makes people skeptical that he would've reacted the same way about a white dude.
I think it's clear that there was racism behind his thoughts and actions, and that he's tried to couch that in a more general anger in recent interviews.
I'm not going to applaud him, but ultimately I do feel being open about that part of his history is better than not. It reminds me of something Patrice O'Neal said - we all agree racism exists, but I've never met a racist. Like a hypochondriac being told that there is indeed a problem with your heart, it isn't a positive thing but you're glad for proof you can point to that it wasn't all in your imagination. Using isolated experiences as fuel for a racist attack isn't uncommon, but it is uncommon to see someone lay bare the disgusting irrationality of how they felt, and I think there's value in Liam Neeson offering that.
I'm not going to applaud him, but ultimately I do feel being open about that part of his history is better than not. It reminds me of something Patrice O'Neal said - we all agree racism exists, but I've never met a racist. Like a hypochondriac being told that there is indeed a problem with your heart, it isn't a positive thing but you're glad for proof you can point to that it wasn't all in your imagination. Using isolated experiences as fuel for a racist attack isn't uncommon, but it is uncommon to see someone lay bare the disgusting irrationality of how they felt, and I think there's value in Liam Neeson offering that.
The feelings he felt and the action he took prowling looking for a stir up with a black person for an excuse to do harm obviously cannot be defended. He clearly says multiple times that he eventually realized the evilness of what he was thinking/doing and stopped. I'm kinda torn on this one because obviously he's shown potential signs of being a douche with his comment during #MeToo, but I haven't heard/read definitive proof of him as he is today being a verifiable douche. While I have a negative bias towards the belief that most people can overcome their shit-for-brains and stop being a racist, are we really gonna fully cast away someone for speaking about a self-admitted terrible thing they did (that while absolutely aborrent, the only good thing is that he supposedly came to his senses and stopped before something irreversible happened)?
I guess the fact that he hasn't just clearly said in plain terms that what he thought and did was wrong and that he's sorry is a big problem that I can't determine is due to being a douche or bad communication skills. To those declaring his career is ruined need to realize that he's likely a hundred times over well off financially and as stated before is just churning movies out as a substitute for dealing with his wife's death. Asshole or not, you're not gonna get satisfaction on that front. Also, to the belief he's selfishly using this story to twist it about himself: that's kinda hard not to do now that this is a major blowup in the public's eye and everyone's asking you about it? His only choice is to explain the flawed reasoning that he was thinking at the time.
I guess the fact that he hasn't just clearly said in plain terms that what he thought and did was wrong and that he's sorry is a big problem that I can't determine is due to being a douche or bad communication skills. To those declaring his career is ruined need to realize that he's likely a hundred times over well off financially and as stated before is just churning movies out as a substitute for dealing with his wife's death. Asshole or not, you're not gonna get satisfaction on that front. Also, to the belief he's selfishly using this story to twist it about himself: that's kinda hard not to do now that this is a major blowup in the public's eye and everyone's asking you about it? His only choice is to explain the flawed reasoning that he was thinking at the time.
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One thing you won't get on this forum is people accepting that people can change. It's always if a person did X thing years ago they are always Y. Doesn't matter if you have learned from your mistakes and realise how wrong you are, you will always be what people label you here. In this day and age he was stupid to come out and say it because in this day and age there is no such thing as growth as a person and learning values in life.
Exactly right. He admits what he did was stupid. He has admitted it was wrong and he is ashamed. He has changed. Why is it so hard to accept that, forgive and move on? Why do we need to beat someone down until they are finished? I'll never understand it...
Guy had the balls at this day and age we live on where some fucking bastards spend their lives behind a PC being outraged and acting moraly superior to make them feel better and relevant Witch Hunting on Twitter to come and say this feeling he had and that he got Help and was ashamed of himself for domingo WhatsApp he dos 30 fucking years ago.
He deserves a fucking medal , if we had more talks like this , and more people admitting these feelings maibe racism would BE long gone. But no , try to end his career and Scream bitch and moan on Twitter ,that Will solve everything. Makes you feel better having people with this mindset and gang together in Your Little outrage bubble.
He deserves a fucking medal , if we had more talks like this , and more people admitting these feelings maibe racism would BE long gone. But no , try to end his career and Scream bitch and moan on Twitter ,that Will solve everything. Makes you feel better having people with this mindset and gang together in Your Little outrage bubble.
Person who wanted to kill the first black person he saw = Guy, deserves a medal
People who are disturbed at this and his poor handling of it = fucking bastards
Got it
Bruh, he's a old rich white guy, he didn't do this because he has a wellspring of courage he did this because he knew there would be zero consequences.
Motherfucker hasn't faced a consequence in 30 years and you're on here marveling at his "balls"? lmao really bro?
Yes, more people should be frank about their reflections of racism, but that discussion is necessarily going to lead to backlash. Like, if you were or are a racist, there's going to be a subset of people who aren't going to forgive you. You aren't entitled to forgiveness just because you spoke outloud your previous or current feelings.
I want an explanation for why he heard she had been raped his second question after "did you know the person who did it?" Was "what colour was he?" In Northern Ireland....in the 70s. Expecting the answer to be anything other than white is a fucking long shot at best. Dude is racist as fuck.
He was explaining a story from 40 years ago. Can you remember everything you said that far back? He admits he was wrong. He made a mistake. Is he not allowed to make a mistake? He has learnt from it and become a better person for it. Why is it that hard to understand?
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So some people are bastards sitting behind a pc.
Care to elaborate your thoughts on the remaining majority reacting to this?
Well after you come back from an obvious banworthy vacation.
He was out searching for any black person, not one with any specific features. Based on that, the only descriptor he was given was the attacker's skin color, so even if he did something else, he certainly wouldn't have roamed Ireland hoping to kill the first random white person who got in his way.
I'm not saying he would have done nothing, I'm saying he would have done nothing racist. The person you quoted in the first place wasn't looking for a reason to be upset, they were seeing through Neeson's obvious bullshit.
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Well, I'll repeat myself, just because he has publicly admitted to something abhorrent 40 years on does not mean he's entitled to forgiveness or understanding.
The question "is he not allowed to make a mistake" is pretty vapid here, of course people are allowed to make mistakes, that answer is irrelevant to the question "does he deserve forgiveness".
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Why is it hard for you to understand people are saying he learned from 1 out of 3 mistakes?
Do you understand what the three mistakes are?
Well that is where we differ. I think he deserves forgiveness and you don't. I think people can become better and i'm willing to forgive for his past sins.
Message Liam Neeson delivered:
I learned that vengeance was wrong.
Message encoded in that lesson that Neeson has not addressed and, based on successive interview, did not even know was a problem:
His reaction and subsequent actions were racist as fuck.
He has not addressed the latter. People keep ignoring this. Which isn't a surprise, since people trip over themselves to give white people accolades for growth. Like not running into a black guy and killing him is worthy of our praise.
I learned that vengeance was wrong.
Message encoded in that lesson that Neeson has not addressed and, based on successive interview, did not even know was a problem:
His reaction and subsequent actions were racist as fuck.
He has not addressed the latter. People keep ignoring this. Which isn't a surprise, since people trip over themselves to give white people accolades for growth. Like not running into a black guy and killing him is worthy of our praise.
When his retelling of the story includes it as the second thing he said that means he remembers and remembers it beingimportant to him then and yet I've heard no explanation why his head jumped immediately to race. Therefore he is clearly a racist piece of shit. How is it that hard to understand?
Absolutely people can become better, however people are entitled to an individuals forgiveness just because they improved themselves.
What I think is rather inconsequential, what the black people who are directly affected by this is much more relevant here.
We don't really have an evidence that Neeson has reflected about the racism inherent in his story, we know that he learned the "violence begets violence" lesson... but there seems to be no indication that he learned anything from the "I wanted to kill a random black guy" part of the story.
I'll give him the benefit of the doubt and assume he's exaggerating in how close he was to killing someone. There's a huge difference between thinking along those lines in an extremely emotional situation, and actually being capable of murder - even if you do go about brooding in the streets. I'll also not separate him from his context, which is Northern Ireland in the 1970s/80s. Racism and xenophobia (both conscious and subconscious) are facts of history, and in general, westerners were nowhere near as friendly towards diversity as they are now. People can (and should) be able to acknowledge their own prejudices in order to move past them.
Still, it's fucked up. The fact that he wanted to kill a "black bastard" in particular seems like an afterthought - as if it's less repugnant to him than the fact that he felt a lust for revenge in the first place. Definitely an opportunity for some self-reflection there.
Still, it's fucked up. The fact that he wanted to kill a "black bastard" in particular seems like an afterthought - as if it's less repugnant to him than the fact that he felt a lust for revenge in the first place. Definitely an opportunity for some self-reflection there.
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Maybe he WAS racist by wanting to hurt someone black, but he has said it was a mistake. He also said he isn't racist now. Or do we gloss over that because you've deemed him a racist so no matter what he says he is a racist?
The fact that he went out of his way to tell this story and didn't even realize the most problematic part was wanting to specifically lynch a black person tells me that him saying he isn't a racist doesn't mean much, because he didn't even know about the problematic part of his message.
User Banned (permanent): Trolling, antagonizing other members, dismissing concerns surrounding racism; history of severe infractions
Lol you think i AM afraid of getting banned Here ? Ir that i CARE? If i was afraid i would not enter policial threads on a site where people gather to BE outraged and shit on others to feel better about themselfs ir where you get banned if you dont post shit agreeing wih the hivemind.
There is plenty people around Here who avoid posting on general threads because they know Damnn well they Will BE banned for anything , but you go to chat discord gaming channels and you see them talking how fucking batshit insane is resetera threads and the batshit insane mentality of people around Here. They are around Here laughing they just dont post on these threads , i dont CARE.
It's easy to say "I'm not racist".
Fuck, Trump has also said "I'm not racist" y'all believe his lying ass?
u ok bby?
If he really wasn't racist now, he would've realized how fucked up the racial aspect of the story is instead of glossing over it.
Oh sorry forget it guys he says he isn't racist. Nothing to see here. He is a racist because his words which are reflective of his actions make him a racist. His consistent failure to explain why he jumped to ask which colour the rapist was is the action of a racist. Then his retelling of this story and his ignorance that this might be an issue....That's racist.
I'm not the one glossing over aspects of his story.
Well no matter what you think, at the end of the day he didn't hurt anybody BUT a women got raped... I suppose that means nothing??
No genius, its autocorrect of the phone that some Times does this and tries to correct to my main linguage. Lmao Google translate , BE more original trying to own people on the internet warrior."fufufcking PC Bastards"
Are you using google translate bro?
Wait... what?
Why are you bringing this back to the woman who was raped? Like, are we supposed to be forgiving of his racism because his friend was assaulted?
As I said earlier, re: Neeson's reaction:
He's the one that turned a loved one's rape into a story about his own personal growth.
Which isn't a surprise coming from a person who called the #metoo movement a witch hunt. But you go on and keep defending him.
Fucking hell, would you like him to cut his hands off to please you? What the hell would you like him to do? No matter what the guy says today, to you he is a racist and will ALWAYS be a racist. He made a mistake. He admitted it. He regrets his actions. Where does he need to go from here???
Acknowledging the racism would be a wonderful place to start.
"I'm not racist." Doesn't address his statements.
Take a breath, there is a middle ground between saying "I'm not racist" and "I am publicly flagellating to prove I'm not racist".
He has not shown the kind of self-reflection that would be enough for some people, that is all. Saying "wow that was bad glad I'm not racist now" is completely worthless after the fact. Where does he need to go from here? He needs to admit that part of his vengeful stalking was fueled by racism. He needs to talk about the racism of the time and reflect on what and how that has changed in him. Just saying "I'm not racist" puts him on the same playing ground as any white person who's been confronted by their own biases.
My problem and the problem many others have is that he only went half way with it. Yeah, he said what he did but he fails to address the real racism there and why it was wrong. In fact, he downplays the racism and denies it was a factor. Liam Neeson doesn't present his story as this example of real racism when he says he would've reacted the same if it was a white person.
Beyond that, the only personal growth that's been shown is that he went from actively trying to murder a random black guy to not actively trying to murder a random black guy. There has been no genuine showcase of being against racism.
He wouldn't. I got shat on in the last Liam neeson thread for telling people to calm down and give the guy a chance instead of judging him on one I'll fated interview. He had a chance to go away, reflect on what he said, look at the backlash and prepare a statement explaining the racist remark. His explanation was "I'm not racist, they could have been any race and I'd still want to kill them" instead of "I'm not racist anymore, I realise that my head jumping straight to race was a bizarre reaction butbi was a different person back then, I've grown as a person and learned not to judge people based on how they look." Or y'know something on those lines.
I was willing to give him a chance to explain his comments but he hasn't done so, he has again glossed overbit as an insignificant part of the story. If you can't understand why that makes him racist I don't know what to tell you.
Right, like the people asking, "Well what does he have to do?"
My opinion is not going to impact this man's life one iota. His response for the second interview showed me that he doesn't realize what the problem is, and any supposed change in character regarding this subject from this point would be suspect to me. That's my opinion. It doesn't impact him or anybody else except me.
Yup yup.
i dunno, from the video in the OP
Robin: "What are you hoping people will learn from you making these statements?"
Liam: "To talk, to open up, to talk about these things, we all pretend we're kind of politically correct, in this country, and its the same in my own country, you sometimes just scratch the surface and you discover this racism, and bigotry, and its there. I remember when we were shooting shindler's list in poland 26 years ago and hearing anti-sametic remarks, from drivers who were taking us to the set, thinking to myself, am i really hearing this? to me who is playing oscar shindler, and it happened on several occasions, and driving to set w'ed see swasticas painted on walls"
for me personally, and im not asking for anyone to feel the way i do, but for me Liam is opening up about his own moral failings in the past and just reiterating over and over how fucked up the entire thing was, i personally dont think its fair to be uncharitable or overly critical to him about how hes not doing it exactly in the way we would prefer
i think hes at an 85 when ppl want him at a 95
but hey, people are free to feel however they wish, and ive enjoyed reading all the different interpretations of this moment
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A bunch of people of color should create a PR firm to prepare celebrities to deal with their racial past.
First step is having the PR firm be paid to determine if a celebrity is [still] a racist. If yes, final invoice is sent. If no, the PR firm will provide a list of organizations that support people of color and suggest a sizable donation from the celebrity along with a heartfelt message that will be vetted.
Stop justifying your actions. Own up to it. Acknowledge the harm of your actions and then put your money where your mouth is.
First step is having the PR firm be paid to determine if a celebrity is [still] a racist. If yes, final invoice is sent. If no, the PR firm will provide a list of organizations that support people of color and suggest a sizable donation from the celebrity along with a heartfelt message that will be vetted.
Stop justifying your actions. Own up to it. Acknowledge the harm of your actions and then put your money where your mouth is.
He should acknowledge what he did was racist and express why it was wrong and why no one should have those thoughts or do what he did. Instead he's just denied it had anything to do with race and doubled down on the anger thing.
Even then, no one is obligated to forgive him.
Exactly. People think that someone simply admitting they did something incredibly racist and saying sorry means everyone must immediately forgive them or they're bad people, simply because that person is a white man. If that's not a prime example of white privilege I don't know what is.
To the people saying "He admitted it! He's changed, let him go!", all that translates too is "Stop talking about racism!" It's too transparent that you don't care about black people and don't want to hear about them. You just want them to shut up.
Huh i'm so offended Bro, you called me an internet warrior, my day is now ruined.
Haha you are banned- hope is perma. Don't know why people choose Liam Neeson as a hill to die for. Like really?, they can't just help themselfs.