And you know for certain he would have killed them if he did?
-
Ever wanted an RSS feed of all your favorite gaming news sites? Go check out our new Gaming Headlines feed! Read more about it here.
-
We have made minor adjustments to how the search bar works on ResetEra. You can read about the changes here.
Liam Neeson's real-life rape/revenge tale (See Staff Post)
- Thread starter Jeremy
- Start date
- Status
And you know for certain he would have killed them if he did?
Not even one word about how he 'changed' since then, which would be a given while recounting that story if he actually did change at all. Amazing that anyone in the public eye would just tell that story without any mea culpa over how horrifically racist his thoughts and actions were. That shit is so racist, how has he not tripped over his racism in public before?
I agree with you.
It seems like he feels bad for the thoughts he had when he was going through a dark period of his life, this is something he didn't even have to say but I'm hoping it means he's a change man from that period of his life
I'd hope any rational sane person would find it abhorrent if they heard about anyone roaming the streets looking for a black person to kill. The fact that he's a huge celebrity just means people are more likely to forgive him.
Indeed someone who was walking around for a week with a weapon for the sole purpose of killing a black person had absolutely no intension of using it?
..what. He absolutely did. He said he literally walked around town looking for black people to kill. That is an admission from the man himself. He followed through by searching for black men to murder, with a weapon in hand. Just because he wasn't successful at finding and killing doesn't mean he didn't attempt to.
That action, as many others have stated, has gotten black people killed, full stop.
People are willfully ignoring what he's saying in order to reduce what transpired as "thinking".
No, this is fucking acting.
Last edited:
Neeson is now placed on the same shelf as repentant KKK members.
Yeah, sure, he didn't attack or kill anyone, but his views were fucked up enough to have wanted to. Just because dude doesn't want to condone is past actions and outlook doesn't mean you're supposed to forgive him; accept them, accept where he is now, and then judge him accordingly.
Yeah, sure, he didn't attack or kill anyone, but his views were fucked up enough to have wanted to. Just because dude doesn't want to condone is past actions and outlook doesn't mean you're supposed to forgive him; accept them, accept where he is now, and then judge him accordingly.
I'm sure that's a rock solid defense.
Getting right up to the line and then not doing it isn't exactly admirable. It shouldn't have even crossed his mind to go out looking for an innocent person to slaughter for his own self satisfaction in the first place.
Neeson: I went out trying to find a black person to kill but couldn't find one.
Black-ERA: Wow, it's fucked up you actually tried to kill a black person.
You: How do you know that?
When you grow up in a society with virtually no black people, and every authority figure and adult lays upon you that black people are bad, and you have no exposure to them, no internet, no positive stories, that's what happens. Casual indoctrination, and you have little reason to think otherwise. If you maintain such an attitude after no longer being ignorant to your stupidity, that's another thing. Yeah, it's certainly still a massive problem with many active societies, and indeed still parts of Ireland which it really shouldn't be in this day, with the actual ability to easily educate ones self on the world which wasn't available back then.
Plus I think it's quite evident from the article he realises the depth of the racism, which is why he specifically mentions black man.
People still defending this. I guess I need to revise my previous post.
"Hey, I tried to kill a black person due to being indoctrinated into a centuries' old system of white supremacy and wasn't able to do so because I couldn't find anyone. That was shitty of me.
"We cool, black people?"
How can you infer that exactly? He didn't mention. Based on what he said you easily infer the exact opposite. How exactly does revenge begets more revenge have anything to do with going out and looking to kill an innocent black person?
When it's obvious that a poster is racist, but because they're operating in dog whistles/insincere devil's advocacy, it's impossible to call them out on it.
I think I saw this plot in a movie back in the day...
Ah. Thank you.
If you look into the history of Ireland you will find that it was/is one of the worst european countries when it comes to racism.
There has been a sytemic hateful treatment of black people in Ireland for the last 50-60 years.
So I am not that surprised that he might have been poisened by that mindset. What is surprising is that after all these years the thing he seems sorry for is the revenge part, and not the part where he was a racist piece of shit.
This would have been a opportunity for him to condemn his own racist thoughts and the way black people have been treated in Ireland for the past many years, but instead he used it to try to tell some story about not letting your feelings get the best of you.
And I can certainly understand all the black people here who dont want to forgive this mindset. And as for us white people its really not our place to forgive.
I think that's the point of him revealing this. He realized it was wrong. I'm really not sure what else you want from him, he clearly understands it was a racist impulse led on by anger that overrode logic.
Dude was prowling for more than a week. He would've gotten into a fight at bare minimum and he was armed so the fight would've led to serious damage to whoever maintained control of that weapon.
He clearly didn't move on enough if he was willing to do a full confessional during a press tour
That's not evident. He only mentions blackness insofar as it was a major element to his story. He doesn't mention anything about having deep seated racism issues. He says nothing about what he's done for the community to rectify literally seeing them as animals worth slaughtering for his own satisfaction.
The point was to tell a random anecdote related to his movie's themes. From the outset, it isn't actually a formal confession and like other posters mentioned, nothing he says actually indicates he's learned anything more than the obvious lesson of don't kill random people. I don't "want" anything from him and he shouldn't be expecting anything. Particularly not blanket forgiveness for trying to hunt innocent black people down for his own twisted reasons.
A lot of people reading redemption arcs into what he said. White people always get redemption arcs.
How progressive of you. You must have mistaken this place for a progressive forum or something.
Imagine if a black guy happened to brush up against him during this week long racist rage or looked at him "wrong."
What makes you think that every authority figure told him black people are bad? Lots of Irish Catholics felt strong kinship with African Americans in particular due to the parallels in their civil rights struggles.
At best, Liam gets his ass kicked. At worst, Liam kills a guy.
I can't say I really understand why you're putting this effort into relating to Neeson here. I don't see how your own obliviousness to racism equates to Neeson's failure to address his racism. They don't seem to be the same thing at all. If Neeson was like you, and he supposedly grew up in a place without "flagrant racism", then where did this deep rooted racism you acknowledge come from?
I don't believe that one needs to have grown up in a place with "flagrant" racism to understand why racism is a big deal. I also don't believe that a country or town that's racially homogeneous is less likely to have racist views. If anything, they're probably more likely to be racist.
Liam Neeson isn't American though. He's Irish and, yes, racism is a thing in Ireland. I mean, it's a thing in Scotland too as you just said so I still don't really understand how such an extreme account of racism could be dismissed in the thought process unless he just doesn't really care about black people.
Two points: assuming he'd go through with it.
Second point: Well, in general, yes. Unless you plan on victimising every person for life even after they are no longer ignorant and have changed their ways, thereby stoking more flames of anger instead of acknowledging their lack of ignorance and their decision to try and tell people it was wrong, and pointing that anger to people who willfully deserve it. Obviously the crux here is there a number people who believe he's sorry for the revenge and not the racism. But on the hypothetical that we say he was expressing remorse for both and you still thought the above, I can't in any conscience agree with that.
I think the point he was trying to make is he can recognise the capacity to do something cruel, irrational and hateful based on being stirred emotionally by something extreme (someone he knew being raped).
Its not like he is endorsing his past mindset or saying it was ok. Understanding aspects of behaviour, even if they are abhorrent, isn't the same as endorsing or justifying it.
Its not like he is endorsing his past mindset or saying it was ok. Understanding aspects of behaviour, even if they are abhorrent, isn't the same as endorsing or justifying it.
I hear you, but I'm trying to understand what the end goal is. Again, i've got no skin in the game so I'm just looking at this from a completely different perspective. I'm also black.
1. Are you saying, "Because he admitted to intending to kill somebody but didn't", cancel him?
2. Are you saying, "Black people have been killed for intending to kill but didn't, so similar justice should ensue? Therefore: Cancel?"
3. Also, "Just because he wasn't successful doesn't me he didn't do it". Do what? You're right, he did walk around with a weapon in his hand intending to kill black men. He didn't. Again, if he didn't do it because of a lack of opportunity or a fearful conscious, we'll NEVER know. What we do know is that he didn't kill anybody. Not then, not since.
He hasn't acted on it. Hasn't had a "Nigger" the first come out of his mouth. Hasn't low key slipped up saying some Maga shit. Hasn't actually done one damn thing (that we know of) or even had the WHIFF of racism attached to him.
In fact, the only shitty thing he's done is flaunt his white privilege because, real talk, only a white man can come out and admit to some stuff like this, be remorseful, and totally miss the fact that the other deplorable thing about this terrible affair was that he was ready to terminate black men on sight. That was his reaction. He felt powerless and wanted to exert his power over the first black motherf---cker to come with it...like most chump ass dudes do when they react.
So nah, Surefinn, I really don't know why he never followed through. It might've been straight up because there was nobody around to do it to. But someone with that kind of rage, without the ability to take it out on his perceived offender --that person would've slipped up at some point in the last decade. I'd imagine we'd be hearing some crazy stuff from Steve McQueen or the VERY outspoken Viola Davis about some sly shit about Liam, but nope. All is quiet.
I suspect that he didn't because he got some sense in him. And he regrets almost being a monster. And I wish that he would've shown more remorse about wanting to kill innocent black men, but again, that's white male privilege so I'm just thankful that he didn't try to hide this.
So, to you I ask, what's the appropriate action here?
Cancel the dude? Boycott the movies? Twitter campaign? Speak out on the board to make people more aware of....what?
He didn't do kill anybody. Didn't even rattle anyone or shake someone up. He just walked around mad as fuck about his recently raped wife to which he could do NOTHING about.
Yeah, man I'm glad that he didn't kill the first, second, third, or fourth black person he saw. Which is also kind of absurd when you think about it because if we go with the theory that there were so few black men around that he couldn't kill, then the odds are that his wife was raped by the one or two black men running around at the time.
Which sounds batty.
So yeah, more likely? He wisened up.
I'd say the same shelf as repentant KKK members who think the worst thing their organization did was burning crosses on lawns because people deserve privacy
Yeah no that's not some relatable story about knowing someone who has been hurt. If he knew who did it, I can fathom him feeling awful about going out and trying to hurt that person for what they did, and needing to get it off his chest or whatever the fuck this was.
But he's recounting this story about pre-emptively deciding to go out and hunt a black man. acting like it's something anyone would go through when someone they care about is in painy. Like...no. just fuck off with that.
But he's recounting this story about pre-emptively deciding to go out and hunt a black man. acting like it's something anyone would go through when someone they care about is in painy. Like...no. just fuck off with that.
Yeah I don't get it. He shared something deeply fucked up in his life and how he moved past it. I don't hold it against him. Then again I've had a girlfriend be raped by another person before and the rage you feel from that is hard to describe, so maybe I have a warped perspective.
Everyone talking about "He's changed, he's learned from his actions/thoughts, and already made strides to be a better person." Unfortunately in this political climate, character development only exists in fiction.
I'm pretty sure Liam Neeson is about to be the newest entry on the list.
I'm pretty sure Liam Neeson is about to be the newest entry on the list.
- Status