So, the other day i mentioned there were two articles i found to be mildly thought provoking on HuffingtonPost.com, and then never got around to mentioning the second...this was because i rambled on for so long regarding SYTYCD, i figured i better give it a rest and come back to POI later.
Later being now i suppose.
http://www.popeater.com/2010/07/14/whoopi-goldberg-mel-gibson-the-view/
Now, it is purely coincidence that for the 2nd time in a week i mention The View and Whoopi Goldberg. As i said, i was on HP and saw this article "Whoopi Goldberg defends herself defending Mel Gibson." I, like many of you, have an opinion on the former movie star's antics - but i figure, i dont need to be one more person adding to the noise...rather, its a curious thing Goldberg standing up for him. (I invite you to check out the link here)...
"I know Mel, and I know he's not a racist. I have had a long friendship with Mel. You can say he's being a bonehead, but I can't sit and say that he's a racist having spent time with him in my house with my kids. I don't like what he's done, make no mistake."
Vehemently heated remarks poured into Goldberg's office and let forth their own phone message tirades (come on people, pot - kettle here), to which the View star responded with her own fervid words...
"There has been a lot of hassle ... in the media recently about moi because I had the audacity to say that I had some personal time with Mel that goes over years and years and said that I did not think of him as a racist," Whoopi began on 'The View' today.
If you had actually watched the show, you would have heard us say, and you would have heard me specifically say, 'I don't condone this. I don't think this is right, I don't think this is smart. But here's the piece of information that I have. My experience tells me that this is not a racist,'" she continued.
Being a black woman, you'd think you would give me a little bit of leeway to have some feelings if I was around a racist.
You can kiss my behind!"
This whole thing got me thinking, not about Mel and his idiocy, not about Whoopi and her situations with the viewers....but about people and their relationships with others. For better or worse, Goldberg, having spent time with the man and considering him a good friend, Stood Up for his character even when it was the unpopular thing to do. (You'll notice i say character and not Behavior, because there is a distinction.) Dont we, shouldnt we all do this??? Even when our friend is being a butt-hole, if they are truly our friend, wont we rush to their side? Isn't that just instinctual? Does that make us better people or worse, I wonder??? I think also part of being a good friend is then pulling them aside and privately kicking them in the ass for shitty behavior. "WTF Man? If you EVER pull that crap again, you are on your own MF!" Well, maybe not quite so nastily, but you know, in your own softer, gentler way.
Is there a point (short of murder and the other obvious BIG no-no's) our friends can go too far? Does that mean we never really knew them at all? I think of people i would have sworn i knew their character, and then after years of friendship pulled something so shocking it was like looking at a stranger. Can we believe it was all a facade for all these years? or is their nature really that of the kind, compassionate friend that has stood by our side through thick and thin, and therefore, deserve our understanding and a free pass???
Who knows....I suppose we just follow our gut - though that's not always right, is it? What about the women who stand by their man after they continually verbally and/or physically abuse them, insisting he "doesn't mean it" and he's really "a good person"...???
I think, right or wrong i follow MY gut - trying to weigh what i know of the person vs. an act of stupidity. I dont know if that makes me a good person or not - its just how i opperate. Benefit of the doubt, trust, betrayal, loyalty, forgiveness?
Still, people always manage to surprise me, so...there you go.
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