Doesn't everybody have a racist family member who drinks too much...or is that just me?

Apparently, a lot of people are angry at Mel Gibson...and by a lot I mean a lot! Barbara Walters will never watch another thing that has anything to do with Mel Gibson. Ann Althouse thinks he is worse than O.J. Simpson. Right now, if Mel Gibson walked into any Starbucks on the planet I very much doubt he would walk out with a free cup of coffee.

But, really, how bad is what Mel did when considering he was in a drunken stupor? Isn’t he Australian and aren’t they known for putting on a really mean drunk at times? I’m not making light of what Mel said or did and I’m absolutely not defending the man (I haven’t even watched The Passion of The Christ and nor do I plan on doing so), I’m just saying that maybe we need to put a little perspective on the matter. For instance, when Mel asked one of the deputy’s, "Are you a Jew?" they never go on to say if the deputy was of Jewish faith or not. That’s important since Mel might’ve been merely trying to annoy the deputy by making fun of Jewish people during the entire time of the arrest (angry drunks enjoy doing that). As for Mr. Gibson also stating, "F-ing Jews. ..The Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world," well that is just the alcohol talking since Mel knows quite well that it was the English--not the Jews--who caused all that trouble in Scotland. He pointed out that very fact in Braveheart, a movie he directed, starred in, and won an Academy Award for Best Picture. Obviously, Mel is a bigot but only when he is totally plowed because the next day he was completely apologetic (something shared by most angry drunk bigots). If Mel had awoke the next day and called over that same deputy and said something like, "Hey, you Jew piece of s–t, I want my f-ing phone call," I would agree with all the "Mel Gibson is an anti-Semitic bastard," stuff going around the news the past couple days. But I think Mel truly tries to love and embrace all races, religions, and creeds: it’s only when he gets drunk that he yearns for a coming Apocalypse which will wipe the world clean of all Jewish people. I know it sounds bad but, really, it isn’t any more annoying than, let’s say, that friend who always likes to start fires when he’s drunk or that buddy who thinks there is nothing better than drinking too much and hitting a stranger across the head with a beer bottle. In the end, you only have three choices: force them to get help, accept that they are never going to change and live with it, or just stop hanging out with them.