Mel Gibson

The last few mornings driving to work, WEEI has been playing snippets of Mel Gibson's angry phone calls with Oksana Grigorieva, his former girlfriend and mother of his child.

It's pretty vile and unpleasant.

And while I'm sure the radio hosts are playing it because most of their audience enjoys hearing it, I have to say I'm not one of them.

This morning, I turned it off.

It's a lousy way to start the day, listening to angry conflict. Especially something that's personal and leaked to the media.

Does it change my opinion of Gibson? Yeah, of course. He sounds like a raving lunatic.

But do I want to listen to this on a beautiful summer morning?

Not really.

I'd rather listen to music.

Comments

[Jenna]

I agree. Somehow, it just feels icky.

[IRG]

"It's pretty vile and unpleasant."

To say the least. And unfortunately, it's that and worse that so many women hear and go thru every day.

Mel Gibson is just putting a face to the abuse that exists in this world. Abuse that many refuse to believe or help or do anything about.

Uncomfortable? For sure. Luckily, you can just turn off the radio and forget it.

For women in real life (noncelebs) exposed to abuse, there is often no safe way to "turn off" and escape this kind of abuse.

It would be far better if the media actually provided some information and resources for women who are in this situation rather than just going the sensationalist route. it's a teaching moment, and one of the lessons is that anyone is capable of such behavior (including so-called "religious" folks like Mel, who always made a big deal about his religion. TOo bad he abandoned its principals.)

This is not about celebs gone wild, but about unacceptable behavior (and yes, a woman is capable of the same but if the stats are to be believed, it's the men doing most of this kind of verbal and physical abuse). And the need to address this behavior so that people are safe and protected.

[Dan]

Jenna - agreed.

IRG - thanks for the thoughtful comment. You are exactly right.