Liam Neeson

thegreatdivide

Chris Bass wrote:

i think the argument that he wasn't thinking rationally falls apart by the fact he walked around for a whole week looking for someone to kill. That isn't a heat of the moment action, if he'd gone out straight away and then that was it maybe but not for a whole week.

Yeah, anger/grief is a bit like a 24hr bug.

chris_bass

thegreatdivide wrote:

Chris Bass wrote:

i think the argument that he wasn't thinking rationally falls apart by the fact he walked around for a whole week looking for someone to kill. That isn't a heat of the moment action, if he'd gone out straight away and then that was it maybe but not for a whole week.

Yeah, anger/grief is a bit like a 24hr bug.

that isn't what i'm saying!

surely at some point he would have calmed down and thought about what he was doing and yet still continued to want to kill any black man

ayjaycee

Of course, there is also the possibility that he is talking ballocks in an attempt to get publicity for his new sh1t film which is his latest in a long line of sh1t films. If that is the case, mission accomplished.

thegreatdivide

Chris Bass wrote:

thegreatdivide wrote:

Chris Bass wrote:

i think the argument that he wasn't thinking rationally falls apart by the fact he walked around for a whole week looking for someone to kill. That isn't a heat of the moment action, if he'd gone out straight away and then that was it maybe but not for a whole week.

Yeah, anger/grief is a bit like a 24hr bug.

that isn't what i'm saying!

surely at some point he would have calmed down and thought about what he was doing and yet still continued to want to kill any black man

No, he clamed down, was shocked at his behaviour and told himself to get a grip. As per the actual interview.

chris_bass

thegreatdivide wrote:

Chris Bass wrote:

thegreatdivide wrote:

Chris Bass wrote:

i think the argument that he wasn't thinking rationally falls apart by the fact he walked around for a whole week looking for someone to kill. That isn't a heat of the moment action, if he'd gone out straight away and then that was it maybe but not for a whole week.

Yeah, anger/grief is a bit like a 24hr bug.

that isn't what i'm saying!

surely at some point he would have calmed down and thought about what he was doing and yet still continued to want to kill any black man

No, he clamed down, was shocked at his behaviour and told himself to get a grip. As per the actual interview.

after a week! maybe i deal with anger/emotion and stress different to most but i know i wouldn't have been thinking irrationally for that long.

Pross

Chris Bass wrote:

thegreatdivide wrote:

Chris Bass wrote:

thegreatdivide wrote:

Chris Bass wrote:

i think the argument that he wasn't thinking rationally falls apart by the fact he walked around for a whole week looking for someone to kill. That isn't a heat of the moment action, if he'd gone out straight away and then that was it maybe but not for a whole week.

Yeah, anger/grief is a bit like a 24hr bug.

that isn't what i'm saying!

surely at some point he would have calmed down and thought about what he was doing and yet still continued to want to kill any black man

No, he clamed down, was shocked at his behaviour and told himself to get a grip. As per the actual interview.

after a week! maybe i deal with anger/emotion and stress different to most but i know i wouldn't have been thinking irrationally for that long.

Unless you've been in the same situation, in which case you have my sympathy, I really can't see how you know how you would behave.

imposter2.0

Tyresome wrote:

His comments were in answer to a question about how he gets into character for a particular role, not ( directly ) about his friend being raped. It’s all been blown out of proportion, by a sensationalist media, looking for revenue, and not thinking about the damage they’re probably going to end up doing ( as per usual).

Bollox as usual. If that were even remotely true, you'd think Neeson might have mentioned it during his attempts to walk back his comments earlier. His answer had nothing to do with 'getting into character' - which (for anyone else apart from you) would be an absurd excuse.

bompington

Additional factor at play here - you have to remember that he lives in la-la land, pretty much literally: it's not hard to see that most Hollywood types have a pretty different view on reality from the rest of us. It wouldn't surprise me to learn that "getting into a role" carries as much weight to an actor as anything that happens in the real world.

morstar

Ignoring the rights and wrongs / wisdom of sharing darker secrets from your past....
Is it not possible to have been racist in younger days and later realise the error of your ways?
I consider myself a pretty clean living person of quite demanding ethics but can sure as hell list many thoughts and actions I am not proud of.

DeVlaeminck

morstar wrote:

Ignoring the rights and wrongs / wisdom of sharing darker secrets from your past....
Is it not possible to have been racist in younger days and later realise the error of your ways?
I consider myself a pretty clean living person of quite demanding ethics but can sure as hell list many thoughts and actions I am not proud of.

Such as?

morstar

DeVlaeminck wrote:

morstar wrote:

Ignoring the rights and wrongs / wisdom of sharing darker secrets from your past....
Is it not possible to have been racist in younger days and later realise the error of your ways?
I consider myself a pretty clean living person of quite demanding ethics but can sure as hell list many thoughts and actions I am not proud of.

Such as?

On second thoughts...

I am a bastion of virtue. Nothing to see here!

pinno

Not long before my 9th birthday, we were involved in an armed robbery by a gang of 10 black men. We had to fight our way out.
My mother, my 16 year old sister and my 18 year old brother were there. It is an event that has never left me. Never mind a week.
Did I view black people as potential perpetrators? No, definitely not. At the time, did I hate the men that actually did it? Yes. definitely.

People are naive if they think the effect of such trauma is easy to overcome or that your thoughts after such and event are going to be rational.

https://news.sky.com/story/john-barnes- ... n-11628709

The thing Leeson do wrong was to air those thoughts.

morstar

So having now seen all the reporting and hearing the interview; my question isn't whether he's a racist or not. More that having acknowledged in himself how extreme and irrational those feeling were, why has he made a career out of glamourising the theme of revenge?

pinno

morstar wrote:

So having now seen all the reporting and hearing the interview; my question isn't whether he's a racist or not. More that having acknowledged in himself how extreme and irrational those feeling were, why has he made a career out of glamourising the theme of revenge?

That's a good point.

Or... redemption?

rjsterry

Pinno wrote:

Not long before my 9th birthday, we were involved in an armed robbery by a gang of 10 black men. We had to fight our way out.
My mother, my 16 year old sister and my 18 year old brother were there. It is an event that has never left me. Never mind a week.
Did I view black people as potential perpetrators? No, definitely not. At the time, did I hate the men that actually did it? Yes. definitely.

People are naive if they think the effect of such trauma is easy to overcome or that your thoughts after such and event are going to be rational.

https://news.sky.com/story/john-barnes- ... n-11628709

The thing Leeson do wrong was to air those thoughts.

I dunno. I think most people have this in them; it's just a question of how deeply buried. The more people are honest about this sort of thing, the less people will pretend that racism (or any other prejudice) is something only 'bad' people do. Maybe he could have expressed himself more clearly or chosen a better opportunity but people do have some responsibility to read the whole interview.

pinno

rjsterry wrote:

Pinno wrote:

Not long before my 9th birthday, we were involved in an armed robbery by a gang of 10 black men. We had to fight our way out.
My mother, my 16 year old sister and my 18 year old brother were there. It is an event that has never left me. Never mind a week.
Did I view black people as potential perpetrators? No, definitely not. At the time, did I hate the men that actually did it? Yes. definitely.

People are naive if they think the effect of such trauma is easy to overcome or that your thoughts after such and event are going to be rational.

https://news.sky.com/story/john-barnes- ... n-11628709

The thing Leeson do wrong was to air those thoughts.

I dunno. I think most people have this in them; it's just a question of how deeply buried. The more people are honest about this sort of thing, the less people will pretend that racism (or any other prejudice) is something only 'bad' people do. Maybe he could have expressed himself more clearly or chosen a better opportunity but people do have some responsibility to read the whole interview.

His most recent live follow up interview on US TV, is unequivocal.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zb8KEpkCdRo

tangled_metal

Pinno wrote:

morstar wrote:

So having now seen all the reporting and hearing the interview; my question isn't whether he's a racist or not. More that having acknowledged in himself how extreme and irrational those feeling were, why has he made a career out of glamourising the theme of revenge?

That's a good point.

Or... redemption?

Because those are the only type of films he's good for?

pinno

Tangled Metal wrote:

Pinno wrote:

morstar wrote:

So having now seen all the reporting and hearing the interview; my question isn't whether he's a racist or not. More that having acknowledged in himself how extreme and irrational those feeling were, why has he made a career out of glamourising the theme of revenge?

That's a good point.

Or... redemption?

Because those are the only type of films he's good for?

Okay - calm down. Yes, most of his films are shyte. Few are disagreeing with you. No one is forcing you to watch them. What's your point?

tangled_metal

Pinno wrote:

Tangled Metal wrote:

Pinno wrote:

morstar wrote:

So having now seen all the reporting and hearing the interview; my question isn't whether he's a racist or not. More that having acknowledged in himself how extreme and irrational those feeling were, why has he made a career out of glamourising the theme of revenge?

That's a good point.

Or... redemption?

Because those are the only type of films he's good for?

Okay - calm down. Yes, most of his films are shyte. Few are disagreeing with you. No one is forcing you to watch them. What's your point?

I'm very calm. I also quite like some of his films. They make good time waster films when you don't want to think about anything. Just let the film run.

pinno

I'm glad you are calm.
After all, I wouldn't want you roaming the streets looking for trouble.

robert88

My understanding is that primates are unparalleled in the animal world in behaving as Neesom describes. It is our primal reaction and is why we can and do wage wars. Ferocious wars of nightmarish but increasingly sophisticated savagery.

Ben6899

morstar wrote:

Ignoring the rights and wrongs / wisdom of sharing darker secrets from your past....
Is it not possible to have been racist in younger days and later realise the error of your ways?
I consider myself a pretty clean living person of quite demanding ethics but can sure as hell list many thoughts and actions I am not proud of.

This.

Ben6899

morstar wrote:

... why has he made a career out of glamourising the theme of revenge?

$$$

People love it when the bad guy gets a good hiding.

rjsterry

Ben6899 wrote:

morstar wrote:

... why has he made a career out of glamourising the theme of revenge?

$$$

People love it when the bad guy gets a good hiding.

Yes, they do, but that predates cinema by millenia - look at the Illiad. I think stories fulfil a useful function in living out our more destructive urges in a relatively safe way.

ballysmate

Surrey Commuter wrote:

HaydenM wrote:

If people were able to admit they were wrong more freely without being publicly crucified things would be a lot better, politics for one...

At the same time, just reading his comments he would have been better just to shut up and not say anything. I have no idea what I would have done in his situation though, it's easy to judge

say your friend had been attacked by a man wearing glasses, would you have tooled up with the intention of sparking a violent confrontation with anybody wearing glasses?

Only if they were black.

tangled_metal

Pinno wrote:

I'm glad you are calm.
After all, I wouldn't want you roaming the streets looking for trouble.

Positively zen like.

I put away my cosh decades ago too. I realised it was wrong and please watch my violent film. Failing that just talk about me. It inflates my ego don't you know.

Seriously though, why is this such a big story? Can't we just move on and let his film go to dvd/streaming sites/free view TV on regular repeat like the rest of his films?

robert88

rjsterry wrote:

Ben6899 wrote:

morstar wrote:

... why has he made a career out of glamourising the theme of revenge?

$$$

People love it when the bad guy gets a good hiding.

Yes, they do, but that predates cinema by millenia - look at the Illiad. I think stories fulfil a useful function in living out our more destructive urges in a relatively safe way.

It's irritating and stupid. I have been to watch Neeson films, some better than others, none outstanding, and not given them a lot of thought.

Now of course he has set himself up as being some sort of rallying point for all sorts of cr4p. His problem is that he's a one-trick pony getting too old for the circus he stars in.

DeVlaeminck

Tangled Metal wrote:

Pinno wrote:

I'm glad you are calm.
After all, I wouldn't want you roaming the streets looking for trouble.

Positively zen like.

I put away my cosh decades ago too. I realised it was wrong and please watch my violent film. Failing that just talk about me. It inflates my ego don't you know.

Seriously though, why is this such a big story? Can't we just move on and let his film go to dvd/streaming sites/free view TV on regular repeat like the rest of his films?

Yes the real story isn't what he says he did but the reaction to it.

rjsterry

Robert88 wrote:

rjsterry wrote:

Ben6899 wrote:

morstar wrote:

... why has he made a career out of glamourising the theme of revenge?

$$$

People love it when the bad guy gets a good hiding.

Yes, they do, but that predates cinema by millenia - look at the Illiad. I think stories fulfil a useful function in living out our more destructive urges in a relatively safe way.

It's irritating and stupid. I have been to watch Neeson films, some better than others, none outstanding, and not given them a lot of thought.

Now of course he has set himself up as being some sort of rallying point for all sorts of cr4p. His problem is that he's a one-trick pony getting too old for the circus he stars in.

Nonsense! Taken 3 compares very favourably with the Homer's epics.

bianchimoon

rjsterry wrote:

Robert88 wrote:

rjsterry wrote:

Ben6899 wrote:

morstar wrote:

... why has he made a career out of glamourising the theme of revenge?

$$$

People love it when the bad guy gets a good hiding.

Yes, they do, but that predates cinema by millenia - look at the Illiad. I think stories fulfil a useful function in living out our more destructive urges in a relatively safe way.

It's irritating and stupid. I have been to watch Neeson films, some better than others, none outstanding, and not given them a lot of thought.

Now of course he has set himself up as being some sort of rallying point for all sorts of cr4p. His problem is that he's a one-trick pony getting too old for the circus he stars in.

Nonsense! Taken 3 compares very favourably with the Homer's epics.

Taken 1...shame on you, Taken 2...shame on me, Taken 3... u avin a larf, (GW Bush 2011)