Gibson's political viewpoints, while lauded by middle America, have been described by some liberal groups variously as "conservative" and "far right." Some gay rights groups have accused him of homophobia for his alleged conservative Catholic views of homosexuality, and for allegedly depicting homosexuals as villains (The Man without a Face, Braveheart, The Passion of the Christ).
On occasion he has spoken plainly to the press about his views. "They take it up the ass," Gibson told a Spanish publication El Pais in a January 1992 interview, referring to homosexuals as he bent over and pointed to his rear-end. "This is only for taking a s***."
His conservative political views and support of "Traditional Catholic" beliefs have led to charges of anti-Semitism by Jewish leaders, charges that increased following his making of the Gospel-based movie The Passion of the Christ. One scene in the movie, that some Jews did not like, after seeing a stolen version before its release, was the one where the Jewish crowd expressed support for the crucifixion of Christ by shouting His blood be on us and on our children! (Matthew 27:25), a verse that has been historically used to justify hatred towards Jews. Jewish leaders also did not like the various scenes which they believe portray Jews as bloodthirsty people. In response to criticism, Gibson removed the subtitle for this line, but left the line itself in the movie.
Gibson went further and placed the Jewish priests at the torture of Jesus, witnessing the torture without response. This artistic choice, illustrating their baseness, isn't in the New Testement.
Not everyone agrees that the movie is anti-Semitic. Reviewer Michael Medved, who is Jewish, commented after viewing a rough cut that "the film seemed to me so obviously free of anti-Semitic intent." Even some liberals have come out in support for Gibson, claiming that traditional Catholicism is not in itself anti-Semitic, and Gibson has no record of intolerance towards Jews or other ethnic groups. Many Evangelical Christian pastors who have seen the film have applauded Gibson's film as being faithful to the text.
Yet, it should be noted that there is no evidence that Jewish guards attempted to murder of Jesus by throwing him from a bridge. This scene in the film has no biblical precedent and many people saw it as an anti-semetic addition.
Assuming that the human race is still here and that wars famine or stray asteroids have not wiped us all out or reduced humanity trying to avoid the depredations of Mel Gibson lookalikes with hunting rifles, what will rugby be like in the not too distant future? Here is one slightly eccentric vision of the future for our sport ... Published: Tue, 03 Jun 2008 12:29:26 GMT - Source: Rugbynetwork.Net - Read the article
