Mel Gibson made an ass out of himself this weekend, first by driving while drunk, and then by reportedly spewing anti-Semitic slurs while police officers took him into custody. As he said in his apology, Gibson's remarks were despicable, and regardless of his state of sobriety, he richly deserves his embarrassment for those actions and remarks.

Some have said that his controversial film, The Passion of the Christ, should be re-evaluated in light of Gibson's alleged latent anti-Semitism. Of course, people are free to do so, although people didn't appear to be shy in reviewing the film on those terms during its release over two years ago. (My review can be found here.) Gibson invited those reconsidered evaluations with his remarks, as well as speculation on the motivation behind his upcoming work on the Holocaust.

However, some people just cannot abide the fact that even stupid people have the right to free speech. Abraham Foxman, the director of the Jewish Anti-Defamation League, wants the police to open a criminal probe into Gibson's stupid remarks:

Gibson's reported criticism of Jews, contained in a leaked police report detailing his arrest early on Friday morning, included the phrase: "F*****g Jews. The Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world."

He has since apologised for his actions, saying they were "despicable", but community Jewish leaders called for Gibson to be ostracised from Hollywood, where the A-list actor is considered an industry powerbroker.

Calling for a criminal investigation into the Oscar-winning actor and director's remarks, Abraham Foxman, the national director of the US Jewish Anti-Defamation League, said: "We believe there should be consequences to bigots and bigotry."

What crime does Foxman claim Gibson violated with these remarks? Americans have the right to say some pretty stupid things. Hell, the blogosphere proves that almost every day! We also can say some hateful things about our fellow man, and it's still not a crime.

Perhaps some might want the government to police our speech and our thoughts in order to ensure that no offensive speech can occur. Many have already tried this; Russ Feingold and John McCain have succeeded in no small measure, and many colleges and universities have enacted speech codes. However, that is a blade that cuts both ways, and those who complain about the speech of others should take care that their speech is not the next target for a powerful lobby to silence.

Foxman had our support while he expressed outrage and disgust at Gibson's drunken rant. However, he loses it when he advocates criminal penalties for merely offering an opinion. Gibson's remarks, as reported, were hateful and obnoxious -- but Foxman's are truly dangerous.

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» Mel Gibson And The Passion Of The Free Speech from The Moderate Voice
We've run a couple of pointer posts here about the spectacle of actor Mel Gibson apparently issuing forth a series of antisemitic comments when he was arrested on a DUI in that wild town of Malbu. (Oh. Reports say Gibson told the offer he "owns" it.) [Read More]

Tracked on July 30, 2006 11:53 PM

» Mel Gibson And The Passion Of The Free Speech from The Moderate Voice
We've run a couple of pointer posts here about the spectacle of actor Mel Gibson apparently issuing forth a series of antisemitic comments when he was arrested on a DUI in that wild town of Malbu. (Oh. Reports say Gibson told the offer he "owns" it.) [Read More]

Tracked on July 30, 2006 11:55 PM

» Mel Gibson And The Passion Of The Free Speech from The Moderate Voice
We've run a couple of pointer posts here about the spectacle of actor Mel Gibson apparently issuing forth a series of antisemitic comments when he was arrested on a DUI in that wild town of Malbu. (Oh. Reports say Gibson told the officer he "owns" it.)... [Read More]

Tracked on July 30, 2006 11:55 PM

» Mel Gibson And The Passion Of The Free Speech from The Moderate Voice
We've run a couple of pointer posts here about the spectacle of actor Mel Gibson apparently issuing forth a series of antisemitic comments when he was arrested on a DUI in that wild town of Malbu. (Oh. Reports say Gibson told the officer he "owns" it.)... [Read More]

Tracked on July 30, 2006 11:57 PM

» Mel Gibson And The Passion Of The Free Speech from The Moderate Voice
We've run a couple of pointer posts here about the spectacle of actor Mel Gibson apparently issuing forth a series of antisemitic comments when he was arrested on a DUI in that wild town of Malbu. (Oh. Reports say Gibson told the officer he "owns" it.)... [Read More]

Tracked on July 31, 2006 12:01 AM

» Mel Gibson And The Passion Of The Free Speech from The Moderate Voice
We've run a couple of pointer posts here about the spectacle of actor Mel Gibson apparently issuing forth a series of antisemitic comments when he was arrested on a DUI in that wild town of Malbu. (Oh. Reports say Gibson told the officer he "owns" it.)... [Read More]

Tracked on July 31, 2006 12:02 AM

» Mel Gibsons Arrest from Flopping Aces
He acted like an idiot to the arresting cops, not surprising. Most of us cops have dealt with drunks before. If he acted like this while sober I may be a bit more upset. But a drunk….believe me when I tell ya, they can be a**holes in one way or an... [Read More]

Tracked on July 31, 2006 2:50 AM

» Free Speech And Mel Gibson from Iowa Voice
As everyone by now is well aware, movie star Mel Gibson was arrested for a DUI (driving under the influence) the other day. What followed is the stuff that gossip columnists love: TMZ has four pages of the original report prepared by the arresting off [Read More]

Tracked on July 31, 2006 6:56 AM

» Insanity from Blue Crab Boulevard
Captain's Quarter's points to a truly frightening development in the uproar over Mel Gibson's drunken rant. The head of the Jewish Anti-Defamation League wants a criminal probe opened into Gibson's speech. However, some people... [Read More]

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» Transcript Reveals Target Of Mel Gibson's Inebriated Tirade Was The English from Political Satire Fake News - The Nose On Your Face
The saga of Mel Gibson's DUI arrest took an unexpected turn today when the transcript of the arresting officer's conversation with the acclaimed actor/producer was leaked to the public. I was a bit starstruck at first when I pulled him [Read More]

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"News that Mel Gibson made hateful remarks about Jews while being detained for drunk driving has revived the debate over whether his 2004 film, 'The Passion of the Christ,' was anti-Semitic," The New York Sun reports. Mel Gibson. (AP Photo/Reed... [Read More]

Tracked on July 31, 2006 8:47 AM

» The Passion Of The Souse from Hard Starboard
Still, as execrable as Gibson's slurrings were, and as much disrepute as he has brought down by association upon Catholics for it (You know Christophobic bigots will be all over this like Michael Moore on a free buffet), it is still his enemies that ... [Read More]

Tracked on July 31, 2006 8:32 PM

» Carnival of Mel from moxie
Mel has apologized in a decent way (finally) but here at the Moxtopia compound, we are conducting a scientific experiment to determine exactly how much booze it takes to make a normal person become a bigot. Sure, it's a... [Read More]

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» Carnival of Mel from moxie
Mel has apologized in a decent way (finally) but here at the Moxtopia compound, we are conducting a scientific experiment to determine exactly how much booze it takes to make a normal person become a bigot. Sure, it's a... [Read More]

Tracked on August 1, 2006 7:01 PM

» Carnival of Mel from moxie
Mel has apologized in a decent way (finally) but here at the Moxtopia compound, we are conducting a scientific experiment to determine exactly how much booze it takes to make a normal person become a bigot. Sure, it's a... [Read More]

Tracked on August 1, 2006 7:19 PM

» Carnival of Mel from moxie
Mel has apologized in a decent way (finally) but here at the Moxtopia compound, we are conducting a scientific experiment to determine exactly how much booze it takes to make a normal person become a bigot. Sure, it's a... [Read More]

Tracked on August 1, 2006 7:32 PM

» Abe Foxman calling for a "hate crime" investigation for Mel Gibson's anti-Semitic remarks? Probably not. from Respectful Insolence
I had seriously considered jumping all over this story when I first saw it early Monday morning. After all, look at the headline: Jewish groups call for hate-crime probe on Mel Gibson A more truly ominous thing to be calling... [Read More]

Tracked on August 2, 2006 7:31 AM

» Abe Foxman calling for a "hate crime" investigation for Mel Gibson's anti-Semitic remarks? Probably not. from Respectful Insolence
I had seriously considered jumping all over this story when I first saw it early Monday morning. After all, look at the headline: Jewish groups call for hate-crime probe on Mel Gibson A more truly ominous thing to be calling... [Read More]

Tracked on August 2, 2006 8:54 AM

» Abe Foxman calling for a "hate crime" investigation for Mel Gibson's anti-Semitic remarks? Probably not. from Respectful Insolence
I had seriously considered jumping all over this story when I first saw it early Monday morning. After all, look at the headline: Jewish groups call for hate-crime probe on Mel Gibson A more truly ominous thing to be calling... [Read More]

Tracked on August 2, 2006 9:20 AM