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Liam Neeson Good Morning America Interview
- Thread starter mutantmagnet
- Start date
Right, that part I give no leeway. No matter how angry I was, race wouldn't even really enter into my head.
That said, I also feel like if we want to get rid of racism, we have to allow people to in fact get of it. As far as I know Liam has.
I guarantee I wasn't, doesn't matter we came to an understanding.
This btw is totally wrong:
We don't need former racists parading their former hatred around (especially the ones we didn't know were once racist) letting everyone know they used to hate black people and in this case wanted to kill them , same for misogynists, or former incels or whatever.
There's actually little gained in this performative nonsense, Liam Neeson isn't making it a better world for Black folk, he's exposing them to his former hatred, spreading trauma and then focusing the narrative on forgiving him.
That's not constructive it's bullshit.
Keep that garbage to yourself and do real work, not this crap
That feels like around about "Everyone is a little racist", and Liam acted on those racist feelings. Why are people skipping over that?
Because this isn't about racism it's about forgiving the white man.
Guess Trayvon should've waited a week to give Zimmerman time to grow.
I'd be genuinely surprised if Neeson currently even gave a shit about BLM or any sort of minority civil rights effort. Is he truly interested in equality or lifting up black voices and communities after his revelatory experience? Or is he just satisfied to say he's not a bigot because the one time he had an opportunity to kill an innocent black person, he changed his mind?
Also this "fear of opening up" stuff is nonsense. People who are bigoted should open up about their bigoted actions. People in the KKK should renounce the organization. People who are sexual abusers should come clean about their harmful actions. But they aren't entitled to being placated the people they targeted and disenfranchised and they shouldn't look for absolution from those groups. Anyone who sees this story and stays quiet about their own bigotry because they fear a "backlash" is just a coward. You don't make the difficult decision to open up because you expect a positive response. You should be opening up for yourself and society at large. People will forget and forgive if they see you're making a genuine effort beyond just spilling the beans about some incident.
And even that's not what happened, he was out prowling and lucky for Black folk in ireland he never came across a Black person before he was talked out of it by the victim in question.
If he'd have come across a Black person in that time he'd have tried to kill him.
And he was doing it as a wacky tangent during press for his new movie.
It is better to be thought of as a crazy spree killer then admit to being racist.
Thank about that
Yeah its more accurate to say "he missed" rather than he "changed his mind"
I reckon he made up a story out of thin air that he thought would chime in with the themes of the film, and it has backfired BADLY. So many questions, including : Wait... He claims he walked around black areas of a city looking to fight a black person, but couldn't find any black people? What? Is he bad at identifying black people? Were they all so shit scared of Liam that they all hid?
Also: Why is the first question he had for the victim "What colour were they?"
If he made this up, he's going to look like an idiot going back on it. If he didn't, then I don't know how he expected people to relate to this. Yes, we all have our prejudices, sadly it is part of human nature, but how did he think this admission would go?
Also: Why is the first question he had for the victim "What colour were they?"
If he made this up, he's going to look like an idiot going back on it. If he didn't, then I don't know how he expected people to relate to this. Yes, we all have our prejudices, sadly it is part of human nature, but how did he think this admission would go?
Seeing that people used to have racist tendencies talk about how they used to hate people that look like me has the primary purpose of making white people feel better about how far we've come.
You think what he said is so unbelievable he'd make it up?
Yup.
The way these narratives go it fundamentally tries to reframe racism as a thing of the past.
Completely forgot about that Smollett take. I hope people are glad that they now have their proof that minorities aren't bullshitting when we say that we live lives that are inherently unsafe due to the existence of white supremacy. Neeson is the type of man who exists all over the world. Roaming around and looking for any reason to act on their prejudices against black and brown people, whether that's mentally, emotionally and/or physically. People should have known this back during Trayvon Martin and they should know it now.
Because he doesn't think he's racist and told the story to make himself sound cool.
He thought he was talking about a moment of huge personal growth.
Which, like so many other things, just makes this story worse.
That's presumptive. Liam isn't exactly asking for forgiveness in any way at this point. I don't think he SHOULD ask for forgiveness either. Note: I don't think he should ask for forgiveness because it's egotistical to ask such a thing.
Also, there are people rightfully telling him to fuck off, but those people are not his agents, co-stars, family, etc... IE anyone who personally matters to him. He's not going to get harassed off twitter because he doesn't do business or participate much in Twitter. He will continue to get questions about the incident but they're going to be more sympathetic questions, because that's celebrity culture.
Liam will not care about anyone who doesn't forgive and forget.
Most people will forget about this whole thing in a couple weeks.
Yeah, "crucified". Most people on social media are pretending he gave this big empowering speech about how racists can grow and change to not be racist like he did, when he actually told a story about the time he tried to kill a black guy like the badass taken man he is, then denied that it had anything to do with race.
No no no. He said "I'm not a racist" in this interview. There you have it!
Most of this thread hasn't been constructive and certainly not a discussion.
No one really sounds solution oriented and obviously there is no immediate solution to racism or the chasm between perspectives but I'm curious if anyone here (the ones carefully unpacking a real serious issue or the ones clearly patting themselves on the back) believes people can change.
Neeson fucked up and still doesn't seem to get why his share was so fucked up but I think he can change and I think one day he might even see his inherently flawed logic and I hope that amounts to him seeking help and dealing with all the deep seated damage he hasn't seemed to really work through yet. It isn't our job (I speak as a POC) to help a truly lost person to gain clairity or to forgive them but I think it is an act of fairness for me to recognize when a person really has turned a corner in good faith. He hasn't yet but maybe he will. I won't write him off based on the facts we know now.
I guess what I'm asking is that if people can't change, evolve, grow or elevate themselves than what the fuck are we here on Earth to do? If we dont allow for change and atonement to occur in the people around us and inside ourselves are we actually being productive/contributing beings?
If he wanted to show he's grown and changed, then he could put some of his time, effort, wealth, and fame into uplifting those communities impacted by his racist sentiments. He would have BEEN doing this. We'd have receipts.
These stories don't help people of color. They help white people feel better about their racist sentiments that they may feel they've grown from or never acted on. These are stories white people point to to say, "See, we've changed. Things are better."
You don't need a story to help and show that you aren't racist anymore. You just need to act.
It's incredible how closely tied Trayvonn, Jussie Smollet, and this Liam incident are tied.
Trayvonn stalked and killed by a lunatic and somehow it was his fault.
Jussie's story is somehow in unbelievable, doesn't make sense.... Questioned and doubted.
Liam admits to wanting hunt black men in a racist rage and that's a beautiful moment of growth that he's reminiscing on.
People try to pretend that they care about us... But they don't. Just looking at the reaction of those 3 events and how closely related they are and you can see the fakeness and the contempt.
Makes me sick
No one said that people can't change. The issue is Neeson hasn't actually shown any significant change. Not wanting to kill innocent people is change but that baseline morality isn't exactly world altering. So he sought to kill an innocent black person. What has he actually done to make up for that insane mindset since then? Anything? Nothing? The answer very much would show if this is actually some significant change rather than Neeson catching up with the rest of humanity by not having bloodthirsty urges to take his anger out on random people.
In terms of solution, the solutions to racism and bigotry already exist. There are tomes and tomes of literature about true equality, civil rights and how to make actual gains toward a better society that have been written and published since the days of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. The actual issue isn't with POC or the general disenfranchised offering up solutions. We've offered up solutions. We've talked at length about what we actually want and need. The issue is with the people who are in positions of privilege: straight, white, and/or male who don't actually listen to what we say or read what marginalized groups have said throughout history about how to build a better society. People talked about solutions when Emmett Till was killed. We talked about solutions before, during and after MLK. We talked about solutions when Dylann Roof slaughtered multiple people. Society just isn't listening and taking what's being said to heart.
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Get Out 2: Starring Jussie Smollett and Liam Neeson
There's only audio:
https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-...ursuit-sexual-assault-interview-a8760866.html
Hit play on the video at the top.
So he pretty much double-down on what was problematic in the first interview.
He still isn't admitting he wanted to murder a random innocent with racial motive. That's the entire problem. Everybody understand you wanted to murder the man who did awful things to your lover, everyone. I'd even (to a certain degree) understand if he went to a random bar and went in a brawl to let the anger out, like some men do sometimes. The problem is he targeted random innocent persons in the street and targeted them for their skin colour, which is downright evil and completely racist.
And yes, M. Neeson, targetting a random Irish, a random indian or a random arabian innocent person just because he shares the same skin colour with a criminal is still racist. That doesn't change anything to the problem, outside the fact that you are white and you were targeting a PoC. What a coincidence, it's not like it's been like that for centuries now (that's sarcasm).
He said it himself "I'm a fairly intelligent person", it makes me think he's not admitting the racial problem on purpose because much of his recent movies target a particular demographic (from what I saw). Highly suspicious that he also speaks about "political correctness" in this same interview, almost suggesting that we're all racist deep inside... What the fuck ?
He still isn't admitting he wanted to murder a random innocent with racial motive. That's the entire problem. Everybody understand you wanted to murder the man who did awful things to your lover, everyone. I'd even (to a certain degree) understand if he went to a random bar and went in a brawl to let the anger out, like some men do sometimes. The problem is he targeted random innocent persons in the street and targeted them for their skin colour, which is downright evil and completely racist.
And yes, M. Neeson, targetting a random Irish, a random indian or a random arabian innocent person just because he shares the same skin colour with a criminal is still racist. That doesn't change anything to the problem, outside the fact that you are white and you were targeting a PoC. What a coincidence, it's not like it's been like that for centuries now (that's sarcasm).
He said it himself "I'm a fairly intelligent person", it makes me think he's not admitting the racial problem on purpose because much of his recent movies target a particular demographic (from what I saw). Highly suspicious that he also speaks about "political correctness" in this same interview, almost suggesting that we're all racist deep inside... What the fuck ?
I noted he hasn't "changed" yet but one of my points is that many people here in this thread and in the past threads about issues similar express an attitude that can only be interpreted as a "fuck off and die, you don't exist and will never exist to us again" sentiment to people who fuck up. If we choose to champion that attitude as "productive" there really isn't much to talk about and maybe this thread like the last should be locked as well. I appreciate your specific response though because it was salient and reasoned and spoke to a motile course of action.
Receipts? The first article was only just released Monday. And maybe he did put the effort throughout his later life, maybe he didn't. I have no fucking clue what Neeson has done or the Richardson/Neeson family has done to that effect, do you? You say "we'd have receipts" as if you are owed it. Do you speak to the whole disenfranchised lot of us?
I don't think this story was said to help anyone, people of color, white people, whoever. It was said, rather cluelessly, for Neeson to unload something that seems to be haunting him even if he misses WHY it should haunt him. I think this was a man with a very troubled upbringing oversharing a fairly heinous mindset of himself as a young man. He thought it might be purgative for others but it was ultimately as toxic as the mindset itself. I don't think his intention in this instance was to free himself though. I think he just needs heavy counseling from a professional (with a background in Race studies and/or Africology and African american studies would be ideal) and certainly not his fans/spectators.
You aren't teaching me anything I wasn't taught as an undergraduate and you seemed to have missed the overall gist of my entire post. Seems like you were just in a hurry to respond like a lot of people here. Sort of why I waited 4 pages before wading into this morass.
People aren't going to understand the relationship. And they don't want the avenging white guy to stop avenging. Even if he fucks up and offs the wrong darkie once in a while.
If Neeson is a real ally, he'd reject the alt-right if they tried to embrace him.
He's been in their fold since jump. What ever made you think he was an ally?
i wonder how many random trees he cut down after that...
The very first word I used in that post was "If". I never said he was an ally or that I thought he was. Only that IF he is, it wouldn't matter what the alt-right tries to tel him.
Yeah, it's pretty telling. Just imagine for one second if a PoC actor admitted the same thing, targeting random white people in the street for murdering them, because they were white. Imagine someone like Jaime Foxx or Terry Crews admitting something like this... It would end their career in 5 seconds top and it would be everywhere in the news.
I'm white, I don't have PoC friends and I perfectly understand why. We are disgusting, still to this day and stories like that prove it. It's all about double standard. I understand they don't want to mix with us after all we did to their ancestors and after the awful ways we treat them, still to this day.
I'm glad someone else caught this. There is an undercurrent of blatant dismissal throughout the interview. The interviewer also said he is being "crucified" for his commentary. Nothing was even addressed in the dialogue aside from light follow up questions about race, instead of asking about his "black bastard" line which was the most incendiary comment he made.
Clown shoes all around.