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Liam Neeson's real-life rape/revenge tale (See Staff Post)
- Thread starter Jeremy
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More like this though.
Neeson: I remember being a piece of shit 40-50 years a go and having terrible racists thoughts which are a source of shame and regret for me, and that's why I'm trying to air them out unprompted.
Era: Boooo racist piece of shit, you haven't changed one bit.
You see how some of us think that it's just absurd that people here will regularly advocate for literal rapists and murders that are in jail to be given a second chance, but apparently Neeson having thoughts about doing something horrific is irredeemable?
No one has to "forgive" him for his past thoughts, but at least stop trying to paint him as an evil person right now.
Of course, so I'm personally glad someone like him will admit to it, especially voluntarily. it's not about forgiving or forgetting, I guess I just think its important he thought this and then publicly reflected on it later rather than did it and hid it away. It doesn't make him 'better' in my eyes, but I'd still prefer it this way.
is it actually bad PR?
Era on aggregate seems to be endeared with it and he will only fare better by people to the right of Era.
Eh, I don't think so. Honesty about such an awful, terrible experience and personal actions in this particular subject should be broadcast as loud as possible to get the discussion going at all times, to get it out in the open rather than let awful people fester with such ideas. This is one more voice to the chorus of "violence and the idea of stereotypes absolutely warps and endangers the experience of people worldwide". That the ugliness of violence is so warping and unnatural to what we could be, rather that what we currently are. While he does get a little to abstract at the end the plea being made is that those feelings were and are truly awful, terrible, and about as dark and low as one can get.
No excuses, just honesty.
While we're here, I think everyone should read If He Hollers Let Him Go, Native Son, and Invisible Man for the flip side of the coin- narratives from strong black men totally demeaned, belittled, and emasculated in the worlds they inhabit simply because of the color of their skin, eventually resorting to transformative violence. All of these are cautionary tales and desperate, howling pleas for us to reach beyond what we so often sink to.
If you think this is "both sides"ing the argument, I don't know what to say.
That's gonna be a yikes from me. Geez.
As a journalist, I'd be very ashamed of publishing this crap. She completely excuses him from the get-go in her article and never pushes any further for why he shared that story or anything like that. Completely juvenile reporting.
As a journalist, I'd be very ashamed of publishing this crap. She completely excuses him from the get-go in her article and never pushes any further for why he shared that story or anything like that. Completely juvenile reporting.
To be transparent on the matter, the reason that I can understand his mindset (read: not excuse) is because of a past experience of my own. About a decade ago, my little sister was violently raped by a white man. I found out some time after, and it filled me with incredible, blinding rage.
Have a thought. Something of substance. I don't understand the point of these single word shit posts.
Yeah this, i think its healthy to realise that past thoughts, which, lets remember, didn't result in any actions or bad things happening, were misguided, racist and horrible is a healthy thing. He has clearly reflected on a time in his life where he wasnt as good a person as he is now.
It's not the same thing but i remember when i was in primary school (so like 7 years old) we used to go round the playground signing disgustingly racist football chants. I think back on that and realise how fucking terrible they were and wonder A) how that was acceptable as a football chant that would have been sang every week at my local football team (probably 3-4000 people singing disgusting lyrics) and B) why my 7 year old brain never understood how hurtful it would be to the subjects of the song.
Its good that Neeson also realises his actions werent acceptable and has grown as a person.
Pretty much were im at thought I do havr a few skeletons in my closet that if they get out I could get time because of things I did in anger. Im more willing to forgive him if didnt anymore transgressions for his dark thoughts, even if those thoughts are dispicable and he should havr gone to a shrink.
Who gives a shit if he did? Should've never been a thought in his mind to start. What did he learn? Not to try to murder black people? YAY!
Count me up, too. He's literally talking about how hate breeds, how hate breeds more hate, how that destroys society, and it showed he was ashamed and broken for ever having entertained those thoughts.
Pretending that everybody is ever perfect and that racists are from another species is not healthy. He was a racist, as have been many others. Ceteris paribus, what's better, him opening up his regrettable past or just pretending he always was perfect? Stories of de-radicalized people are exactly what people in risk of radicalization need. They need a way forward, and if society doesn't provide one the Nazis will. I come from a region in Spain that, just like Northern Ireland, has a history of separatist terrorism that killed hundreds of people. You don't think many held radical thoughts back then? Is it good if people just pretended they were always good and everything was perfect save for a few bad apples?
Time for Liam to fuck off into the sun. Walked the streets looking for someone black to kill like a racist murdering psychopath, I don't need to hear the excuses about how he claims to be reformed.
Reading what he said, he seems to come away from the whole thing with the lesson that revenge is bad and you shouldn't pursue it because it doesn't solve anything. He contextualizes it in having grown up during the Troubles too.
But like, that account, it was far more than just a need for revenge, wasn't it? It was racially motivated. He was looking to kill any black guy who looked at him wrong. This is beyond just a "revenge is bad" thing to me and I think it's weird that he stopped before addressing that.
The way I read it he's saying that his anger was unreasonable / undefendable. That the event was fuel for a culturally supported, racist, irrational anger. It doesn't seem lumped in - it seems like the whole point of what he's saying, to me.
I had some feelings that I'm not entirely proud of, yes. I wouldn't say every white man, but I was and still am deeply ashamed of my initial reaction.
This is actually what people are applauding. Brilliant as always guys.
Uh, while I am glad that Liam Neeson got over his racism (I hope he did?)...
...I am not sure why he felt it necessary to deal with his demons publicly and in the most hamfisted way ever. I don't think any Black person needed to know that fucking Liam Neeson roamed the streets trying to kill the first Black guy he could find.
...I am not sure why he felt it necessary to deal with his demons publicly and in the most hamfisted way ever. I don't think any Black person needed to know that fucking Liam Neeson roamed the streets trying to kill the first Black guy he could find.
Yeah. My biggest and only holdup with this story is the piece about him growing up and learning from this experience. Maybe he has. He sure seems ashamed about what happened. But I can't forgive him until he actually puts words in his mouth and directly confronts the racism piece. The rape led to his anger, but asking what color the man was shows that his racism was there BEFORE, which furthered his anger. Why did he jump to asking about a person's skin color? He sounds ashamed of the violence he was going to do to a person, but whatever. I get the anger. I don't need to hear more about it. I want to hear more about why their skin color. Why is THAT what he jumped to asking her? He needs to answer to that before I say he has grown and matured.
I mean, you aren't going to get banned unless you start gaslighting folk and inflamming the thread.
You didn't even get a warning for saying "fuck you" to another member, seems to me you've got an awful lot of leeway to be uncivil.
Best part about this is he learned that revenge is bad. Not that his hate crime thoughts were bad, just that it wouldn't solve anything.
Whomst among us have not had racially motivated revenge fantasies
Holy shit! I completely understand being consumed by anger, but wanting to kill an innocent person just because they share the skin color of the person you hate goes WAY beyond that. That's some deep fucking hatred.
I'm glad he's supposedly changed, but it ain't my place to decide if he deserves forgiveness.
I'm glad he's supposedly changed, but it ain't my place to decide if he deserves forgiveness.
I'm sorry, I'm a white person, I wouldn't know what to add.
and you went out with a machete hoping some white man would test you?
no? no.
Or to be more specific, did it make you want to beat up and kill the "first white bastard" you saw and had an altercation with? I can understand directing your hate towards the man who raped your sister (I'm deeply sorry that happened to her), if someone did anything remotely like that to any of my loved ones I'd want to beat the living shit out of them, but I don't see myself wanting to kill the next person that had the same skin color... That's what I have a problem with, not the fact Liam wanted to kill the rapist, but he wanted to kill a "black bastard" just because of the color of their skin.
Don't tell me I need to be an adult about this and I won't swear at you, chief.
No, and as I said, there is no excuse for that. That being said, I think he's admitting it was fucked up, and he regrets it, based on his wording.
I think from a context point of view there would not have been a large volume of black men in Northern Ireland, especially during the troubles where Northern Ireland wasnt exactly the dream location to move to if you werent a native. In his rage induced mind the chances of a black man confronting him being the same black man that raped the victim would have been reasonably high.
Again this doesnt forgive the racially motivated thoughts he had and they were problematic but its probably not quite as cut and dried as "he wanted to kill all black people cos someone raped his friend"
Does Neeson have a history of racist actions?
Because if he has, this story about how he has changed, is complete bullshit.
Otherwise, it might be true that he has become a better person (which doesn't excuse what he has done in the past).
Because if he has, this story about how he has changed, is complete bullshit.
Otherwise, it might be true that he has become a better person (which doesn't excuse what he has done in the past).
Was going to post something similar, but felt "feeling is mutual" was too reductive and wouldn't explain what I believe was Liam's true point. That's just me, though.
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Maybe he learned something maybe he didn't. But he did talk about it in a world where no white person wants to talk about it. It unfortunate people will criticize the timing as if there is the "right time" to talk about the shame you felt when you wanted to murder a black person. The way people are posting it makes me think they'd feel better off not knowing. If white people need to have real talks about race, then society cannot also say that they shouldn't just because the truth is upsetting.
not gonna fault people for not giving him a charitable read of the situation. he let the cat out of the bag, both he and the interviewer flubbed any sort of exploration of the issues at hand and he apparently has no interest in following up on it.
Why are you shifting the topic onto the reporter instead of the interviewee?
Neeson hasn't done anything like that since then so what's the issue?
Most people do it repeatedly. This was also his own personal story.
Most people do it repeatedly. This was also his own personal story.
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