Liam Neeson

BimboBob said:
Fucking hell. He speaks about something that he did years ago, says he's ashamed of his actions, and now people are hounding him?


We live in a weird world.
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Agree with this.

The circumstances he was in made him lose it and he’s ashamed of it now.

Fair play for the honesty.
 
Ban-jani said:
Agree with this.

The circumstances he was in made him lose it and he’s ashamed of it now.

Fair play for the honesty.
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While I do take the point that that kind of trauma can drive people people to do crazy things, I don't think we can ignore how disturbing the racial element is to the story and he also doesn't really address that side of things in the interview. I can see why people are so upset about it.

If he wanted to talk about this experience then maybe there was a correct time and context for that discussion but I don't think this was it. I found it jarring how casual he is about the fact he was willing to kill an innocent black person and comes across as though he thinks the main thing we should take away from the story is the personal journey he's been on.

It's pretty troubling how, according to his own version of events, the first thing he asks is the colour of the assailant and then decides to go and do that. Even in those extreme circumstances, it's quite an an unbelievable reaction. I doubt he'd have targeted white men if his friend had come back with a different answer.

Going off some of the discussions I've seen on twitter about it, a lot of black people are of the opinion that Neeson being seemingly so comfortable with trotting that story out in such a casual manner, not addressing the horrific racial angle and then people so readily dismissing the story as "ah well he's moved on now isn't he great for sharing that story", is a pretty brazen display of white privilege. I'm inclined to agree with them.

Another point that keeps coming up is that it demonstrates how ready and willing people are to link all members of the same ethnic group. It's a very dangerous mindset and one that has led to the deaths of innocent young black people, particularly in the US.

I just don't think he should have told that story unless he was willing to do so in a way where all of this could properly addressed. And regardless of whether or not he's changed, it's weird that he doesn't seem all that aware of the repercussions of the story
 
Mon Autre said:
While I do take the point that that kind of trauma can drive people people to do crazy things, I don't think we can ignore how disturbing the racial element is to the story and he also doesn't really address that side of things in the interview. I can see why people are so upset about it.

If he wanted to talk about this experience then maybe there was a correct time and context for that discussion but I don't think this was it. I found it jarring how casual he is about the fact he was willing to kill an innocent black person and comes across as though he thinks the main thing we should take away from the story is the personal journey he's been on.

It's pretty troubling how, according to his own version of events, the first thing he asks is the colour of the assailant and then decides to go and do that. Even in those extreme circumstances, it's quite an an unbelievable reaction. I doubt he'd have targeted white men if his friend had come back with a different answer.

Going off some of the discussions I've seen on twitter about it, a lot of black people are of the opinion that Neeson being seemingly so comfortable with trotting that story out in such a casual manner, not addressing the horrific racial angle and then people so readily dismissing the story as "ah well he's moved on now isn't he great for sharing that story", is a pretty brazen display of white privilege. I'm inclined to agree with them.

Another point that keeps coming up is that it demonstrates how ready and willing people are to link all members of the same ethnic group. It's a very dangerous mindset and one that has led to the deaths of innocent young black people, particularly in the US.

I just don't think he should have told that story unless he was willing to do so in a way where all of this could properly addressed. And regardless of whether or not he's changed, it's weird that he doesn't seem all that aware of the repercussions of the story
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Everything you say about “how disturbing it is that” or “it’s troubling how” is why he’s brought it up.

He’s been completely honest about it and said he’s ashamed of himself for it.

I’m not sure why now is the right time, maybe he’s looking at the racism in society and is telling his story as one of regret to any would be racists now.

We’ve all done shitty things and there’s things all of us will have done we’re ashamed of.

I don’t think we should be attacking him because he’s been open and honest about a mental state he was in down to a friend being raped.
 
Ban-jani said:
Everything you say about “how disturbing it is that” or “it’s troubling how” is why he’s brought it up.

He’s been completely honest about it and said he’s ashamed of himself for it.

I’m not sure why now is the right time, maybe he’s looking at the racism in society and is telling his story as one of regret to any would be racists now.

We’ve all done shitty things and there’s things all of us will have done we’re ashamed of.

I don’t think we should be attacking him because he’s been open and honest about a mental state he was in down to a friend being raped.
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I'm not saying there needs to be a huge pile on over this or that he needs to be permanently blacklisted. I just think it's wrong for that story to be thrown out there and for it to go unchallenged. I don't think something that serious should be passed off as "he was messed up back then but it's ok now". The idea that he spent a fortnight stalking a black neighburhood with the intention of killing a black person is so off the scale. It goes beyond something that can be passed off as one of those shitty things we've all done and have gone on to regret. It's seriously fucked up.

If it is like you suggest, and he's brought it up as part of a wider conversation we're having about race in society, then maybe there is space for that anecdote (providing it's addressed properly). It just doesn't seem like that's what he was doing though. He's told the story at a press junket promoting his film about revenge. I think a bit more thought should have gone into how throwing that out there might make different people feel. I think he's more focused on it being a demonstration of his own personal growth.
 
BimboBob said:
Fucking hell. He speaks about something that he did years ago, says he's ashamed of his actions, and now people are hounding him?


We live in a weird world.
Click to expand...

And he also said that its wrong to stereotype/racially profile people, and you shouldn't do it. Experiencing the troubles and people dying would have had an affect too.
 
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