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The first thing that came to mind when I heard the interview is that what he thought and did isn't anything particularly unusual in this day and age. Worse, it's actually encouraged. How many times have you seen social media mobs of the unintelligent screaming for generalised violence when they see something bad? It happens all the fucking time. It's the same as the way you see people rejoicing in somebody's death because they said/did something they didn't like.
Don't believe me? Haven't ever come across it? Well, I can think of at least five threads on this very forum full of it, and I'm pretty sure that's barely scratching the surface - and, from memory, there were at least a few people involved who are condemning Neeson here.
This is something that needs addressing, and yes - my take away from the context of his interview wasn't that he's seeking absolution for what he did (I genuinely don't think he is); he was clearly (and explicitly) trying to get people in general to be more aware of the existence of this kind of bullshit.
In that respect, he's right. Whether you like him, or whether you think he's right/wrong/evil to have brought it up, is irrelevant.
You can do an online test on inherent bias, everyone has some. In reality, everyone is tribal and is hard-wired to think in ways that are not accepted in current society here. I suspect Leeson was trying to allude to that, and saying you have to out-think it.
Nevertheless, the chances of online warriors and the media not gathering their pitchforks was zero, which I don't think he foresaw.
Only this afternoon, whilst I was changing a car bulb, I turned to look at some half-caste yoof, wandering along the pavement, bellowing at nobody in particular. (Best guess - he was using a cell phone and ear buds.) Not unnaturally, I kept an eye on the guy in case he did anything "unpredictable".
Without actually engaging me in any way, the guy carried along the pavement, bellowing in all directions. The only coherent words he uttered were, "white boy ... racist". This was an understandable mistake on his part. He and I had never encountered each other before. He probably believes that everybody who appears to disapprove of him does so because of his skin pigmentation. Not so. I watched him like a hawk because;
Depressing really - a bunch of privileged, middle-aged white guys not seeing what all the fuss is about when another privileged, middle-aged white guy says something outrageously racist.
You seem to believe that people cannot improve, cannot recognise past misdemeanours, can't mature and must be scolded for every transgression throughout their life forevermore.
Offset "(Emp) - a little heavy on the hyperbole."
I mentioned Clapton earlier. I think it's hard to call him a racist. He also regrets saying what he said once. He (and maybe even Liam Neeson) do more to promote race relations and anti-racism than all the Piers Morgans, social media, mainstream media etc etc who are all so outraged.
Imagine how much progress we might be able to make if those folk who are outraged at him put the same effort into trying to fix the societal problem that he's trying to draw attention to.
Instead, the focus is on him and how evil he is. Well done, you've just stopped everyone who may have the mindset that he did 40 years ago from ever having the same moment of introspection and possibly improving the world instead.
It's the same old shit. Hate the messenger, don't bother listening to the message. And those same people wonder why the world is getting steadily worse despite their amazing efforts to call people out.
While you're preaching about privilege...consider how privileged Liam Neeson was at the time that this offence against society was committed. He was a Catholic kid who grew up in a Protestant town in Northern Ireland. Regardless of how privileged he may be now, his position then was the very opposite of "privileged". Do you suppose that might've factored into his mindset and behaviour at the time? No, I'm not trying to excuse it. I'm just calling bullshit on your "privilege" argument, because it's facile and only serves to hide details that don't feed into the "this guy's evil" narrative.
Nothing good was ever going to come out of him making a revalation like that. If anything, it’s more likely to have the reverse effect - reinforcing stereotypes about black men wanting to rape white women.
As for your argument that calling him out stops everyone with a racist mindset from ‘having a moment of introspection’, well that’s just frankly bizarre.
I've had dealings with real racists and one thing they have in common is that they're actually colour blind. They just hate everyone who isn't exactly like them. Blacks, browns, yellows, greens, Jews, Catholics, they hate them all equally.
At university I walked into a reading room at the library, which was full of Malaysians at that particular time having a get together (unofficially - They hadn’t booked it or anything).
Two of them came up to me and said “you’d best leave - we don’t want your type in here.”
I assumed they weren’t talking about the fact I went in there to read a history text.. I reported it to the university and they rather usefully “sent someone to have a word”. I heard nothing else on the matter.