Recently, Liam Neeson revealed that he had at one point in his life, violent thoughts about killing a black man. Liam stated he went so far as to troll the streets in search of a black man to do harm.
Neeson was quoted as saying “I went out deliberately into black areas in the city looking to be set upon so I could unleash physical violence. I did it maybe four or five times until I caught myself, and it really shocked me — this primal urge I had. It shocked me and it hurt me.” Somebody close to Neeson had been allegedly raped by somebody of African American descent. Neeson was naturally angry and rightfully so. He was also quoted as saying that “She handled the situation of the rape in the most extraordinary way,” Neeson said. “I asked, did she know who it was? No. What color were they? She said it was a black person.”
As a result of this revelation, the media has felt the need to now brand Neeson as a racist. This bothers me as they are taking a singular event in a mans life and attempting to define him by it and nothing could be further from the truth. There are a number of things that the media feels the need to leave out of their stories however in order to further push their narrative.
The first is that these actions taken by Neeson occurred over 40 years ago. Now certainly, if a person acts in a racist manner, then age does not forgive the racist act. However, their actions since then certainly do play a part in whether the person should still be considered racist. A singular racist act should not brand a person a racist forever. If a person makes a comment in ignorance, but learns from that ignorance, then something good has come from it. It would not be fair to brand them something they clearly are not.
The second thing they generally leave out is whether Neeson would have acted on those emotions had he actually ran into a black man during those dark days. We need to clarify that he was not out there in order to attack them directly but rather to get them to attack him so he could justify causing violence. However when faced with the opportunity, he may have thought better or known better and went home. Having a thought and acting on that thought are two completely different things and should be treated as such. We obviously will never know what would have happened.
Third and last, I applaud Neeson for having the courage to come out and speak about this openly. In this highly offensive, world we live in, one wrong move can black list you from Hollywood. Neeson came out and said that he had done this. He was ashamed. Most importantly that he had learned from it. Neeson was quoted as saying “It took me a week, maybe a week and a half, to go through that. She would say, ‘Where are you going?’ and I would say, ‘I’m just going out for a walk.’ You know? ‘What’s wrong?’ ‘No no, nothing’s wrong,'” he said. “It was horrible, horrible, when I think back, that I did that. And I’ve never admitted that, and I’m saying it to a journalist. God forbid.”
Saying something racist or doing something racist does not by itself brand a person a racist. He was dealing with some extreme stress that a family member had gone through and he reacted badly to it. Lucky for him, he had others who were looking out for him and he was never able to act on his emotions. Considered to a morally upstanding person, this act should not diminish who Neeson is. This is not limited to just Neeson. Virginia Governor Ralph Northam is coming under fire because he apparently dressed up in blackface in the 1980’s during a Halloween party.
Now in Northams case I am not sure what bothers me the most. The fact they are calling for his resignation and branding him a racist because he did something 30 years ago? What were the circumstances of why he dressed up in blackface in the first place. It was Halloween for crying out loud. Let me see if I am understanding this correctly. I can say that I respect black historical figures in history. I can write blogs on black historical figures in history. I can engage in civil non racist dialogue about black historical figures in history and none of that brands me a racist. God forbid, I should dress up as one. Now im a racist.
We seem to dismiss that what defines a person is not a singular act but rather a pattern of behavior. A good example of the difference is people who swear. If I swear all the time, then people will define me as a someone who cusses a lot and has a mouth like a sailor. However, if in a moment of pain, I let a curse word slip, then I should not be defined by that one singular action. I do not know very much about Ralph Northam so I am not going to offer an opinion on whether he should step down or not but I do not think he should step down due to this one action. People are inherently good but they make mistakes. Let them make those mistakes without branding them for life.
Quotes were taken from Daily Wire. Credit to Paul Bois
https://www.dailywire.com/news/43067/watch-liam-neeson-responds-backlash-over-confessed-paul-bois
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