Ari and Rahm: No Business Like Show Business

The Brothers Emanuel: Ari (L) – Rahm (R)

July 31st, 2006 – Hollywood, California:

At a time of escalating tensions in the world, the entertainment industry cannot idly stand by and allow Mel Gibson to get away with such tragically inflammatory statements. People in the entertainment community, whether Jew or gentile, need to demonstrate that they understand how much is at stake in this by professionally shunning Mel Gibson and refusing to work with him, even if it means a sacrifice to their bottom line. There are times in history when standing up against bigotry and racism is more important than money.

That is a portion of a Huffington Post entry authored by a prominent Hollywood talent agent. It was written exactly two years ago this week after the arrest of actor Mel Gibson. During the stop, an angry and intoxicated Gibson made physical threats and was reported to say, “The Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world,” and asked the arresting officer, “Are you a Jew?”

The national news erupted. Hollywood did, in fact, quickly turn their backs on their colleague. Gibson himself began a weeks-long, public mea-culpa. He issued a statement describing his words as “despicable.” His publicist said he was checking into a multi-step program to get his mind right and his alcoholism under control. Gibson’s career as a leading star has stalled since the incident, and in many corners of Hollywood he is still persona non grata.

(ATTENTION READERS: BLATANT SARCASM AHEAD)

Now, for a moment, let’s try to understand where Mel Gibson was coming from that night. He’s angry about being pulled over. He reportedly had a troubled history with his father, Hudson Gibson who has been quoted to say the Holocaust was “mostly fiction.” Gibson’s most famous, and intense motion picture work with “The Passion” must certainly haunt the corners of his mind. These extenuating circumstances, coupled with the fame and recognizable face of Mel Gibson leads any honest thinker to conclude Gibson is a victim here.

Certainly the arresting officer detected alcohol and yes, Gibson was speeding. But the words Gibson used and the threatening language he directed at the officer should be understood and forgiven, shouldn’t it? Then President Bush probably should have addressed Gibson’s comments and his arrest in a national press conference. Bush should have called Gibson a friend of his in Christian brotherhood.

Perhaps Bush could have said, “Now, I don’t know, not having been there and not seeing all the facts, what role religion played in that. But I think it’s fair to say, number one, any of us would be pretty angry; number two, that the police acted stupidly and, number three, what I think we know separate and apart from this incident is that there’s a long history in this country of Christians being underrepresented in Hollywood and law offices disproportionately. That’s just a fact.”

Certainly to some, that kind of language from President Bush might have sounded judgmental of the arresting officer and perhaps mildly anti-Semitic itself. Nevertheless, such leadership from the President would have opened up a needed national debate on anti-Semitism in our country. It would have been a “teachable moment” for all persons of faith. Perhaps the officer, President Bush and Mel Gibson could have all met at the White House for a non-alcoholic beer. (Bush doesn’t drink, and Mel Gibson should probably avoid it.) But alas, President Bush failed to lead.

Thankfully, we now have an enlightened president in Barack Obama who’s not afraid to wade into local law enforcement issues. Unafraid to tackle cases of perceived bigotry by personal friends on a national stage, President Obama might ruffle some feathers. He may mischaracterize, impugn, and malign individual police officers without a shred of evidence – but our nation is better off for it. Our Teacher-In-Chief is the perfect blend of his old preacher Jeremiah “we had 9/11 coming” Wright and Dr. Phil. He can stoke the fires of racism without batting an eye while coolly extinguishing the discourse over a beer.

(ATTENTION READER: THIS CONCLUDES BLATANT SARCASM)

It’s easy to forget that this episode involving President Obama, his friend “Skip” the Harvard professor, and the Cambridge cop all sprang from a prime-time press conference. The press conference was supposed to address Obama’s wildly unpopular plan to overhaul our nation’s health care system. The event did nothing to persuade the country to his side in the debate. In fact, he made it worse by portraying doctors and insurance companies as nothing more than profit mongers. So in the closing moments of the prime time event, in what can only be described as a moment of pure Hollywood distraction – the President of the United States waded in to an obscure municipal police case and turned it into a fictional national debate.

It may interest you to know the name of the aforementioned talent agent who called for a Hollywood boycott of Mel Gibson two years ago. It’s Ari Emanuel – brother of White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel. Apparently the way blatant bigotry is dealt with in the Emanuel family varies case by case. Ari calls for a public rebuke of bigotry while Rahm and his boss call for “understanding” and a “cool headed” embrace.

No doubt, the brothers Emanuel know the art of show business. Rahm once famously said, “Never let a serious crisis go to waste.” And when your “crisis” is in crisis? Create another crisis and the crisis your old crisis faces is forgotten. Now that’s pure showbiz!