Mel Gibson on evolution
Surprise, surprise. He doesn't accept it, as these excerpts from an interview with Playboy Magazine from July 1995 show him parroting some of the stupider denier canards:
The whole "if men came from monkeys and apes then why are there still apes around" is one of the more idiotic anti-evolution arguments. This is the sort of simple-minded "argument" that makes scientists want to pull their hair out. (For one thing, the whole premise of the question is wrong; humans didn't descend from "monkeys and apes," but rather humans and apes descended from a common ancestor.) But more surprising to me was his misogynistic view of women. Here he is responding to a question asking him why he doesn't think women should be priests:
Lovely. And this was 10 years ago, long before the controversy over The Passion of the Christ, his association with a breakaway conservative Catholic sect, and the revelation that his father is a Holocaust denier.
(Via Pharyngula.)
PLAYBOY: So you can't accept that we descended from monkeys and apes?
GIBSON: No, I think it's bullshit. If it isn't, why are they still around? How come apes aren't people yet? It's a nice theory, but I can't swallow it. There's a big credibility gap. The carbon dating thing that tells you how long something's been around, how accurate is that, really? I've got one of Darwin's books at home and some of that stuff is pretty damn funny. Some of his stuff is true, like that the giraffe has a long neck so it can reach the leaves. But I just don't think you can swallow the whole piece.
The whole "if men came from monkeys and apes then why are there still apes around" is one of the more idiotic anti-evolution arguments. This is the sort of simple-minded "argument" that makes scientists want to pull their hair out. (For one thing, the whole premise of the question is wrong; humans didn't descend from "monkeys and apes," but rather humans and apes descended from a common ancestor.) But more surprising to me was his misogynistic view of women. Here he is responding to a question asking him why he doesn't think women should be priests:
GIBSON: I'll get kicked around for saying it, but men and women are just different. They're not equal. The same way that you and I are not equal.
PLAYBOY: That's true. You have more money.
GIBSON: You might be more intelligent, or you might have a bigger dick. Whatever it is, nobody's equal. And men and women are not equal. I have tremendous respect for women. I love them. I don't know why they want to step down. Women in my family are the center of things. And good things emanate from them. The guys usually mess up.
PLAYBOY: That's quite a generalization.
GIBSON: Women are just different. Their sensibilities are different.
PLAYBOY: Any examples?
GIBSON: I had a female business partner once. Didn't work.
PLAYBOY: Why not?
GIBSON: She was a cunt.
(Via Pharyngula.)
The theorgy of evolution falls on it's face even after the lies that have been posted and printed in US textbooks for the last 40 years. One glaring example is the moth glued to the tree! Yes, glued and then passed off as an "unnatural" example that leads to mutations (evolutions). If the plants and animals were evolving, then they would all have evolved into Humans!
ReplyDeleteGood observations. The lawyers will do anything to preserve their monopoly.
ReplyDeleteThe more I know about Mel Gibson's views, the less I want to know. On the other hand he seems to be ever so slightly less "out there" than his father, but statements like this reveal that the apple hasn't fallen all that far fromt the tree.
ReplyDeletebut he was so hot as a growling snarly faux-scots-lander.
ReplyDeletethen again, the real kitten of that flick was the long shank.
~
This just in:
ReplyDeleteCelebrities Not Necessarily Wise!
In a stunning revelation, this reporter has learned that fame does not necessarily convey wisdom to an individual.
Several interviews with confirmed celebrities have generated data revealing a shocking lack of correlation between a person's ignorance and how well known they are to the average citizen.
Seriously - Mel's got a gonzo outlook on life, the Universe, and his place in it, but so do a lot of celebs. Is this news?
anyone who has that much influence over a culture ... should be monitored.
ReplyDelete~oV
I really, REALLY, REALLY hope people don't take celebrities as seriously as I fear.
ReplyDeleteI'd prefer it if celebrities would all hide in a hole when they're not filming. Get on stage, pull my heart strings, get off and live life as a normal (though perhaps rich) person when the camera's not rolling.
If they did that, I wouldn't be thinking about their RL nuttiness during their fantasy exploits. It's bad enough when your real life has a hard time suspending my disbelief.
Apparently. Mel is gearing up to film a TV mini-series on the life of Holocaust survivor Flory Van Beek.
ReplyDeleteThat should put an end to all the speculation about his views on that event....or not.
Dave S.
Ya know, I think there's a possibility that ol' Mel may have moved along somewhat in the past ten years. The interview makes him sound like -- well, maybe what he deserves to sound like. But it has been ten years and, among other things, he seems to have piped down about some of his queerer views on the Church, FWIW
ReplyDeleteActually, Mel has gone far beyond talk regarding his "queerer" views about the Church since 1995. In fact, he's constructed a church in Malibu based on the very teachings I've addressed before, namely that Vatican II is illegitimate, that every Pope since Vatican II has been illegitimate, and that Vatican II was a plot to undermine the church.
ReplyDeleteThe church Mel has constructed is not in any way affiliated with the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, which is not surprising, given that in the Roman Catholic Church it is considered heresy to reject Vatican II and the legitimacy of the Pope. Unfortunately, the press usually fails to mention this and usually reports on it as if it were a Catholic Church. This is likely because the bulk of this nation is Protestant and doesn't really understand that individuals or even congregations can't just go constructing churches and expect them to be considered true Catholic Churches without getting the OK from the Archdiocese.
Orac, the expression, 'more Catholic than the [current] Pope' seems to describe Mr. Gibson.
ReplyDeleteVKW
Chief RZ, you're so goddamn stupid you probably need an instructional video to help you figure out how to wipe your ass after taking a dump.
ReplyDeleteWhat language!
ReplyDeleteuh OK Mel Gibsons an idiot because he doesn't believe in evolution or that men and women are the same, and he used some bad language. Evolution is a theory, like the idea of the bodily humours, the earth centured universe,etc etc.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous, are you serious?
ReplyDeleteLook up the definition of "theory" as it pertains to science some time.
Hint: "a theory," is not equivalent to "an idea."
Read a little before you parrot the (frequently rebutted)rhetoric of the IDiots.
The theories of evolution and gravity are about euqal in their scientific proofs: anyone care to deny both?
ReplyDelete