Reputation Management Online

[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by ReputationManagement. ReputationManagement said: Can the Mel Gibson #reputation ever recover? http://bit.ly/aoFr0U [...]

I really think there is a certain politics to the attacks on Mel Gibson.

First the claims that he has committed an act of domestic assault have yet to be investigated. The tabloid media which rendered an instant verdict may well have egg on its face in light of the statements of the Dentist. There are two competing interpretations: one Mel is a monster or his girlfriend is after money. Given the surrepititious way the tape was made there is more than a reasonable doubt that it is the girlfriend not Mel who is the villain of the peace. But it is certainly too early to render a verdict.

Your statements about racism I strongly feel are misplaced. I have have spent most of my life representing people dealing with issues of race, writing about those issues , and teaching about those issues. I think to elevate Mel’s remark to national issue trivializes the true issues of racial injustice that get no attention. The tabloid seems to be after the N word remarks not out of any social or moral concern but out of a desire for sensationalism.

They are playing a game of “gothca” with comments that were not made or intended for the public space. I would contrast that with remarks of the Governor of Arizona about mexican immigrants, with the remarks of Governor Barbour of West Virginia about slavery, of the politician who referred to Michelle Obama as a tar ball. Those comments deserve media attention. What Mel needs and what his girlfriend needs is pyschological intervention not legal proceedings.

I really think there is a certain politics to the attacks on Mel Gibson.

First the claims that he has committed an act of domestic assault have yet to be investigated. The tabloid media which rendered an instant verdict may well have egg on its face in light of the statements of the Dentist. There are two competing interpretations: one Mel is a monster or his girlfriend is after money. Given the surrepititious way the tape was made there is more than a reasonable doubt that it is the girlfriend not Mel who is the villain of the peace. But it is certainly too early to render a verdict.

Your statements about racism I strongly feel are misplaced. I have have spent most of my life representing people dealing with issues of race, writing about those issues , and teaching about those issues. I think to elevate Mel’s remark to national issue trivializes the true issues of racial injustice that get no attention. The tabloid seems to be after the N word remarks not out of any social or moral concern but out of a desire for sensationalism.

They are playing a game of “gothca” with comments that were not made or intended for the public space. I would contrast that with remarks of the Governor of Arizona about mexican immigrants, with the remarks of Governor Barbour of West Virginia about slavery, of the politician who referred to Michelle Obama as a tar ball. Those comments deserve media attention. What Mel needs and what his girlfriend needs is pyschological intervention not legal proceedings.