reply to post by Kr0n0s
Well, over the past few days or so, Will Smith has been weathering storm of commentary that attribute sentiments to him in the form of "Hitler was a
good person." Now, Smith didn't say that. What he said was, "Even Hitler didn't wake up going, 'let me do the most evil thing I can do today.'
I think he woke up in the morning and using a twisted, backwards logic, he set out to do what he thought was 'good." That's a very simple and
sophisticated thing to say. Of course, it's ripe for journalists to misinterpret, on purpose, to sell news. I say on purpose because a good
journalist will know how to listen, read and comprehend statements such as that. Maybe many in the general public will miss it, but a trained and
good journalist wouldn't. Anyway, the Jewish Defense League called on Hollywood for Smith's movie, "I Am Legend", to be pulled out of theaters
and for all financing of his future projects to be withdrawn. Basically a call for Will Smith to be blacklisted. It's .pretty clear that the JDL
understands what kind of influence it has. The Anti-Defamation League, on the other hand, backed Smith from the beginning, immediately understanding
that Smith's words were interpreted wrongly, and accepted Smith's clarification, which he issued immediately as the news broke.
Smith was questioning a view of the world from what might have been Hitler's viewpoint. Of course, others would view Hitler as evil, but the
questions raised by Smith were, "How did Hitler view himself? Did he, in his sick mind, think of himself as a good person?" Anyway, the
blogosphere came out in full force to denounce Smith, many jumping on the bandwagon promoting erroneously that Smith had said, "Hitler was a good
person." The journalist, of a Scottish newspaper, that had interviewed Smith, and first reported the erroneous interpretation stated this,
"Remarkably, Will believes everyone is basically good." Which was then followed by, "Even Hitler didn't wake up going, 'let me do the most evil
thing I can do today.' I think he woke up in the morning and using a twisted, backwards logic, he set out to do what he thought was 'good." That
setup distorted and obscured the meaning and heart of Smith's statement. No doubt, in my mind, that it was done on purpose. Either that or that
journalist is a bad journalist and shouldn't have a job.
Anyway, I think it is pathetic that a large and well funded organization wouldn't understand the difference between what Smith allegedly had said and
what Smith actually did say. And then to call for the destruction of his career without first considering the thoughtfulness of Smith's statements
is irresponsible. In my opinion, one and everyone has the right to question everything. There are no absolute answers with regards to any human
endeavor, current, future, or past. And while the JDL might think that it owns the right to how Hitler should be viewed, it does not. Sure, we can
demonize, but we should at least reserve that for those who are truly demons. I don't think I'm alone in thinking this, but Will Smith is NOT
competing in the Top 100 or 1000 or 1 billion of the most evil men that have ever lived. Not that I know of, anyway. The point is, however, is that
the JDL sees itself as capable of initiating the destruction of people's careers that the JDL deem necessary. Obviously, calling out to the the many
influential and powerful persons and institutions in Hollywood. Now, if Steven Spielberg had said the same thing, would it have been handled the same
way by the journalist and the JDL? Would it have been mis-interpreted the same way? I could be wrong -- but the strongest feeling that I have is
that if it had been Speilberg who said those same exact words, the comments would have gone unnoticed.
Clearly Will Smith is the human in all of this. A human asking questions pertaining to the human condition. Questions that should be asked.
Considering this matter, one could very easily portray the JDL as a viper that's coiled and ready to strike any individual that only seems to betray
the JDL's cause. At any rate, the JDL eventually accepted Smith's clarification. The thing is, a clarification should have been asked for in the
first place. Is Will Smith or any person so untouchable after something that they have only ALLEGEDLY said? For an organization such as the JDL,
you'd think they'd want to get it right the first time. There's enough vipers in the world. At least the ADL did the right thing. What the JDL
and ADL both should have done was to pounce on that Scottish journalist for misrepresentation. Maybe that's Smith's job, but the JDL and ADL could
have sent a powerful message that they will not tolerate and sensationalism that designed to bait and draw their ire. Would have been a whole lot
better and a whole lot more effective than the JDL's call to end Smith's career.
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"Timeline of the Rothschilds" by Darryl Bradford Smith 
And it's about time Adam Sandler wins an Oscar! And watch to
see the Sarah Silverman show and Daily Show win #1 in their catagories (they are great shows btw) 
