When are People Willing to Forgive and What are They Willing to Forget?

It had recently been reported that Hollywood scumbag Harvey Weinstein was removed from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. I say good riddance to him and his creepiness. However this begs the question of why people are only targeting him as of right now? Of course he’s quite big in media right now but there are other celebrities that didn’t get nearly this much heat when certain details of their life were uncovered.

Famous boxer Mike Tyson was convicted of assaulting a woman in 1992. However, one cameo in the film The Hangover and now no one cares? Do people just forgive because it happened so long ago? Is that what people will be doing in regards to Weinstein, twenty years from now? Or did people just honestly move on from the fact that this celeb with a funny voice committed such an atrocious crime?

This is why I feel that Weinstein is getting severely punished: it’s only because of how much attention this news is getting. I mean, he should be severely punished and this should be given all the spotlight right now. It’s disgusting what he’s done and the women he wronged need their voices heard. However, what about everyone else?

Back in February of this year, Casey Affleck was being nominated for his lead role in the critically acclaimed Manchester by the Sea. However, around that time, accusations of similar assault were being brought up in the news. He still won the Oscar. Then people apparently just moved on. Was that the right way to handle that? How come no one focused on that aspect of Affleck during the awards season?

Known Anti-Semite Mel Gibson is starring in a kid’s Christmas movie coming out soon! Isn’t it absurd to re-read that sentence?

I’ve heard this phrase before and I think about it a lot: Judge the art, not the artist. Mel Gibson is not a good guy but I will say that Lethal Weapon is a good movie. I will say he’s good in the movie but I will not say he’s a good person. I judge the films they make as films putting all other thoughts aside. However it is hard sometimes when you see them get so much recognition on their art and then people start judging the artist. Ignoring the past of most of them.

What Gibson did was not as severe as Weinstein but it has been shown that he has some very strong feelings toward certain groups and cultures. He was also nominated for an Oscar recently. So in by doing that, does the Academy support his views? Because if they don’t support Weinstein, but still nominate and award people like Casey Affleck, Woody Allen, and Mel Gibson…

Then where is the line?

And more importantly, when is it drawn?