Liam Neeson admits he wanted to kill after friend was raped (2 Viewers)

Hey, I thought it was clear, but apparently it isn't.

It's a significant difference. For starters, it's the difference between Neeson having actually attacked someone and not; it wouldn't have been hard for him to find literally any black man. But he wasn't looking for any black man. He was looking for one who would have a go at him, one who in his warped view he could conflate with the rapist and who deserved to be attacked.

He was essentially going out as a vigilante for a week and a half, specifically looking for black male targets. That is undeniably bad. It is not the same as being a serial killer who goes out looking for black male victims. Those are very different.

So what would he have done if a "white" guy had got into his face?

And did he ever say what made him come out with this 'random' and very strange story now? The toxic masculinity stuff?
 
I don't think the difference is as significant as some are making it.

This is exactly how alot of White Nationalists think.

Sure, they are absolute nuts like the kid who shot up the church in South Carolina, and that guy who drove into the protestors in Charlotsville. But then there are also alot who are looking for an "excuse" to beat up a black person (or Hispanic, or Jewish, etc.). They are looking to start "street battles" much like the Nazis did in Germany in the 20s and 30s. Its not like they started beating up random Jewish/Communist/Left-wing people. It was lets start a rally, and see if we can escalate it to something violent. While Neeson was just one man, the mentality is the exact same.
 
So what would he have done if a "white" guy had got into his face?
Beaten him up probably? I mean, it's Neeson walking around with a cosh. I doubt he'd have been in a mood to laugh it off because a guy having a go at him wasn't the sort of guy he was hoping would have a go at him.

A more relevant question might be would he have gone out as he did if the rapist had been white. He says he would. "If she had said Irish or Scot or a Brit or a Lithuanian, I know it would have had the same effect." And that is very probably true, given the background he grew up in.

And did he ever say what made him come out with this 'random' and very strange story now? The toxic masculinity stuff?
Not specifically. It was in response to an interview question asking (paraphrasing), "Why isn't your character able to move on, why does he go on a murder spree?" He was relating how he understood the impulse, what background can lead to it, and how he personally did move on.

He was putting it in the context of the Troubles where this mentality was very much present. "The bigotry, one Catholic would be killed, the next day a Protestant would be killed, one Catholic pub would be bombed and a Protestant pub would be bombed."

It relates to the toxic masculinity stuff obviously, but the impression he gives is that he wasn't thinking about that, only the irrational primal need for revenge aspect, the 'eye for an eye' mentality.

I don't think the difference is as significant as some are making it. This is exactly how alot of White Nationalists think.
Not exactly, no.

Its not like they started beating up random Jewish/Communist/Left-wing people. It was lets start a rally, and see if we can escalate it to something violent. While Neeson was just one man, the mentality is the exact same.
It's a different mentality. Neeson wasn't starting a rally or even trying to provoke anyone. He was literally just walking around hoping someone would have a go at him without being provoked. Which he did four or five times, then came to his senses and stopped.

The why matters too. Neeson was hoping that someone, if not the actual rapist then someone similar to him in appearance and behaviour, would have a go at him so he could take revenge.

Whereas white nationalists think 'their' nation is under threat from non-white people and use violence to attempt to increase division in an effort to drive out those they targeting and to sway a majority into backing their irrational efforts to repress and remove minorities. I think it's a bit of a stretch to suggest that's what Neeson was doing.

So, Neeson's behaviour was not exactly from the white nationalist playbook. It was from the vigilante-briefly-out-for-revenge-before-he-realises-how-dumb-that-is playbook.

Those are different mentalities, and there is nothing to indicate that Neeson had a 'white nationalist mentality' then or now.

That said, Neeson's irrational emotional reaction and behaviour - which I'll just emphasise again is very much wrong and deserves to be condemned - is something white nationalists (and bigots of every other type) try to exploit, and have done for centuries, taking crimes real or imagined and using them to fire up prejudice and violence, which is perhaps why people find it hard to recognise they're not the same thing.

And when we're addressing individuals and their behaviour, it's important to recognise what their specific behaviour was. They deserve to be condemned for what they actually did, not for what other people they could roughly be lumped with may or may not have done. Which is rather the point, isn't it?
 
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And did he ever say what made him come out with this 'random' and very strange story now? The toxic masculinity stuff?

He was being asked about revenge and regret because it has something to do with the movie he was promoting. He volunteered this story as part of his response.
 
Oh, I'm sorry. I thought the term was "elevating".

Well, you guys would know better than me.
 
i'v'e been told that not escalating happens to a lot of guys

It's called the pussification of America. First we start enjoying movies like Twilight and Magic Mike, then our equipment stops working, then we all work at Starbucks to service the Queens.
 
Oh, I'm sorry. I thought the term was "elevating".

Well, you guys would know better than me.

I went and looked up synonyms but that would have gotten this conversation behind the levee so lets just agree that it is a semantic issue

heh....I said semantic
 
if this was the btl i'm sure there's a shaft and 'getting off' joke in here somewhere, but we're above such sophomoricism here

Unfortunately I cannot claim to be above such sophomoricism. I am always cocked and ready for a good turgid pun
 

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