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Liam Nesson expresses regret for his actions in Independent interview

https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-...ursuit-sexual-assault-interview-a8760866.html

Trigger warning quoted interview from the text is highly racist and offensive.

Liam Neeson has revealed he once walked the streets with a cosh for days looking to kill a “black bastard” after someone close to him was raped many years ago.
The actor shared the previously undisclosed story with The Independent during a press junket for his new film, Cold Pursuit, admitting that he is now “ashamed” of his past “awful” behaviour.
Neeson, who has starred in films such as Taken and Non-Stop, recalled being told about the rape after he returned from a trip overseas.

“She handled the situation of the rape in the most extraordinary way,” Neeson said during the interview, which can be read in full here. “But my immediate reaction was ... did she know who it was? No. What colour were they? She said it was a black person.
“I went up and down areas with a cosh, hoping I’d be approached by somebody. I’m ashamed to say that, and I did it for maybe a week – hoping some [Neeson gestures air quotes with his fingers] ‘black bastard’ would come out of a pub and have a go at me about something, you know? So that I could kill him.”

Neeson said it took him about a week or a week and a half to process what had happened.
“It was horrible, horrible, when I think back, that I did that,” he said. “And I’ve never admitted that, and I’m saying it to a journalist. God forbid.”
He added: “It’s awful. But I did learn a lesson from it, when I eventually thought, ‘What the fuck are you doing’, you know?

‘’ I understand that need for revenge, but it just leads to more revenge, to more killing and more killing.”
Neeson shared the personal story after being asked to give more insight into his Cold Pursuit character Nels Coxman’s need for revenge after his son is killed by a drug gang.
“I think audience members live to see that,” Neeson said of onscreen violence. “They can kind of live vicariously through it. People say, ‘Yeah but violence in films makes people want to go out and kill people.’ I don’t believe that at all.
“I think the average moviegoer thinks, ‘Yeah, punch him. Punch him.’ And they get a satisfaction out of seeing somebody else enact it, and they leave the theatre and they feel satiated in some way.”
The Independent contacted Neeson’s publicist for further comment but he declined.
 
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AV

We ain't outta here in ten minutes, we won't need no rocket to fly through space
"Liam Neeson is racist" seems misleading. He's talking about how he's ashamed of a racially charged thing he did (or didn't actually do in this case) in the past. Glad he's owned up to it publicly and acknowledged it wasn't the right reaction., but it's maybe understandable that you'd lose your head a little if a family member was raped. That's not me forgiving, but understanding.
 
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In this day and age, I think Liam Neeson is being extremely foolish talking about this in public.

His past actions are going to be picked apart now for any evidence of wrong doing for a public lynching.
 
Man that thread title just comes right at ya

giphy.gif
 
Title a little presumptuous.

If it was a white/black/yellow/soul patch having man it would've been the same reaction. Human reaction. That's it IMO.
 
Title a little presumptuous.

If it was a white/black/yellow/soul patch having man it would've been the same reaction. Human reaction. That's it IMO.

Bad wording aside the point stands.

The fact he asked fir the race of the atracker is interesting, that and the fact he wanted to kill any black person he came across not just the attacker is an indicator of pre-existing prejudices,
 
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TheWatcher

Banned
Despite what Gilette and other virtual signalling anti white networks tell us, there is an epidemic of black on white rape in the United States. This is backed up by FBI statistics. I understand his rage.
 
Bad wording aside the point asides.

The fact he asked fir the race of the atracker is interesting, that and the fact he wanted to kill any black person he came across not just the attacker is an indicator of pre-existing prejudices,

I think maybe he was just asking what the person looked like, trying to identify the potential attacker
 
Despite what Gilette and other virtual signalling anti white networks tell us, there is an epidemic of black on white rape in the United States. This is backed up by FBI statistics. I understand his rage.

Please don’t hijack this topic to feed anti black narratives.
 

Yoshi

Headmaster of Console Warrior Jugendstrafanstalt
He had a racist impulse and later reflected on his behaviour, seeing that it was wrong and why. It is not fair to say he is racist because of a past mistake he acknowledges as one. Glad that no one was hurt in the process.
 
I think maybe he was just asking what the person looked like, trying to identify the potential attacker

Yes, but that is a matter for the cops. He specifically let went out on the prowl looking to attack any random black person once he heard the ethnicity of the attacker.
 

AV

We ain't outta here in ten minutes, we won't need no rocket to fly through space
Despite what Gilette and other virtual signalling anti white networks tell us, there is an epidemic of black on white rape in the United States. This is backed up by FBI statistics. I understand his rage.

What's that got to do with a rape that occurred "some time ago" presumably in Ireland or England?
 
What anti black narrative? The statistics are out there for everybody to see.

You immediately tried to twist this around into an anti white thing then used it to throw blacks under the bus hiding behind statistics.

Don’t go trying to play the reasonable one here, it doesn't wash, we all see through you. Also don’t even try editing your way out of this, I have screenshots of the original replies.

The ban hammer will surely come for you soon.
 
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RedVIper

Banned
Wait? So a family member was raped? He found out it was a black guy and wanted to kill him?

I'm sure he would want to kill him too if he was white, wth are you on about op.

He appear to be saying he's ashamed of wanting to kill someone and commenting about violence in movies.
 
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Croatoan

They/Them A-10 Warthog
You immediately tried to twist this around into an anti white thing then used it to throw blacks under the bus hiding behind statistics.

Don’t go trying to play the reasonable one here, it doesn't wash, we all see through you. Also don’teven try editing your way out of this, I have screenshots of the original replies.

The ban hammer will surely come for you soon.

Try hard much? I certainly hope he isn't banned. This is not that other forum.
 
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AV

We ain't outta here in ten minutes, we won't need no rocket to fly through space
He found out it was a black guy and wanted to kill him?

No, he was hoping to be approached by a black man so he could attack him, not the black man. It didn't matter if it was the guy or not, he wouldn't have known. That's the point.
 

Yoshi

Headmaster of Console Warrior Jugendstrafanstalt
Wait? So a family member was raped? He found out it was a black guy and wanted to kill him?

I'm sure he would want to kill him too if he was white, wth are you on about op.
He then walked around, hoping to be attacked by someone who shares the rapist's ethnicity with the intent of killing him. It certainly was a racially motivated behaviour. But he acknlowedged it and learnt from his mistake. Maybe others can learn from it without first running around armed with the intent to kill someone who happens to have the same ethnicity.
 

Shifty

Member
He specifically let went out on the prowl looking to attack any random black person once he heard the ethnicity of the attacker.
Not quite- he specifically went on the prowl hoping for a black person to instigate against him so he could attack them. That frames it more as some kind of vigilantism stemming from the rape rather than him simply looking to assault a random black person out of nowhere.

As other have said, it's reprehensible, but the fact that he's self-reflecting and coming to realise that is the important point here.
 
Topic title is some major clickbait hyperbole.

While I certainly don't condone vigilante justice, I certainly can understand Neeson's distress and emotional compromise this situation may have caused. It was his way of dealing with the situation which is evidenced by the fact that he later came to his senses and realized his error. He wasn't angry at the person because of his skin color but because he frikkin' raped a person close to him. People can be blinded by rage, especially in such extreme cases such as this, that doesn't make him a racist though.

Trigger warning quoted interview from the text is highly racist and offensive.

This is ridiculous, Neeson's story is neither "highly racist" nor is it "highly offensive", it's rather heartfelt and deeply emotional experience that is speaking out against violence:

"I understand that need for revenge, but it just leads to more revenge, to more killing and more killing."
 

TheWatcher

Banned
You immediately tried to twist this around into an anti white thing then used it to throw blacks under the bus hiding behind statistics.

Don’t go trying to play the reasonable one here, it doesn't wash, we all see through you. Also don’teven try editing your way out of this, I have screenshots of the original replies.

The ban hammer will surely come for you soon.

See through what? The very existence of this thread was meant to depict a (white) man that isn't racist as a racist because he was temporarily enraged by the fact that a family member/friend was raped by a black man.

Screenshots? Oh, we got a tattletale here. What I said was not racist. Not in the least. I was contextualizing what this man felt.
 

RedVIper

Banned
No, he was hoping to be approached by a black man so he could attack him, not the black man. It didn't matter if it was the guy or not, he wouldn't have known. That's the point.

That's some wild assumptions, he wanted to kill a black man because he associated him with the person who raped his family member, he was emotionally and wanted revenge. Claiming he did it because he's racist and want to kill black people is fucking stupid
 
See through what? The very existence of this thread was meant to depict a (white) man that isn't racist as a racist because he was temporarily enraged by the fact that a family member/friend was raped by a black man.

Screenshots? Oh, we got a tattletale here. What I said was not racist. Not in the least. I was contextualizing what this man felt.

You said there’s an “epidemic” of black rapists
 
It's okay Liam, I'm sure the sharing context was more appropriate as a means to educate rather than talk about something without a message.

This isn't thread worthy or racist compared to that Democrat congressman who had blackface and lied his ass off about the details.
 
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Yoshi

Headmaster of Console Warrior Jugendstrafanstalt
See through what? The very existence of this thread was meant to depict a (white) man that isn't racist as a racist because he was temporarily enraged by the fact that a family member/friend was raped by a black man.

Screenshots? Oh, we got a tattletale here. What I said was not racist. Not in the least. I was contextualizing what this man felt.
What you said was racist, what Neeson did was also racist, but he saw his mistake. Will you, too?
 
I’m glad Neeson learned from this and did not actually attack anyone, he also realises this was wrong and admits fully the movie industry fuelling the fire does not help when it comes to revenge fantasies.

But still the fact he wanted to kill any black person he met, even if they were not involved, in response to this is extremely disturbing;
 
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My comment is not about praising Liam Neeson and his actions.

With that said, I think we'd have a better society if people were able to openly speak of their flaws, biases, and poor judgment without being virtually crucified in social media.

I guess my point is that it's better to try to understand than immediately condemn when possible. We're all human, we're all in this together, we're all flawed in our own ways, but we (many of us) often act as if we're all pure and spotless when encountering the flaws of another.
 
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Skyr

Member
That thread title is dumb.

One individual outburst that was of racial nature under the most dire circumstances doesn't make you a racist.
The man was overcome with blind rage and acted irrational.
He acknowledged his mistake and has the ballz to tell it to the whole world and bring his carreer in danger under the current climate.
He should be praised for his statement and not pointed at with fingers. Other people will learn form this.

Racist is a strong word and should be reserved for people who hold a believe.
Stop acting like a NPC, learn to differentiate and try to put yourself in the position of said person.
 

AV

We ain't outta here in ten minutes, we won't need no rocket to fly through space
That's some wild assumptions, he wanted to kill a black man because he associated him with the person who raped his family member, he was emotionally and wanted revenge. Claiming he did it because he's racist and want to kill black people is fucking stupid

Nothing I said was assumed, it's right there in the source, but yes, I agree with the back end of your post, the OP is incredibly misleading.

I was contextualizing what this man felt.

Again, you compared this story with what you call an epidemic in today's America, they've got little to do with each other.
 
My comment is not about praising Liam Neeson and his actions.

With that said, I think we'd have a better society if people were able to openly speak of their flaws, biases, and poor judgment without being virtually crucified in social media.

I guess my point is that it's better to try to understand than immediately condemn when possible. We're all human, we're all in this together, we're all flawed in our own ways, but we (many of us) often act as if we're all pure and spotless when encountering the flaws of another.

For real, none of us is perfect. I know I thought some pretty stupid when I was younger, I used to act homophobic when I was a teen to cover up the fact I myself am attracted to men and am bisexual.

Looking back, I see how stupid that was and I make a point to not be like that ever again.

I also wish I had worded the title different, what Neeson did was racist, that much us true, but that topic title is wrong and that is my fault.
 
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RedVIper

Banned
For real, none of us is perfect. I know I thought some pretty stupid when I was younger, I used to act homophobic when I was a teen to cover up the fact I myself am attracted to men and am bisexual.

Looking back, I see how stupid that was and I make a point to not be like that ever again.

I also wish I had worded the title different, what Neeson did was racist, that much us true, but that topic title is wrong and that is my fault.

No it isn't.
 

Avasarala

Emoji Emperor
Staff Member
Made an edit to the thread title, trying to bring it more in line with the current discussion.

@OP - If you’d like a further title edit, please convo me.

Have a good day, everyone!
🥳
 

HarryKS

Member
What can you learn from this? That silence is a virtue.

In other words, sometimes, there's no need to lay it ALL out there for your own well-being.
 
Made an edit to the thread title, trying to bring it more in line with the current discussion.

@OP - If you’d like a further title edit, please convo me.

Have a good day, everyone!
🥳

No this is fine, my original title was wrong and I admit that. This way is better, it lets other people make their own determinations once they read the interview.
 

JimiNutz

Banned
Neeson is absolutely crazy for admitting this in an interview. Absolutely no good will come from this.

Wanting to beat up a random innocent black man because your friend was raped by some other black man is most definitely racist. That being said, this was a long time ago and I'm not the sort of person that believes that just because you had some weird racist thoughts many years ago as a result of a terrible tragedy (his friend getting raped) you are now forever a racist piece of shit.

People will most definitely use this as 'evidence' that he is actually a racist though due to outrage culture. People do make mistakes and he's admitting that mistake and saying that it was a horrible and incorrect way of thinking.
 
Neeson is absolutely crazy for admitting this in an interview. Absolutely no good will come from this.

Wanting to beat up a random innocent black man because your friend was raped by some other black man is most definitely racist. That being said, this was a long time ago and I'm not the sort of person that believes that just because you had some weird racist thoughts many years ago as a result of a terrible tragedy (his friend getting raped) you are now forever a racist piece of shit.

People will most definitely use this as 'evidence' that he is actually a racist though due to outrage culture. People do make mistakes and he's admitting that mistake and saying that it was a horrible and incorrect way of thinking.

He wanted to kill, not beat them up.
 

Hobbesian

Banned
This thread and the thread on ResetERA shows that there still is no middle ground between these two extremes where people can't just make dumb-as-fuck-statements and ad hominems without citation or accountability. The very idea of what rational discourse is and means is completely lost among these populations.
 
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Breakage

Member
I don't know why he felt compelled to admit this publically in the current climate. A moment of intense feeling is going to be twisted by the hungry outrage mob.
It's now the top story on the UK's Daily Mail site.
I wonder what he expected to gain from talking about it.
 
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I don't know why he felt compelled to admit this publically in the current climate. A moment of intense feeling is going to be twisted by the hungry outrage mob.
It's now the top story on the UK's Daily Mail site.
I wonder what he expected to gain from talking about it.

The fucking irony of the Daily Maill calling out other people for racism is just too much. They are the blame it all on all on minorities and foreigners shitrag shame if the UK.
 
Despite what Gilette and other virtual signalling anti white networks tell us, there is an epidemic of black on white rape in the United States. This is backed up by FBI statistics. I understand his rage.

I’m still waiting for you to back this up.

An “epidemic” of black rapists is pretty serious stuff
 

Hobbesian

Banned
I don't know why he felt compelled to admit this publically in the current climate. A moment of intense feeling is going to be twisted by the hungry outrage mob.
It's now the top story on the UK's Daily Mail site.
I wonder what he expected to gain from talking about it.

If you're a coward, it's the worst time. If you're not a coward, it's the best time.

This might not have been the best career motion, but I respect it, nonetheless.

I'm black, btw.
 
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I’m still waiting for you to back this up.

An “epidemic” of black rapists is pretty serious stuff

It’s bait, the tactic here is throw out white genocide trash, claim an epidemic, blame it on non whites and then hide behind incited statistics, and never go into detail to avoid exposure. Guerilla style in essence,
 
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