MEL-icious Behavior

Okay, so....what do we know about this guy Mel Gibson? What has this man revealed about himself...that we didn't already know? As we filter through our emotional reactions...shock ...horror...anger...laughter...we will ultimately make conclusions about the him. It's what we do. And as every celebrity-news-loathing bone in my body protests, I just can't help but think about this thing. Out loud of course. Well, sort of...

A pig? Yes. Arrogant? Yep. Volatile? Oh yeah. And yet, one more thing stands out from this most recent celebrity fuss. The man is, to borrow a line from that fine movie O Brother, Where Art Thou, as dumb as a bag of hammers. Intelligent? Perhaps. After all, he produces movies with languages that no one actually speaks! And they're very long...always an indication that a this is one serious movie maker. That must take some thought, huh? But the man is stupid, plain and simple. Unless he has never owned a freakin' computer or watched even one minute of television, he knows that whatever he does, WE WILL KNOW! Gulf coast? Well, blah, blah. Orphans in Haiti? Becoming boring news I suppose. But! Miley Cyrus has a hickey! Justin Bieber has no forehead! Only hair! We know...we must know everything about celebrities. Just ask Regis!

Oh, but he's handsome. Even I know that. He can find a starlet, marry her, pop out a baby and he's happyhappy and, most importantly, he's in the news again. Then the plot thickens. He's not getting his way....or not often enough. She's not listening...obviously. She just doesn't understand that he IS Mel Gibson, after all. He picks up the phone. He punches numbers in a seething rage. And, as those who have never gone to school will say (more on that later), "waalaah!" He's dumb again.

Oh, I know. He's not so innocent as just plain dumb. He's a classic narcissist. I've met many of these guys (and occasionally gals) right there on my comfortable leather sofa. (Nora, usually also on that couch, can sense a narcissist and usually chooses to lie elsewhere. It's what a good, intuitive therapy dog does.) They've come to my office..not out of a true desire to own their miserable behaviors, but to put on a good show for some controlled significant other... and to seek sympathy for being misunderstood...for being right but not receiving cooperation... for just about anything besides saying "I'm a controlling idiot and I need to change!"

But I was thinking on my morning dog walk about this and I think that ol' Mel might be doing a public service of sorts. Maybe his phone call will be enlightening to those who most need enlightening....the victims of narcissism and domestic violence. Unfortunately, to many women, this kind of behavior...yelling, swearing, threatening, name-calling, even hitting...is tolerated. High school boys bully their girlfriends. Financially dependent mothers must stay with their

a-holes, feeling weakened and frightened to leave. Maybe...just maybe...Mel's so utterly offensive words and actions...and enough public outrage...will empower some of these victims to leave. Wouldn't that be a wonderful thing?

In a TV age where commercials and sitcoms characterize men as idiots...for laughs...I resent Mel for validating the stereotype. And maybe thank him for the same, sad impressions. Now that you have, Mel....just go away. Okay?