Celebrities Caught in Gun-Control Hypocrisy

By Michael Terheyden
1/4/2013
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)

In the video, each of the celebrities stands motionless before a drab gray background, and, using all the acting skills they can muster, they read their lines from the teleprompter.

Cameron Diaz with her pistol

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KNOXVILLE, TN (Catholic Online) - I bet you thought New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg did nothing but sit in his office all day thinking about new ways to keep New Yorkers healthy and raise their taxes. But that is not the case. In 2006 he also co-founded a campaign for gun control with Boston Mayor Thomas Menino. They call it Demand a Plan, and they bill it as the largest gun violence-prevention-advocacy organization in America.

After the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut, they produced a video using celebrities from the entertainment industry. The video was posted to You Tube on December 21, 2012, and it has received over two million views.

In the video, each of the celebrities stands motionless before a drab gray background, and, using all the acting skills they can muster, they read their lines from the teleprompter. The end result is a somber plea calling for people to demand a gun-control plan from the government.

However, the anticipated effect apparently backfired on some people. Rather than inspire them to get on the bandwagon for more gun regulation, the video incited them because they perceived it as a blatant hypocrisy. Most of the celebrities in the video who are preaching about preventing gun violence have been in movies that portray gun violence. At least some of them are still making a lucrative living peddling such violence.

Consequently, some of the people incited by these celebrities went to a lot of trouble to create their own videos which point out this hypocrisy. They too can be found on You Tube. I saw a few of them. These homemade videos add movie clips or still photos of the celebrities in rolls depicting gun violence to the original video demanding a gun-control plan.

I do not know these private filmmakers, so I am not endorsing them in any way; but they make a good point, and their videos are worth watching. However, some of them are extremely violent and contain vulgar language. The link I provided is for one of the most benign. It uses still photos without commentary or excessive violence, yet it makes the point quite well.

It appears that these particular celebrities were caught red handed. Celebrities have been using their status to influence public policy for years, but they seem to be getting more arrogant and ridiculous as time goes on. We need to remember that they are entertainers: They act, sing, read what others write, and express emotions on cue.

The successful ones get paid extremely well. Some live in decadent opulence, yet not all is well in their private little world. Some are hooked on alcohol and drugs and die young. While this certainly does not describe all celebrities, it should be a clue that we will not find many experts on the social, political and economic issues of our day from within their ranks.

This brings me to another point. Making violent movies and then preaching about gun control certainly seems hypocritical, but I believe a greater hypocrisy is that they are part of an industry that has been selling mindless violence and vulgar filth to the public for decades. They call their product entertainment, and they tell us that it is harmless; but that is not true.

All too often, their idea of entertainment is to make violence look exciting, psychopaths look cool, perversion look normal, the ugly look attractive, and evil look good. On the flip side, they portray Catholic priests, devout Christians, and traditional moral values as some sort of social disease. Our culture is saturated with this kind of garbage today, and it has an insidious influence on us. It literally poisons the minds and hearts of our children.

Then when someone commits a horrible act of violence--like when 24-year-old, PhD student James Holmes went on a shooting spree in an Aurora, Colorado movie theater dressed up as Batman's nemesis, the Joker--they quickly shift all of the blame away from themselves. They blame the consumers or parents or guns or gun manufacturers or the National Rifle Association, and they call for more regulations on the public.

Of course, there is no one reason or solution for gun violence, but the hypocrisy exposed as a result of this video demanding a plan, reminds us that it is time for the entertainment industry, and all media, to clean up their act. But not just them, us consumers too.

Just think how much good TV shows and movies could offer if they presented their stories of human drama in light of the truth about our nature and with sensitivity to our true dignity and worth. In the long-term, this could easily do more to stem violence in our society than additional gun regulations ever could.

We consumers can also help. So many TV shows are politicized these days that I hardly ever turn on the TV ...

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1 - 10 of 18 Comments

vance
4 months ago
Judy, good to hear from you and to read your great posts. Yes, it has been a huge challenge for parents raising children over the past 30 years. Movies aside, television has been steadily spiraling down into the sewer. It's too bad the Catholic Church hasn't stepped up and had something to say about it.
judy claar
4 months ago
Vance, To further agree on some key notes, especially on Hollywood violent Games and films, that have been De-sensitizing and Programing at Least a generation of our youth, this is something that must be given our utmost attention. I will go one step further and mention sex and morality. Our youth ARE TAUGHT, just like in a classroom, how to use guns, treat their neighbors, how to speak, how to have sex, what type of morality to follow, etc., all by watching films and playing games. A lot of our youth, by the looks of reliable stat reports, the news, the emptying of All churches and temples, the over load of prisons and some mental hospitals or facilities, are only a sampling of what greedy film makers have produced...and they leave an aftermath of broken minds, bodies and souls.

It seems to me, more and more, that it is true what Jo Ann said, in that we are preparing, (and have been) opening the door for another, or others, to walk right in to our country.

Of 3 children, I have 2 that monitor strictly what their children watch. The other tells me it is no different than what is on TV. So much for TV. Her two daughters are not into it. But the two boys are. One > the other. I share this because solid parental foundations means everything!

As for Guns now, I have already said it. IT IS A LEARNED BEHAVIOR.

Vance is right. What goes on in our country today that is Negative because of guns is not really because of guns. It is because of Cause and Effect. Blessings...
CM
4 months ago
Let's make a comparison between abortion and gun.

Both are used to kill people. Abortion is a tool to kill people before birth. Gun is a tool to kill after birth.

Both are used for self defense. Abortion is a tool for self defense against inconvenience of having a child, to be used as a preventive measure against unlikely birth defects. Gun is a tool against inconvenience of other people carrying gun, a tool to make you feel safe by killing other people before they kill you first.

The taking of life cannot be justified. An unborn baby is no less valuable than a 20-yr, 30-yr, 50-yr old person. Someone could say they are innocent unborn, another person could say the adult has contributed much to the society. Nor you can compare tens of thousands people killed by guns while millions killed by abortion. If there's one person in your family that is very close to you got killed by a gun. You won't say "that's okay, gun still takes a lot less life than abortion."

If there's an argument "Well, if someone kill another person with knife (or chair, or chainsaw, or screwdriver) are they going to ban knife (or chair, or chainsaw, or screwdriver) too?", it's invalid because of the primary use. A knife is for cutting primarily, a chair is for sitting, a chainsaw is for cutting wood, a screwdriver is for screwing the bolts. The primary use of gun is to hurt/kill (animal/human).

I'm a catholic. On abortion issue: I'm pro-life. On gun control issue: I'm pro-life too.
vance
4 months ago
Hollywood hypocrisy, This is typical Liberal Left-wing hypocrisy. Hollywood has been producing graphic violent movie for decades. If we notice, these movies are "Shootem-ups" and "Blowem-ups". But we have a violent society as a result of decades of programming and DE-sensitizing of our youth to violence. We have a violent society because we have had decades of anti-Christian, anti-God, anti-Catholic propaganda from Hollywood, the Marxist Media Complex, the Marxist Democrat Party, and a mute Catholic Clergy. We don't have a violent society because we have guns.
Michael Terheyden
4 months ago
Tom McGuire, thank you for your sincere interest in this important matter. Based on your response, it seems to me that you do not have specific knowledge or examples to backup your accusations against the NRA. You merely assume the NRA manipulates facts because it has "large amounts of money." I think this is a false assumption. I do not think people lie and manipulate because they have money; however, they may do it because they want money and for other reasons.

I believe many people, Catholics included, are concerned about "gun control" because they think it is part of an agenda by liberals and Democrats to grow government and control the people. I see much evidence that supports their concerns. A growing police state is one example. In 2008, then Senator Obama said, "We cannot continue to rely only on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives that we've set. We have got to have a civilian national security force that is just as powerful, just as strong, just as well funded." I find this statement very disturbing.

As a Catholic, I am not against government or regulation. They are natural and necessary extensions of the family. But I believe that constructive gun control should focus more on illegal guns and criminals than on the law-abiding public. Effective gun control might also involve not arming Mexican drug dealers and Muslim terrorists like al-Qaeda, which I understand the Obama administration has done. Whatever we do, it must start with the values we impart in our schools and in our culture.
MacArthur
4 months ago
SHOULD AMERICANS BE SUBJUGATED TO GUN CONTROL?

* Over 1 million UN troops in America under a Trojan Horse UN covering

* "Regional police" and "state police" from Latvia, Estonia, other places, all over America

* National Marxist sheriffs union

* Iranian muslims training now in America for terrorism

* Our Armed Forces paganized and gay-accepting under UN command

* Our Armed Forces sent to over 60 countries including National Guard, Reserves and retired police

* Sharia muslims growing daily in pop. across America till their demographics justify dominant Sharia Law

* Islamic centers advertising for converts especially to the Spanish-speaking illegals

* The Che Guevara following and military-trained Sudanese in bloody packing plants

* Foreigners in charge of Homeland Security

* Russian sleepers all over the place. 400 Russian train engineers trained in Florida to navigate American trains. 700,000 Makarov pistols pre-positioned under Clinton in Colorado. Russian Mafia ripping off Medicare for $17 billion-plus per annum. Russian subs off both coasts. FBI trained in most-likely scenarios include Russian EMPs coming into America over Canada. Iranians practicing for years to send up an EMP over America from the Gulf....

* NWO Yugoslavia-trained drug-sniffing dogs in place taught 60 commands

* The international-privatized Prison Industrial Complex growing at an alarming rate and awaiting millions of workers

* Thuggery dominates over Congress and Senate

AND NOW THERE IS TO BE GUN CONTROL? Why does the liberal media magnifiy the threat to 20 CT children... But does not see the above imminently endangering an entire nation?
Tom McGuire
4 months ago
Washington, DC--The National Rifle Association (NRA) receives millions of dollars directly from domestic and foreign gun manufacturers and other members of the firearms industry through an organized corporate outreach program according to a new report issued today by the Violence Policy Center (Violence Policy Center). April 2, 2011

There is no doubt when large amounts of money are invested in a cause, manipulation of facts takes place. Gun control is an emotional issue that easily lends itself to manipulation by all sides.

I lived in a city where I assumed every household had a gun. When at noon I walked in the street and heard gun fire, I did not feel safe. On the fourth of July and January first, the gun fire left bullets embedded in the roof of homes; this did not make me or my neighbors feeling safe. When little children died in their beds from bullets fired in street gun battles; it was like a little Newtown but spread out over the whole year.

As Catholics is there nothing we can do other than promote the possession of more guns to stop the violence?
Eamon Hatley-Smith
4 months ago
Evil also has its sign of contradiction. It's a little like Patterson's Curse, not unlike Fort Hood.
Best of luck with that.
mgm.
4 months ago
What a stupid video .Why would somebody like say a Hitler invade Switzerland its a land locked country and in WW2 it was completely surrounded by Hitler or his Allies .Hitler if he so please could have starved it into submission and then put homegrown Nazis in control! As a neutral country it's industries escape the attentions of the RAF and US Army Air Force Hitler could and did turn to Switzerland for machinery and mechanical items needed to keep his armies rolling that his bombed country could no longer provide,I can't imagine if the cold war had turn hot and Soviets had conquer western Europe they would have not starved the Swiss out too if and when they so pleased.
Michael Terheyden
4 months ago
To Tom McGuire, 3 points: (1). I do not know much about the NRA. Since you believe that NRA manipulates facts and legislation, please give us examples and your reasoning, so we can evaluate your comment. In addition, does you comment imply that gun-control advocates do not manipulate facts and legislation? It seems to me that a lot of gun-control advocates generally relate to liberals and Democrats. These two groups have largely embraced a post-modern mentality--which rejects God; truth; reason; the natural law; and traditional, Christian morality. Consequently, they often feel free to break the rules and stack the deck however and whenever they please. So it seems to me that they would manipulate the facts and legislation far more than most other people (even the Republicans).

(2). Some interesting statistics from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) for deaths in the USA for 2009 are as follows: Gun homicides, 11,493; alcohol, 24,518; car accidents, 34,485; drugs, 39,147; abortions 784,507 (abortion number does not include all states. Alan Guttmacher Institute reported about 1,210,000 abortions for that same year).

(3). I also want to note that Blessed John Paul II referred to a society that aborts its children as a culture of death. Death permeates the whole culture because abortion is a reflection of the value we place on all human life. Even more fundamental is our rejection of God. The Church tells us that we cannot understand who we are (our nature) without reference to God. And if we do not understand our true nature, then we cannot know the true dignity and worth of human life. I believe that our acceptance of abortion and our rejection of God are the most fundamental and important reasons for violence in our society. I also believe that if we really want to reduce gun violence, then we need to start by building a culture of life.

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