It's sad enough that Heath Ledger was found dead on Tuesday. By all accounts he was a talented actor and a good guy. I was particularly touched by an article in CNN that consisted of comments from everyday people who had had encounters with Ledger. The shock and loss felt reminds me very much of when River Phoenix died. From the perspective of someone who would never be more than a fan, I thought I had many years of wonderful movies to look forward to, movies in which I could appreciate his beauty and talent. It's sad enough that Heath Ledger died.
How much sadder is it then - what does it say about the state of our society - that the Westboro Baptist Church is planning on protesting Ledger's funeral. The WBC is the same group of people who started off protesting the funerals of gay victims of hate crimes and then "graduated" to protesting the funerals of U.S. soldiers, based on the "logic" that their deaths are God punishing us for our tolerance of homosexuality. So what is the "logic" of protesting the funeral of straight actor, Heath Ledger? Apparently it's because he portrayed a gay man with sympathy and humanity in the movie, Brokeback Mountain.
But even the WBC's response is to be expected. What else would we expect from organization that exists based solely on hate? What really shocked me to new lows was hearing of FOX radio host, John Gibson mocking Ledger's death on his show. Starting his show off with funeral music, Gibson played snippets of Ledger's lines from Brokeback and made snide comments about his death. Protest and hatred almost seem respectful in comparison to mocking. At least that took his life seriously, as having meaning. In contrast, Gibson showed a level of callousness that is beyond my comprehension.
Not that I am defending Don Imus in any way, but Imus made some racist, sexist comments without malice, just stupidity, and he was fired for it. Gibson otoh displayed a cruel disdain for the life of Ledger for no other reason than he portrayed a gay man sympathetically. How in this world is that ok?
