Dear Endymion: What Are Y’all DOING?
If you’re unaware of the latest Mardi Gras scandal (a mere three days into Carnival), here’s a quick recap: the night of January 7th, the Krewe of Endymion announced actor Mel Gibson would ride as co-Grand Marshal of the parade. Less than twenty-four hours later, the Krewe of Endymion announced Mel Gibson would not ride as co-Grand Marshal due to “significant feedback” and “threats that cause us great concern.”
Dear Krewe of Endymion, did you even Google this guy before you picked him? Research him for 10 seconds?
Seriously. Do y’all have a publicist? An HR department? Some sort of ethics board? Someone, anyone, with the forethought to make sure the co-Grand Marshal isn’t a grade-A jerk?
Before anyone comes at me about politics … we need to establish the backlash Endymion faces as a result of choosing Mel Gibson has absolutely nothing to do with politics.
For the sake of this important conversation, we must leave politics and political parties out of it. If you’re on the fence about what the issue is, Google him and then come back to read the rest. As women and mothers, we simply cannot refuse to acknowledge or choose to ignore Gibson’s racist, anti-Semitic, and abusive behaviors.
Skeptical? Last year’s co-Grand Marshal of Endymion was Raymond Arroyo, the lead anchor of Eternal World Television Network. EWTN is a Catholic conservative network. Arroyo is a Roman Catholic conservative and a regular contributor to Fox News. If any backlash from last year’s pick occurred, it was so minuscule it didn’t make the news, and it certainly didn’t cause the super Krewe to retract its decision. So this isn’t about politics. Hard stop.
Mel Gibson is a conservative and a Traditionalist Catholic (please note: this is not the same as a present-day Roman Catholic). No one cared about Arroyo’s Catholicism nor his conservative views. Why?
Because he’s never been convicted of battery for punching his girlfriend in the face, breaking her teeth, and giving her a concussion the way Mel Gibson has.
In response to his then-girlfriend’s cries, Gibson is recorded saying, “You know what? You f****ing deserved it.” And then told her she deserved to be raped by [insert racist term here].
Other recent conservative co-Grand Marshals of Endymion have never accused the Jewish community of “being responsible for all the wars in the world.” No previous co-Grand Marshal of Endymion has a well-documented, lengthy anti-semitic history spanning from 1994 to present the way Mel Gibson does.
So no, this isn’t about politics. This isn’t a run-of-the-mill “I’m offended” situation. This isn’t an attempt to destroy Mel Gibson’s reputation; he’s taken care of that all by himself. This is about holding people accountable by refusing to gloss over criminal behavior and deliberate, repeated hatred for others.
And while I could go on and on (and on, and on) quoting the horrific hatred that regularly spews from Mel Gibson’s mouth, or discuss his multiple DUI charges, or his propensity for assaulting women…I’d rather run my nails down a chalkboard than give him one more moment of my time.
And I saw Endymion’s announcement of promising “to do better in the future,” but come on. A Krewe of strictly men picked a convicted abuser to represent arguably the biggest parade in New Orleans. They chose a loud, unapologetic anti-Semite. They chose a racist.
It is an honor to be a Grand Marshal of Endymion. So let’s honor honorable people, not Mel Gibson.
In this post alone there are four links to Gibson’s infamous behavior. I found them all in less than ten minutes.
Krewe of Endymion, one of the most renowned parades in the city – what’s y’all’s excuse?
Y’all represent home for thousands in the city, millions across the state, and countless others who have found solace here. Like many others, Endymion is my favorite parade of all time. Y’all are joy, hilarity, pride, extravagance and family all rolled into one spectacular moment of the Carnival season. The epitome of “laissez les bon temps rouler.” The heart of Mardi Gras.
With the stakes so high, how could y’all let this happen?
Sincerely,
A Very Concerned Local Mother and Woman
