Disney announced that James Gunn would return to direct “Guardians of the Galaxy 3”. He had written and directed the franchise’s first two installations, “Guardians of the Galaxy” and “Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2”, which grossed worldwide $773 million and $863 million, respectively.
In July 2018, Disney fired James as Director of ‘Guardians 3’ when tweets he made 10 years ago resurfaced. Obviously, While James was the target of social media ‘trolls’, his tweets were reprehensible, joking about child abuse and rape. In the aftermath, he went back and deleted his old tweets on his Twitter account.
I had read some of his “alleged” tweets in an article in USA Today. His tweets were repugnant, unkind, and not funny at all. Amidst the escalating controversy, 52-year-old James said he could blame what he said in the past on being “young and stupid”; however, he sincerely copped that his words were unkind and offensive. Ultimately, he accepted responsibility and the consequences for what he said. Good for James.
This is the ubiquitous ‘social media’ culture we live in. Whatever we say in Facebook posts or Tweets can and will come back to haunt us. Unfortunately, no one is perfect: we’re all human.
Jesus Christ said, “He that is without sin among you, let him cast the first stone…” We all make mistakes. We’ve all sinned. Instead of our desire to make ourselves look greater at the expense of others’ humanity, we need to have compassion.
I’ve reflected on this before. When I attended my all-boys high school in the 1970’s, I’d use the “other f-word”, so I could look cool, simultaneously making others look ‘uncool’. What I said was cruel and thoughtless to the boys who were gay but could not be themselves in front of the world for fear of being socially outcast. Hearing that kind of shit must have been hell.
Many years after I graduated, I discovered that 2 of my classmates died of AIDS, and a couple had gender reassignment. They were among others, who had suffered just to be themselves. Yes, “stick and stones will break bones”, but unkind words will always hurt you.
I can’t go back and unsay what I said. I’m sorry for what I said. I hope along with that experience and my own adversity; I’ve become a greater man. I know that I have to keep working on that. I can always be greater.
After Disney announced the rehiring of James Gunn as Director of “Guardians 3”, he tweeted:
“I am tremendously grateful to every person there who supported me over the past few months. I am always learning to work at being the best human being I can be…”
Amen, James. We should be allowed to make mistakes, learn from them, becoming greater than we know ourselves to be. We have to learn to forgive others and really forgive ourselves.
I did.
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