James Gunn was the director of both blockbuster films Guardians of the Galaxy (GOTG) 1 and 2. He was slated to be the director for the next installment as well, that was until some controversial and sensitive subject matter-based tweets of his from 10 years ago were resurfaced and circulated around by internet personality Mike Cernovich. Because of it, Disney promptly fired James Gunn, which left me asking, where is the forgiveness?
Honestly, I’m pretty upset right now about Disney’s action. While Gunn’s tweets were indeed insensitive and done in very poor taste back then, we’re talking about something from 10 years ago. 10 YEARS! Those he’s worked with have even stated that those old tweets don’t even match his personality these days. Rather, he’s described as a loving, caring, and good-natured individual who’s gentle and kind and thoughtful of all people and even animals. And as Dave Bautista (who plays Drax in GOTG) put it succinctly, “He’s made mistakes. We all have…” Yet, Disney is still holding Gunn accountable for something he more than apologized for many times over.
The fact is, I’m not ok with Disney’s action at all because frankly, if everyone was held accountable in this world, like Disney has done with Gunn, for every mistake they’ve ever made throughout their lives, regardless of any positive changes or amends the person has made, very few would probably remain employed. The same principle holds true with anything really. Imagine if someone you were dating held you accountable for something you did well before you ever entered into that relationship and promptly left you as soon as they discovered it? Is that fair? Not really.
But life is often not fair, especially nowadays where people seem more hell bent on carrying judgments, anger, and resentments towards those who’ve made mistakes, rather than offer any forgiveness.
What I find most sad about this lack of forgiveness is how a majority of those not offering it also consider themselves to be a Christian. It was made pretty clear to me in my Biblical studies from long ago that Christ said to always forgive, no matter what. So why are people not doing much of that these days? And why can’t James Gunn be forgiven for something he did 10 years ago that he openly admits was an immature mistake, especially in light of the fact that he’s definitely not that immature person anymore.
In my humble opinion, I believe this lack of forgiveness by so many is related to the notion that it’s far easier to point the finger at others instead of at oneself. It’s far easier to look at someone else’s mistakes than one’s own, which reminds me of what Christ once preached so eloquently when he said, “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?” Sadly, I’m sure this is precisely why Disney quickly cut ties with Gunn, so as to avoid any potential backlash from all those who might point the finger at their company and put them in any type of bad light.
Personally, I’ve encountered a number of individuals in recent years who’ve misunderstood me and pointed the finger at me in the process, labeling me as this and that, and judging and resenting me, rather than looking at themselves in the mirror, at their own behaviors. Behaviors such as adultery, promiscuity, addiction, and plenty of other toxic behaviors that I only became a projection for. And even when I never judged them for any of those things, they continued to judge me and couldn’t seem to find forgiveness in their heart. I believe that ‘s because forgiveness is something that must come from the heart and from looking within, but if the focus remains on pointing the finger, then that’s looking on the outside, instead of on the inside.
The fact is, forgiveness is so difficult for many because it means overcoming the ego, which would rather hold on to all that anger, judgment, and resentment to keep the focus off of having to look within. Believe me, it took a lot of work to go within and find forgiveness for my mother and father after their selfish actions led to their tragic deaths. The same was true for me finding forgiveness with the adult male who molested me when I was a 12 year old kid. But I did find forgiveness with both my parents and the molester as well, and became a lot freer and more at peace because of it. Most don’t realize that offering forgiveness leads to far more freedom and peace within, as compared to how very little of that will ever come from continuing to harbor anger, judgments, and resentments.
Nevertheless, I truly believe that James Gunn deserves forgiveness and his job back as director for the 3rd GOTG film. It’s pretty clear he’s not the immature person he once was and has done his very best to erase his past through his positive current nature. Haven’t all of us made our own immature statements from time to time in our lives that we ended up regretting at some point and hoped we’d receive forgiveness for?
I’m sure most of us could answer that with a yes, so, hopefully Disney will offer exactly that to Gunn and hopefully the rest of the world will also follow suit one day when they start discovering that practicing forgiveness is going to lead to a much more peaceful existence, both within themselves, and with the rest of society as well.
Peace, love, light, and joy,
Andrew Arthur Dawson
When I think of the children I teach I find myself forgiving them over and over. I will gently point out their foibles but then let them know that such misbehavior will always be forgiven and they will be loved. I often say: “Just because you made a mistake doesn’t mean you are a mistake.” I often think forgiveness should be thought of in this way.
Don, such a beautiful way to teach! Kudos to you for practicing such unconditional love my friend! 🙂