Mel Gibson’s next apology: To veterans

I just saw Mel Gibson’s latest film, “Edge of Darkness.” I’ll leave the full-blown film critique to someone better equipped.

But there is one infuriating moment in the movie that deserves a quick, firm and unambiguous apology from Mr. Gibson

In the middle of an otherwise fairly inoccuous whodunit, Gibson’s character suddenly begins scoffing at soldiers who suffer from post-tramautic stress disorder.

I can’t give the exact quote, but the gist goes something like this:

I didn’t come home changed from the war. Whatever people say about PTSD, in my opinion soldiers come out of combat pretty much the same as when they went into combat.

I know, I know: This is a character talking, not Gibson.

But this is one of Hollywood’s most powerful actors, in a major studio film, parroting the tough-guy skepticism that the US military has spent years trying to overcome.

This portion of dialogue is entirely superfluous: It’s a sudden detour into the most appallingly ignorant nonsense.

For the record, here’s what we know about Americans suffering from PTSD, from an Associated Press article in 2008:

Records show roughly 40,000 troops have been diagnosed with the illness, also known as PTSD, since 2003. Officials believe that many more are likely keeping their illness a secret.

“I don’t think right now we … have good numbers,” Army Surgeon General Eric Schoomaker said Tuesday.

Defense officials had not previously disclosed the number of PTSD cases from Iraq and Afghanistan.

Army statistics showed there were nearly 14,000 newly diagnosed cases across the services in 2007 compared with more than 9,500 new cases the previous year and 1,632 in 2003.

Gibson has walked on thin ice before, with a drunk driving incident and an anti-semitic rant that nearly derailed his career.

This bit of disrespect was buried in a largely forgettable film, so maybe it will overlooked.

I hope that doesn’t happen. I hope Mr. Gibson will acknowledge publicly that soldiers suffering from PTSD deserve and should receive adequate help.

What’s certain is that next time Mr. Gibson want to establish his macho credibility, he shouldn’t do so by calling out soldiers injured while defending the United States.