Alec Baldwin: Good-bye, Public Life

[Nobert]

I just heard an item yesterday on N.P.R. about the newest gadget which is a tiny digital camera you can pin on the front of your shirt and that takes a picture every 30 seconds. You then upload the pictures to a site called "Continuity," or something like that, and it picks out what it thinks are the most interesting, based on some algorithm or other.

 

[Feraud]

But according to other people, he's a Grade A whatever, so that is likely what gave me that impression that it was in public.

In private Baldwin berated his 11 year old daughter as a "rude, thoughtless pig". In public he called a photographer a "c***ksucking fag". That is not the fault of the press or public. He's been in the biz long enough to know better. If anyone deserves a healthy does of public excoriation it's this creep.

 

[Tomasso]

In public he called a photographer a "c***ksucking fag". That is not the fault of the press or public. He's been in the biz long enough to know better.

I can't comment on the incident with Baldwin but I have witnessed the paparazzi say much worse to celebs in an effort to provoke them into a violent confrontation that can be captured on film. They talk about what they did to your mother, spouse, children, etc......I guess it comes with the job but I can kinda see a guy snapping once in a while. And if you're a hothead like Baldwin, Sean Penn and the like, you'll get a steady diet of those type of comments. There's no excuse sinking to their level of course but.......

 

[buelligan]

He he I could wear that thing around for a week and there wouldn't be 5 min worth of footage that was exiting enough to watch again. Lot's of pictures of the instrument panel of a 90 Dodge pickup and a blurry 4 year old boy zooming past the camera are about all it would get. lol

 

[Feraud]

I can't comment on the incident with Baldwin but I have witnessed the paparazzi say much worse to celebs in an effort to provoke them into a violent confrontation that can be captured on film. They talk about what they did to your mother, spouse, children, etc......I guess it comes with the job but I can kinda see a guy snapping once in a while. And if you're a hothead like Baldwin, Sean Penn and the like, you'll get a steady diet of those type of comments. There's no excuse sinking to their level of course but.......

Yes, I understand. My wife has accurately noted that I'd be the type to hate that kind of public life. If I were in that position I'd do as much as security, limos, and living away from the public sphere that money can buy to keep myself out of that position.
Didn't Russell Crowe throw a phone at a saucy hotel clerk? I've been to SoHo and wanted to throw a few phones myself..

 

[sheeplady]

In private Baldwin berated his 11 year old daughter as a "rude, thoughtless pig". In public he called a photographer a "c***ksucking fag". That is not the fault of the press or public. He's been in the biz long enough to know better. If anyone deserves a healthy does of public excoriation it's this creep.

Nice that a gay slur is an insult to him.

I can understand being angry at being chased, but it doesn't reflect well on you when your insult is a homophobic slur. There are plenty of much worse things he could have said that don't involve dissing a whole portion of the population. Anger (even justified anger) is no reason for acting like a bigot or using bigoted language.

ETA: You can't expect a child in a custody battle at that age to do anything but what the current custodial parent tells her to do. I understand he was upset at the situation, but his anger should have been fully and totally directed to the child's mother. Quite frankly, if the child's mother was withholding the child multiple times on purpose the mother deserved what was said (and worse). But don't blame the kid or call the kid names... it is and was clearly the mother's fault. Call her and scream at her, not your kid.

I dare anybody to say it was an 11-year-old's fault for not calling her father in this situation. And if she didn't want to call her father, that is her right. Children are not "forced" to visit with their non-custodial parent and shouldn't be. The parents have a visitation right, that doesn't mean that children who are unwilling should be forced to visit or call a parent they don't want to. (Totally different situation than a parent not allowing a child to call or see the other parent.)

 

[Horace Debussy Jones]

This is why I never did much of anything on "Facebook", or any of the so-called "social media". Why on earth would anyone want to post hundreds of pictures of themselves, their families and friends online for ALL to see?? It's like a sort of mass surveillance tool that people willingly play along with because they all want to be famous celebrities. I've opted out. If I want to stay in touch with certain people I just make good old fashioned phone calls.

 

[HudsonHawk]

Nice that a gay slur is an insult to him.

I can understand being angry at being chased, but it doesn't reflect well on you when your insult is a homophobic slur. There are plenty of much worse things he could have said that don't involve dissing a whole portion of the population. Anger (even justified anger) is no reason for acting like a bigot or using bigoted language.

ETA: You can't expect a child in a custody battle at that age to do anything but what the current custodial parent tells her to do. I understand he was upset at the situation, but his anger should have been fully and totally directed to the child's mother. Quite frankly, if the child's mother was withholding the child multiple times on purpose the mother deserved what was said (and worse). But don't blame the kid or call the kid names... it is and was clearly the mother's fault. Call her and scream at her, not your kid.

I dare anybody to say it was an 11-year-old's fault for not calling her father in this situation. And if she didn't want to call her father, that is her right. Children are not "forced" to visit with their non-custodial parent and shouldn't be. The parents have a visitation right, that doesn't mean that children who are unwilling should be forced to visit or call a parent they don't want to. (Totally different situation than a parent not allowing a child to call or see the other parent.)

No one has blamed the daughter. Baldwin apologized to her, said he was really angy at her mother, it's never appropriate to talk to her like that, he loves her and hopes she'll forgive him. She said she did, and she's sorry for not respecting his time, she won't let it happen again. End of family dispute. Or at least it should be. Except that even 8 years later, people on the internet are bringing it up like they have some dog in that fight.

 

[jamespowers]

No one has blamed the daughter. Baldwin apologized to her, said he was really angy at her mother, it's never appropriate to talk to her like that, he loves her and hopes she'll forgive him. She said she did, and she's sorry for not respecting his time, she won't let it happen again. End of family dispute. Or at least it should be. Except that even 8 years later, people on the internet are bringing it up like they have some dog in that fight.

Ok, Alec, what about that slur you made and the airplane game playing thing that you yelled at a stewardess over? Any explanations there?

 

[LizzieMaine]

This is why I never did much of anything on "Facebook", or any of the so-called "social media". Why on earth would anyone want to post hundreds of pictures of themselves, their families and friends online for ALL to see?? It's like a sort of mass surveillance tool that people willingly play along with because they all want to be famous celebrities. I've opted out. If I want to stay in touch with certain people I just make good old fashioned phone calls.

Exactly. Modern society doesn't even try to give the Boys From Marketing a challenge anymore. They walk right up and knock on their door and *beg* for the privilege of being exploited by them. How brainwashed can you get?

 

[jamespowers]

Exactly. Modern society doesn't even try to give the Boys From Marketing a challenge anymore. They walk right up and knock on their door and *beg* for the privilege of being exploited by them. How brainwashed can you get?

Why am I reminded of Forrest Gump here?

 

[sheeplady]

No one has blamed the daughter. Baldwin apologized to her, said he was really angy at her mother, it's never appropriate to talk to her like that, he loves her and hopes she'll forgive him. She said she did, and she's sorry for not respecting his time, she won't let it happen again. End of family dispute. Or at least it should be. Except that even 8 years later, people on the internet are bringing it up like they have some dog in that fight.

Well, technically people brought it up because Alec Baldwin brought up privacy issues. And it is sort of an issue surrounding how his privacy got violated. And probably something that he's still angry about and I imagine fed into his bringing it up.

He seems like the kind of person who's angry that other people catch him in the act of mistreating them. I can't honestly believe anything he says about privacy when his motives seem so suspect.

If the issue with his daughter was the only example of him misbehaving, I doubt anyone would remember it. But he seems to have a pattern.

 

[Nobert]

I had actually never thought about pictures of myself being available to anyone online, via Facebook or whatever. I can't say it really bothers me. Obviously, I wouldn't want to see myself being used to advertise something I didn't believe in, or something that made money that I didn't see any of. Beyond that, I don't really care if people know what I look like, and I'm pretty sure most of them don't care what I look like.

I have no opinion on Alec Baldwin.

 

[HudsonHawk]

He seems like the kind of person who's angry that other people catch him in the act of mistreating them. I can't honestly believe anything he says about privacy when his motives seem so suspect.

So what about his motives with respect to privacy do you think isn't genuine? Certainly not his rant against his daughter, right? That was in private, meant to stay private, and it's an example of why he thinks he's not getting any privacy. Surely that's genuine. It sounds like you either don't believe he really wants privacy, or really only wants to be able to act like an ass with impunity. Perhaps, but what makes you think that?

 

[HudsonHawk]

Ok, Alec, what about that slur you made and the airplane game playing thing that you yelled at a stewardess over? Any explanations there?

1. That was in public.

2. I have no idea what his excuse is. But it's irrelevant to the rant against his daughter.

 

[PrettySquareGal]

I'm OK with my photos online--that is, the ones I place there. I am not OK with someone taking my photo or videotaping (what's the current term?) me without my knowledge or permission, posting it and leaving it open for comments.

 

[vintage68]

Thanks for posting that link to the Baldwin article. I read the whole thing, and it's a very sad commentary. I wouldn't wish fame on anyone.

 

[PrettySquareGal]

Thanks for posting that link to the Baldwin article. I read the whole thing, and it's a very sad commentary. I wouldn't wish fame on anyone.

You're welcome. The problem as I see it is that now anyone can become famous by simply having an embarrassing or unflattering moment go "viral" without their consent.

 

[jamespowers]

1. That was in public.

2. I have no idea what his excuse is. But it's irrelevant to the rant against his daughter.

Yes Alec, that was in public. You acted like an as in public and now you want to be a "private person" so you don't look like a jackass---like you really are.
Alec, you have no excuses for your inability to manage anger and you want to manage your publicity around it now. To bad. Cry me a river......waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! And it is relevant to your daughter because she was the brunt of your inability to control your anger or yourself for that matter. You would never find me saying anything like that in public OR private to my sons.
It just goes to character and showing the lack thereof and then complaining about it when it is exposed. Be a better man! No excuses. And if I hear you using that “do you know who I am thing just once more…….
(Gee it feels good to tell a no-account celebrity off even if it isn’t him directly.)

 

[sheeplady]

So what about his motives with respect to privacy do you think isn't genuine? Certainly not his rant against his daughter, right? That was in private, meant to stay private, and it's an example of why he thinks he's not getting any privacy. Surely that's genuine. It sounds like you either don't believe he really wants privacy, or really only wants to be able to act like an ass with impunity. Perhaps, but what makes you think that?

I am going to tell you exactly how I read this article:
1. I am not homophobic.
2. Yes, I use homophobic slurs all the time when I am angry.
3. It's not my fault I use homophobic slurs when I am angry because I don't control what I am saying.
4. Even though I automatically use slurs when I get mad, I am not homophobic.
5. How sad (for me?) that gay people think I'm a homophobe and are uncomfortable around me because of things I say.
6. How can you not believe I'm a homophobe after my cunning wit using derogatory statements like "Gay Department of Justice." And all my very nice digs at all the openly gay media people.
7. It is unfair you fire me because of something I say. Because, you know, these highly disgusting words should have no meaning when I say them.
8. I hate everyone who's been rumored to have taken part in said firing. I will throw them under the bus. Heck, I was told by this one person that the top openly gay person at MSNBC made me get fired.
9. I wanted to have a career in politics. But the media ruined it for me by broadcasting my homophobic slurs. Which weren't slurs. See numbers 1-4. Also kind of 5-8.
10. To ask for privacy I'm going to make a big announcement about it online.
11. Oh, by the way, I'm not homophobic. Because there's not like 10 things right in this column itself that indicate I am, regardless of my previous behavior.

I'm sorry, but did no editor look at this before he published it? It makes him look worse. It's a non-apology that makes him look more homophobic than ever. So, yes, I think he wants to be able to be his little old homophobic self and not have any consequences. There is nothing in this article that makes me feel otherwise. It is not a heartfelt apology... it is an article full of jabs and digs.