is Mark Wahlberg a scumbag, or a redeemed man?

[Syrinx]

I think the only movies of his that I have seen are Boogie Nights, which I thought was hilarious, and Planet Of The Apes, which I thought was vastly inferior to the original version. I've enjoyed Entourage over the years, and I've heard mostly rave reviews of Boardwalk Empire, both of which he has produced. I thought his former alter-ego, Marky Mark, was kind of pathetic. (But I guess it worked for him.)

His personal history seems to point to scumbag, but maybe he got over all his hate. I'm not sure.

Extended clip from Wikipedia follows.

Wahlberg claims to have been in trouble 20–25 times with the Boston Police Department as a youth. By the age of 13, Wahlberg had developed an addiction to cocaine and other substances.<5><6> At 15, he harassed a group of African American school children on a field trip by throwing rocks (causing injuries) and shouting racial epithets.<7> When he was 16, Wahlberg knocked a middle-aged Vietnamese man unconscious, left another Vietnamese man permanently blind in one eye, and attacked a security guard (again using racist language).<8><9> For these crimes, Wahlberg was charged with attempted murder, pleaded guilty to assault, and was sentenced to two years in jail at Boston's Deer Island House of Correction, of which he served 45 days (6.16%).<8><10> In another incident, the 21-year-old Wahlberg fractured the jaw of a neighbor in an unprovoked attack.<11> Commenting in 2006 on his past crimes, Wahlberg has stated: "I did a lot of things that I regretted and I have certainly paid for my mistakes." He said the right thing to do would be to try to find the blinded man and make amends, and admitted he has not done so, but added that he was no longer burdened by guilt: "You have to go and ask for forgiveness and it wasn't until I really started doing good and doing right, by other people as well as myself, that I really started to feel that guilt go away. So I don't have a problem going to sleep at night. I feel good when I wake up in the morning."<12>

After landing in prison following this assault, Wahlberg decided to change his ways. In his own words, "As soon as I began that life of crime, there was always a voice in my head telling me I was going to end up in jail. Three of my brothers had done time. My sister went to prison so many times I lost count. Finally I was there, locked up with the kind of guys I'd always wanted to be like. Now I'd earned my stripes and I was just like them and I realized it wasn't what I wanted at all. I'd ended up in the worst place I could possibly imagine and I never wanted to go back. First of all I had to learn to stay on the straight and narrow." Wahlberg first relied on the guidance of his parish priest to turn his back on crime. He told his street gang that he was leaving them and had "some serious fights" with them over it. The actor commented in 2009: "I've made a lot of mistakes in my life and I've done bad things. But I never blamed my upbringing for that. I never behaved like a victim so that I would have a convenient reason for victimising others. Everything I did wrong was my own fault. I was taught the difference between right and wrong at an early age. I take full responsibility".<13>

I just saw something on TV that got me to thinking about this. Pretty random, I admit.

[Mimosa]

1. Hardly a 'scumbag'

Why would you even use that term?

Did you see the 60 Minutes feature about Wahlberg? He's a righteous man. Boardwalk Empire has a lot to say and parallels to today's politics and the 'War on Drugs.'

[Hannah Bell]

4. he permanently blinded someone for no reason except race. it's kind of scummy.

i'm willing to allow that he's reformed since then, but still -

[Syrinx]

8. that's pretty much how I feel about it.

:hi:

[varkam]

2. Do the things we do when we're 16 make us scumbags for life?

If so, I think a lot of people are screwed.

[Syrinx]

3. racially motivated, random violence at age 21 is not teenage mischief

[varkam]

5. I didn't say it was.

But 21 isn't a far shot off from 16. In fact, the brain is still developing well into the mid-twenties, so do the things we do when we're 21 make us scumbags for life?

eta: and from what you posted, it seems the attack with the racial overtones occurred when Mr. Wahlberg was 16.

[Syrinx]

7. he blinded a man, because of race, and he's "not burdened by guilt"

I'm not saying he's currently a bad person. But if I had caused a man to go blind in my youth, I would hope I would feel a wee bit guilty about it.

[varkam]

10. Well, if one reads past that part, one will read....

"You have to go and ask for forgiveness and it wasn't until I really started doing good and doing right, by other people as well as myself, that I really started to feel that guilt go away. So I don't have a problem going to sleep at night. I feel good when I wake up in the morning."

and

"I've made a lot of mistakes in my life and I've done bad things. But I never blamed my upbringing for that. I never behaved like a victim so that I would have a convenient reason for victimising others. Everything I did wrong was my own fault. I was taught the difference between right and wrong at an early age. I take full responsibility"

:shrug: I'm not sure what more you want. He made a huge mistake, served his time, accepted responsibility for his actions, and changed his ways. I mean...I'm not sure what more one can do in order to be considered redeemed.

[vi5]

12. I could see the issue if....

as I mentioned in my response, this stuff happened yesterday or fairly recently. Then one could legitimately question how much of his conversion was motivated by career reform or damage control, and also how much of it would actually stick.

But hell, it's going on 20 years without even so much a peep, so yeah I'd say it's pretty safe to say he's doing o.k.

[Tunkamerica]

6. you conflated the two incidents. one was 16 one was 21. there was no mention the assault at 21 was

racially motivated.

[Syrinx]

9. even if it wasn't racially motivated...

It's kind of rude to fracture someone's jaw for no reason.

[druidity33]

16. who says there was no reason?

It may have been a crappy reason... induced by alcohol or rage, fear and stupidity, but no reason? I doubt that.

:shrug:

[Tunkamerica]

17. perhaps, but the incident was misrepresented.

[vi5]

11. I think he legitimately reformed...

Doesn't make what he did as a kid irrelevant, but it's also not as though he tries to hide that stuff or pretend it didn't happen. I'd be more troubled if it came out that he hid this stuff, but as long as he's been in the public eye he's fessed up to it.

I don't think he's a saint or even a phenomenal actor. But I think he genuinely seems like someone who has tried at every split path in his life to take the road of improving himself and bettering himself as a person even when it was tough to do. Whether it's going from a thug to getting into music, to then trying acting, and on and on.

Does this make him as good a person as someone who might have gone through the same things he did as a kid and instead devoted their lives to helping others and working with the poor or kids? No, not as all. But then again I don't believe that the majority of us do that either, hardscrabble past or not.

I'm an atheist. But he genuinely seems like someone for whom faith and the support of clergy really helped him turn around his life and to do something better with it. And he's now a hardworking guy and by all accounts a good father and mate and someone who is up front about his past indiscretions and not afraid to talk about them openly.

I know the whole "second chances" thing is a big topic on here lately and I'm guessing that is where this OP stems from. And that's fine. It's a good question. And if this were stuff he did yesterday or last month then I might be more skeptical than I am. But it's been what.....20 years almost? I'd say this is a conversion that seems to have stuck. Hell, he doesn't even seem to get in as much trouble or seem as unhinged and a live wire as many other Hollywood stars.

[mmonk]

13. The Shooter is one of my favorite movies.

My family gave me a copy for Christmas because I like it so much.

[Warren Stupidity]

14. Uh, neither? He is a pretty good actor.

[stray cat]

15. Or someplace in between like most people in the world?

Not perfect but not "Evil Doers"

[mackerel]

18. He's hardly an intellectual but he's made some good films.

I say bring on more films like The Other Guys and The Fighter!

My Vote: Not a scumbag

Oh and he's hot!

[somone]

19. He sure was a racist asshole:

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/file/back-day-marky-marks-rap-sheet-0?page=2

“During the chase, the group of white males yelled ”Kill the nigger! Kill the nigger!” and each one threw a rock at the Coleman brother and sister”

(The Coleman brother was 12 years old)

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/file/back-day-marky-marks-rap-sheet-0?page=7

“Thanh Lam left his car carrying two cases of beer. As he crossed the sidewalk, Mark Wahlberg attacked Thanh Lam. Wahlberg was carrying a large wooden stick, approximately five feet long and two to three inches in diameter. Wahlberg approached Thanh Lam calling him a “Vietnam fucking shit,” then hit him over the head with the stick. Thanh Lam was knocked to the ground unconscious.” ....

“Wahlberg ran up to Hoa Trinh, put his arm around Hoa Trinh’s shoulder, and said: “Police coming, police coming, let me hide.” After a police cruiser passed, Wahlberg punched Trinh in the eye, causing him to fall to the ground. Police arrived and Hoa Trinh identified Wahlberg as the person who punched him. Wahlberg was placed under arrest and read his rights. Thereafter he made numerous unsolicited racial statements about “gooks” and “slant-eyed gooks.”"

-------------------------------------------------------------

"I have certainly paid for my mistakes"

45 days for assault and attempted murder? That's all?

[mackerel]

20. I'm sure if he had been given more time than he would have

had to serve it. He didn't choose his own sentence.