Some folks have apparently taken exception to my unequivocal rebuke of “the slap”. Unfortunately, as those who know me, know, I rarely pull my punches. I had expressed my opinion early on, within minutes of the spectacle we witnessed.My comment at the time was basically “apparently Will Smith can’t take a joke”
Wasn’t long before I heard from the apologist. “SHE HAS ALOPECIA!” What a cruel joke.
Well, let’s be honest. Alopecia.. is not Leukemia, it is not cancer, hell, it’s not even diabetes.
What it is…is, a malady, not life threatening….where one loses their HAIR. SOMETIMES A LOT, SOMETIMES A LITTLE. BUT, guess what. They are not in pain, they do not suffer, they are devoid of some part of their body hair. That’s it. I would ask, has any actor, or actress, not worn a hair piece for a part? No problem there. Yep, they make these things for a ton of Hollywood personalities who use them on the daily. A friggin’ hairpiece.
🧑🏻🦲 There are 5 forms of alopecia. Some are complete loss of body hair…(that’s horrible!) wait, some people rid themselves of body hair willingly? Ya mean…everywhere? Yep, some folks do that, some stop at the head.
👹So the egregiouscomment in question, was a joke about a 1997 movie, that starred an A-list Hollywood icon (Demi Moore) in one of her strongest performances of her career. Do I have that right? Demi Moore, at the time was peaking in her career. She not only sported the shaved head look, she was physically ripped. What a horrible comparison!
😏All that being said, what about the actual event? A comedian, was asked to perform and present an award. He did say a mildly offensive thing, but you need to check out past presenters schtick. Check out Ricky Gervases’diatribe against the A listers. Rock’s comment was benign.
🤦🏻Then, there is the history. While many may have not known about Jada”s “condition”, they certainly knew of her open marriage proclamations. She freely exposed them on her show, and the aggrieved husband Will Smith, wrote about it in his latest book. Yep, he is apparently OK with someone else putting something in his wife…..but please don’t let a comedian disparage his wife in silly joke about her hair. That’s a step TOO FAR!
💧The hypocrisy literally drips from the sight of the standing ovation given by those attending the awards show. His apology omitted any reference to Rock, but, after a night of “getting jiggy with it” the cruel hand of reality slapped Will Smith in his6’3”frame that willingly attacked the much smaller C. Rock. He apologized, saying his actions were inexcusable but within the next breath, he made an excuse…”Love makes you do crazy things.” Really?
😥Wonder where he comes down on his wife proclaiming they live an “open” lifestyle?
😾Of course, we could talk about this from now on, but for me. It was, what we call a “b!#ch M@ve” Big man, after laughing at Rock’s joke, got the “Stink Eye” and made his conciliatory move.
🎬May not mean much to anyone, but I won’t be watching any more Will Smith, or of Jada Pinkett Smith’s (wait, don’t think I’ve seen any of hers before) movies. Won’t watch Bel Aire, won’t watch reruns of Fresh Prince, and sadly, won’t watch the original “Men In Black” one of my favorite movies of all time. I may suggest others to watch “Wild Wild West”. Yikes!
🎭Folks reading this are absolutely free to watch anything you want. But I must tell you, given the current state of the Union, actions like this that go unpunished, if the aggressor feels no consequences, then we tread a slippery slope.🗽
💰It has become apparent, that we live in a country, that has two sets of rules. Yep, we have decided on one set of rules for the elites, the wealthy, and the powerful, and another for the rest of us. It’s a very sad time we are experiencing at the present. The division in this country has manifested itself more than I believe any American ever expected to see in their lifetime.
👹While everyone who knows me, knows where I come down politically. I am a liberal Democrat. I am not radical, or especially progressive, but I do understand division of a country.
We watch recently elected politicians run roughshod over decorum, and more adversely Democracy. The hypocrisy of the Republican Party is currently mounting attacks on everything this American experiment has fought to uphold. And yes, it is an experiment. A 232 year old experiment, that has become the symbol for democracies all over the planet. We decided to strive for a more perfect Union. A diverse country, where everyone is equally represented by free and fair elections.
Yes, we were once held up as the example of what could happen if a country worked together. Now, not so much. Adversaries are now pointing to things like 1/6/21 as an example of how this system of government is failing. The few recently elected house members have decided…to capitalize on the division of the country, in order to scratch some personal itch they feel can be relieved by being recognized….finally! The attention they seek, wasn’t achieved in the normal course of life. They decided to take advantage of the division running rampant in the country, beginning it’s resurrection with the “Tea Party”. Lot’s of us scoffed at the grass roots opposition made popular by Newt Gingrich, and recruited other dim bulbs such a Sarah Palin…once an actual vice-presidential candidate, that knows less about governess, than the lowest rung politician on your city council. But she did learn the buzz words. In fact those like MTG , Matt Gaetz, Josh Hawley, etc. have learned the incendiary phrases that stir the most radical emotions.
While this article began with “The Slap” the incident, is simply a byproduct of current disregard for our fellow humans. If you believe, tribalism and teams, is what will make this country great, you are simply lying to yourself. The only thing this nation has always held on to, was the ability of this country to unite and pull together in common cause. That attribute is slowly slipping away. In fact it is more than “slipping” away, it is running at full speed.
When we see individuals decide, might makes right…we are lost. Will Smith was obviously out of line, and embarrassed himself in front of millions, but in the current attitude of this country, apparently, you can do what you want, behave anyway you want, and you will have those that support that action. (Yes I know, he has been banned from Academy functions for 10 years…oh dear! Wait, he can still be nominated, and win an Academy award…he just can’t pick it up in person) Yep, I’m sure he’s horrified.
The things far-right representatives have said and done, makes it comical that someone like Marjorie Taylor Green would file a report with the Capital Police, against a late night comedian who told a joke about her. She has threatened Congressmen and women, she has called those “R’s” who did not vote her way, pedophiles and “groomers”, yelled through mail slots at her fellow representatives, and chased down and heckled a surviving student from the Florida mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High, as he prepared to testify in anti-gun legislation hearings. Really…she did all that (and more) So in the current political climate, a rich privileged, wealthy actor, may feel emboldened to simply react exactly as he feels. No need to temper his anger. He had so many examples of the same behavior. Apparently, it’s the Wild West out there, and those of us who simply long for decorum, and fairness, are slowly becoming a symbol of a time gone by.
So, while we see the examples of the destruction of norms fostered upon us over the last 5 or 6 years, if we don’t fight back, if we don’t correct the course, and vote in every primary from the bottom rung to the top. We more than likely will end up in a country controlled by the rich, governed by the privileged, who answer to a very few.
I can only say, be careful what you wish for. The authoritarian desires of a former President, may seem out of reach, but ask the people of Ukraine what authoritarianism means to them…and be afraid.
