I admit I have a soft spot for comedians, especially in the social media age. Maybe it's partially due to me being a satirist, but even if I were to remove that fact from the equation, I think I'd still contend comedians are often times treated unfairly in this country.
Laughter really is one of the best medicines. Seriously. What helps when you're stressed out? Laughter. What can reduce blood pressure? Laughter. What reduces heart problems? Laughter. What can help elongate a person's life? Laughter. We may not realize all this at the time, but just think about it - how do we feel after cracking up at something? A sense of relief; like a weight's been removed from our shoulders; lighter; warmer; happy. Laughter is healthy. This is why we go to comedy clubs, watch goofy sitcoms, check out "Airplane!" for the umpteenth time, or invite that silly friend to a get-together.
Having said all that, I'd be remiss if I didn't also acknowledge the fact jokes aren't always a jolly ol' good time. There are some jokes which miss the mark with how they're told or their content, which can lead to silence, cringes, or downright anger. There's nothing wrong with this. Even I've been offended by a joke here and there. At the same time, though, I think we've collectively become too sensitive, narcissistic, and defensive when it comes to comedy, and often times miss the forest for the trees in the process.
Whenever I see a comedian trending on social media for an offensive joke they told either yesterday or 20 years ago, my first thought is, "This is kind of part of the deal. Comedians test jokes to see how they land and adjust accordingly," or "Well, that joke was told two decades ago. Things have kind of changed since then. The real question is, has this joke-teller evolved along with the rest of society? If so, great. If not, he/she'll be feeling pain at the box office before long." My second thought is then, "Why are we trying to cancel a comedian for telling a joke rather than canceling Donald Trump from ever running for office again after orchestrating a terrorist attack on our Capitol? Why are we angrier at professional joke tellers than corrupt authority figures?"
Given all this, you can imagine what was going through my head on Oscars night this past Sunday when professional comedian Chris Rock told a joke and actor Will Smith walked right up to the stage, slapped Rock across the face, and walked back to his seat. I didn't see this live, for I had better things to do than watch hundreds of egomaniacs thank their dog Bucky for providing them inspiration for their award-winning performance. When I saw #WillSmith, #ChrisRock, #OscarsAssault, and #WillSmithAssault trending on Twitter, though, I decided to give it a gander.
Now, I have to be honest, when first viewing the clip of Smith smacking Rock, I thought it was staged. I mean, it was the Oscar's. Everything's staged at the Oscar's, right? Secondly, Rock's reaction was pretty priceless. The dude can apparently take a punch. After hearing Smith yelling at Rock, however, I knew the sh*t was real. Here's how it all went down:
1) Chris Rock told a few jokes before presenting an award.
2) One of the jokes was, "Love ya, Jada (Pinkett-Smith). You're gonna be great in G.I. Jane 2."
3) Jada's husband, Will, is seen laughing at the joke, as his wife rolls her eyes.
4) Will then walks up to the stage and smacks Rock across the face, before walking back to his seat.
5) Rock looks speechless, but tries to keep things light.
6) Smith yells at him: "Keep my wife out of your f*cking mouth!"
7) Security tries to remove Will from the ceremony, but he refuses.
8) Smith later wins a Best Actor award.
9) Rock says he won't press charges.
10) After getting called out by everyone and their mom and the Academy announcing that they're looking into potential punishment for the Oscar-winner, Smith apologizes.
Ms. Smith suffers from alopecia, which results in hair loss. She sported a buzz-cut, fairly reminiscent of Demi Moore's from the film G.I. Jane. Now, for the record, Ms. Smith has recently come out saying she's accepted her condition and is basically going to own it. Also, from my own personal vantage point, she kind of rocked the look at the awards ceremony, but I digress.
Chris Rock's joke at Jada Pinkett-Smith's expense wasn't one of his best, in my opinion, but I also don't think he meant any ill-will by it. Ms. Smith had recently displayed pride in her condition, and if the worst part about your day is being compared to a bad-ass Demi Moore, then I think it'd be safe to assume you had yourself a pretty good day. But, just for the sake of argument, let's pretend Rock's intent was personal and nasty, even then, would it have necessitated a smack to the face? I don't think so.
I find the social-media responses to the incident akin to a traffic accident - unpredictable, often times ugly, yet I can't look away. Now, as is commonly the case, the overarching opinion on social media is not an accurate representation of the public at large. If you were to judge the public's opinion on the Smith slap based on social media, you'd think this country was split 50-50 on whether the Oscar-winning actor was out of line or not in his reaction to the presenter's joke. In reality, approximately 3/5 of the country feel Will Smith was out of line; 1/5 feel he was in the right; and apparently 1/5 were subjected to a neuralyzer, for they don't seem to remember what happened that night. On social media, though, here's basically how opinions breakdown:
50% feel Smith was in the wrong
- Some feel he should be arrested.
- Others believe his award should be stripped from him.
- Most don't understand why he wasn't escorted out of the awards ceremony.
50% feel Smith was in the right
- They believe it's proper to defend your woman in such a manner.
- They would've done the same thing.
- It's racist to think otherwise.
This incident has seemingly become a societal Rorshach test. What do YOU see from this blot of ink and how does it make you feel? Seriously, though, I'm confused on how disapproving of a man, who happens to be black, assaulting a fellow black man on live television could be construed as racist against blacks. Apparently, Chris Rock - a black comedian - symbolized white America, for he told a joke about a black woman, expecting zero repercussions, but when he did, that was black America (represented by Will Smith apparently) fighting back! Yes, I'm confused too. Look, I'll be the first to say racism is still prevalent in this country. I'll be the first to shout Black Lives Matter. I'll be the first to support Colin Kaepernick's First Amendment rights in silently protesting police brutality by taking a knee during the National Anthem. But I'll also be the first to say not everything is racist. There's nothing racist about saying Will Smith assaulting Chris Rock was wrong. Chris Rock did what he does - he told a joke, and it didn't land. There was a mix of laughs and groans. That's the business. It happens. When a joke doesn't land, when a person gets offended by said joke, that does NOT give them permission to walk up on the stage and smack the comedian across the face. What kind of society would we have to live in for that to be deemed justified, moral, and legal? How could anyone want to live in such a society? This isn't about race; it's about power and wealth. What would have happened had I done what Will Smith did? What about you? Your brother? Your uncle? A friend of yours? What would have happened if one of us, upon getting offended by a joke at a comedy club, walked up on stage and slapped the comedian across the face? I'll tell you what would have happened - we would have been escorted out of the building, potentially banned from ever appearing there again, and quite possibly arrested. There wouldn't be polls conducted across the country, asking if we were right or wrong in our actions. We wouldn't have been allowed to stay seated if we refused being escorted off the premises by security. There would have been zero opportunity for us to have had the capability of accepting an award in the building later that evening. No, chances are we'd have been at the police station. What I find strangely comical about the allegations of Chris Rock-defenders being the racists is, if we look at it from another angle, the polar opposite would sound like the more reasonable conclusion. Chris Rock was the victim of assault. We're defending a black assault victim, while the alleged non-racists are defending the man who assaulted him. How is this that far removed from police brutality? A powerful man (Will Smith) assaults a black man (Chris Rock) and walks back to his car as if nothing happened, while refusing to take responsibility through being escorted by security, and a segment of the population contends he was in the right; the victim was asking for it.
Women are strong and can speak up, stand up, and defend for themselves. If need be, men can grow a pair and maturely talk to the person who offended their significant other - especially over a joke. In a world filled with anger, hatred, and violence, the last thing we should want to do is greet those attempting to make us laugh with a hard slap across the face. If you want to fight, fight for our legislators to pass laws to reduce poverty, reduce gun violence, reduce carbon emissions, reduce abuse, end wars, provide housing for the homeless, and bring about equal rights to all, regardless of age, sex, race, creed, or orientation. Laughter begets laughter; violence begets violence. In a world of violence, let us beget nonviolence through peaceful protests and laughter.
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