Now that I think about it, I think our teacher also warned us about the scene and basically threatened us to act “maturely” and not giggle like... a bunch of 8th graders.

Treating social issues like a math problem is always extremely naïve. Male pattern baldness is extremely common, women developing alopecia is nowhere near as common. They aren’t equivalent. 

You already said you don’t think Smith should have been jailed either, so I’m not interested in getting too into the weeds on this, but my position is that I would feel a lot more negatively toward Will Smith if he had slapped a woman, an elderly person, or a child. But that doesn’t mean I think there was nothing…

So you’re asking whether a man slapping another man is equivalent to a man slapping a woman or an elderly person? Because I would say that no, no it isn’t.

And as you know, men are judged for their appearance in exactly the same way women are, which was why both Will Smith and Chris Rock showed up in sparkling gowns and everyone spent more time asking them who designed their dresses than about the roles that brought them to the Oscars.

Right? Some of the fury about it is just full on unhinged. You’d think Smith hit him with a brick based on these reactions

Yeah I might even moan after

It’s hard to read a lot of these comments mischaracterizing the Slap as “assault” or “decking,” insisting that it’s “against the law,” and not conclude that people just really wanted to see a black man get arrested. 

I’m not defending it at all, I already made that pretty clear. But I also think it’s a mistake to pretend that a single open handed slap is equivalent to something like a punch. One is meant to demean and embarrass, and the other is meant to cause actual damage.

How do we feel about Rock talking shit about a black woman’s medical issues? No one gives a shit? Cool.

To be pedantic, nobody got decked because nobody was knocked to the floor. Rock got slapped.

Hot take: while it was rude, inappropriate and unprofessional of him, and I understand a temporary ban, it was still not even fucking close to as big of a deal as people made about it. The hyperbole is insane - everyone was acting like Smith beat Rock to a pulp.

He’ll always be Dave from Titus to me.

Counterpoint: fuck you.

Are you, like, doing a bit here? 

The difference obviously being that trade jobs tend to require training and certification, which aren’t accomplished simply be having a parent who’s an electrician or an accountant. “Nepo babies” can get their foot in the door by virtue of their fame-by-association, no training or skill required, because…

During his trial weren’t they painting him as a sick old man who was mostly blind and not long for this world?   Funny how he seems to be able to tour now.

Un-rape all those women

Is he still going to lecture his young Black audience with sanctimonious rants about how they need to pull up their britches?

‘I cannot do my life’s work at home - I need to tour in order to find victims.’