by Bill White
[Transcript]
Listening to Commentators and reading people’s Tweets about Will Smith’s recent behaviour at the Oscars, I could be forgiven for thinking that Black Lives no longer matter.
But, I am shocked. Shocked I tell you, that a Black man could be attacked at a public venue and no one would come to his aid. And while the majority of the witnesses were White, a number of the audience were Black and Hispanic, and yet all of these people failed to act—it’s shocking. Truly shocking.
Of course, I am speaking about the bitch slap that’s been heard around the world-- Another in a growing list of subjects that clearly divides our society, but just in case you’ve been in a coma for the last couple of days, the other night Chris Rock, a comedian, took a comedic swipe at Jada, Will Smith’s wife who sports a skinhead because of Alopecia, which sounds very serious indeed, but simply means hair loss or baldness. So, basically, she’s a bald chick.
In his monologue, Chris Rock referred to a potential G.I. Jane sequel, because Demi Moore famously shaved her head for the 1997 Ridley Scott film. I thought it funny, but maybe you disagree...
At first, both Smiths appeared to chuckle, but Jada grimaced slightly, and then Will found it necessary to march onto the stage and rather dramatically bitch slap Chris Rock. After the assault, Smith returned to his seat and then shouted a number of aggressive, fouled mouth demands to the comedian, who tried to laugh it off…
What didn’t happen was that no one ran onto the stage to protect Chris Rock. No one sought to prevent a visibly upset and verbally threatening Will Smith from returning to the stage, to finish his victim off… Security and police, who are present at all such events (not to mention all of the minders who must be standing in the wings), failed to move in, to detain, or dare I say, arrest Will Smith for what is clearly battery. By the way, Section 242 of the California Penal Code defines battery as "any willful and unlawful use of force or violence upon the person of another," punishable by a fine not exceeding $2,000 dollars, and/or by imprisonment in jail for a maximum of six months. When witnessed by police it does not require a complaint, so, why hasn’t Will Smith been charged?
Is it simply okay to batter someone if they insult your wife?
Would it have been different if instead of Will Smith, a white man had committed the crime?
What if someone insults your child?
What is wrong with those people who applaud Will Smith's behaviour? Where does it end?
Will Smith should be charged!
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