Woke

 Now all the talk is about Will Smith slapping Chris Rock. After profiting literally billions of dollars off movies featuring violence, it's an outrage. I'm guessing the idea here is to change the whole image of Hollywood where people that imagine themselves to be other people, characters, for a living, reality is never to be shown. Imagine if a white actor had slapped a black actor or vice-versa, what would the narrative be if that had happened? Guess we really dodged a bullet there. But I guess it's all Will Smiths' fault, he's just a toxic male figure. I can't say much, don't know much about him or Chris Rock for that matter. But I keep seeing the postings and hearing the news folks going on about this like someone had attacked the Pope or something. 

 I have left a few comments and observations on Facebook, no surprise to anyone that knows me, even in passing. I'm engaged. That's what I'm calling that. I'm engaged in the social discourse so vital to the preservation of humanity. I'm not a sociologist but I know about society. I write my comments and blogs but I'm not a journalist. For those reasons alone, I offer my opinions and observations. I even engage in a bit of philosophy, although I'm not a philosopher. I just speak philosophically. 

 My observation in this case is that the media and their pundits have gotten this all wrong. Will Smith slapping Chris Rock is not a display of toxic masculinity, it was not an assault, it certainly wasn't an altercation. What it was, consequence! Yes, that's how I view the whole thing. Chris Rock suffered the consequences for running his mouth at the expense of another. I don't care if he knew about her disease or not, all the more reason to keep your mouth shut about that in my opinion, same reason you don't assume a fat woman is pregnant, but he didn't and that was the result. Justified in my opinion. It should have been expected. 

 Set aside all the celebrity stuff, they are people like you and I, just rich and entitled. People that are used to being admired and given leeway for their celebrity. Entitlement? You better believe it. Does that entitlement exempt them from common sense and courtesy? I don't think so. At least it shouldn't. And I can tell you this much, when I was growing up, I was taught to not make fun of others, make jokes about their appearance, unless I was willing to accept the consequences of that impropriety. We had other names for that, but impropriety is what it is. And yes, you would get smacked for that, it was to be expected. Any apology came from the one that got smacked! I shouldn't have said that, I'm sorry. And therein lies the whole problem today. No accountability, no real time consequence for inappropriate behaviors. 

 In this case Rock is being praised for his restraint? He should have restrained from making that comment! That's my take on it. I realize its' an old fashioned notion, this idea of immediate consequence, but it's what I grew up with. Justice was indeed swift. Well the truth is we weren't that concerned with justice, the concern was with consequence. Life is based on risk and reward. What needed to be understood, what you needed to learn was, sometimes the risk just isn't worth the reward. In this case, a cheap laugh. You needed to be ready and willing to back up your words with action, if necessary. The thing is people grew up with that awareness, if they weren't aware, a good smack got them "woke" up. Yeah, got your undivided attention real quick and you would see the error of your ways. Didn't take long to learn those lessons. 

 I'm not saying it is the perfect solution to every issue, violence is the last resort. Still, it is the threat that compels us to act right in most of the situations. That's why we have laws in the first place. Laws delineate what is acceptable behaviors and what is not. Break those laws and punishment is the consequence. Yes the consequences differ according to the perceived severity of the offense but it is that promise of punishment that serves to deter. Also why we see the rise in crime that we are witnessing today, a lack of immediate consequence. All this pleading, a plea deal, reducing that consequence. There are laws about name calling these days, laws about hate crimes, laws on slander, laws on using specific words or phrases. You can get blocked from social media platforms for saying certain "inappropriate" things, you can be charged in a court of law for saying or writing certain things. Making cheap jokes about someone else's wife carries no criminal penalty that I'm aware of, although some lawyer out there would probably take the case. But there doesn't need to be a law about that. That should be understood by everyone. It's wrong and be prepared to pay the price for your indiscretion! I can tell you this much, you do that to my wife, my children or anyone I love, and you will be woke! I'll wake you up. Then, once you are awake, I'll be expecting that apology. I may or may not accept that.