XPost: alt.niggers, talk.politics.guns, alt.hollywood   
   XPost: sac.politics   
   From: nigger-lovers@disney.com   
      
   Will Smith sent shock waves across the world when he slapped   
   comedian Chris Rock during the live telecast of the Academy   
   Awards on Sunday.   
      
   The incident spawned a mix of reactions, some of which argue   
   that Smith did the right thing for defending his wife, while   
   others have said that Smith’s attack should have disciplinary   
   action from the Academy — at the very least.   
      
   Now, NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is expressing his own   
   feelings on the matter, penning a blog post arguing that Smith's   
   actions are a “blow to men, women, the entertainment industry   
   and the Black community.”   
      
   “With a single petulant blow, he advocated violence, diminished   
   women, insulted the entertainment industry, and perpetuated   
   stereotypes about the Black community,” Abdul-Jabbar writes of   
   Smith, echoing the opinion expressed on Monday by Today host   
   Craig Melvin that it was "troubling on so many levels" for men   
   of color.   
      
   Rock, who was presenting an award for Best Documentary, had made   
   a joke about Smith’s wife Jada Pinkett Smith’s bald head,   
   saying, “Jada, I love ya. G.I. Jane 2 — can't wait to see it,”   
   referencing the 1997 movie starring Demi More in which the main   
   character has a shaved head.   
      
   When Pinkett Smith, who's been open about living with alopecia   
   (a condition that’s caused her to lose patches of her hair,   
   prompting her to shave it) rolled her eyes at the joke, her   
   husband marched up to the stage and slapped Rock across the face   
   in front of millions of TV viewers before walking back to his   
   seat.   
      
   "Keep my wife's name out your f***ing mouth," he twice yelled at   
   Rock from the audience.   
      
   Abdul-Jabbar argues the incident was more than just a slap to   
   Rock, but rather a “slap to women.”   
      
   “By hitting Rock, he announced that his wife was incapable of   
   defending herself — against words,” he states. “This   
   patronizing, paternal attitude infantilizes women and reduces   
   them to helpless damsels needing a Big Strong Man to defend   
   their honor least they swoon from the vapors. If he was really   
   doing it for his wife, and not his own need to prove himself, he   
   might have thought about the negative attention this brought on   
   them, much harsher than the benign joke. That would have been   
   truly defending and respecting her.”   
      
   “This ‘women need men to defend them’ is the same justification   
   currently being proclaimed by conservatives passing laws to   
   restrict abortion and the LGBTQ+ community,” he continued,   
   adding that Smith’s “self-serving acceptance speech” in which he   
   talked about protecting his family in the same way his character   
   in King Richard, for which he won an Oscar, was tone deaf.   
      
   “Those who protect don’t brag about it in front of 15 million   
   people,” he explained. “They just do it and shut up. You don’t   
   do it as a movie promotion claiming how you’re like the   
   character you just won an award portraying. But, of course, the   
   speech was about justifying his violence. Apparently, so many   
   people need Smith’s protection that occasionally it gets too   
   much and someone needs to be smacked.”   
      
   Abdul-Jabbar also argued that actions like Smith’s brings back a   
   “Toxic Bro ideal” that can be damaging to young men, especially   
   men of color. In fact, Smith's son, Jaden, would later go on   
   Twitter after the incident, boastfully writing: "And That's How   
   We Do It."   
      
   “Young boys — especially Black boys — watching their movie idol   
   not just hit another man over a joke, but then justify it as him   
   being a superhero-like protector, are now much more prone to   
   follow in his childish footsteps,” he explained, adding, “One of   
   the main talking points from those supporting the systemic   
   racism in America is characterizing Blacks as more prone to   
   violence and less able to control their emotions. Smith just   
   gave comfort to the enemy by providing them with the perfect   
   optics they were dreaming of.”   
      
   Abdul-Jabbar, who worked with Smith on Fresh Prince of Bel-Air   
   in the 1990s, added that the actor is a “charming, sincere, and   
   funny” man, noting that he’s a “big fan of his movies.” But   
   while he admires Smith’s work, the NBA player advised audiences   
   to think more deeply about the incident.   
      
   “I don’t want to see him punished or ostracized because of this   
   one, albeit a big one, mistake,” he said of Smith. “I just want   
   this to be a cautionary tale for others not to romanticize or   
   glorify bad behavior. And I want Smith to be the man who really   
   protects others — by admitting the harm he’s done to others.”   
      
   After the Oscars show ended, Smith went on to enjoy the after-   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)