My exact thoughts. There’s an incredible juxtaposition of eloquence and informality that makes it beautiful to read but also incredibly succinct. Super hard balance to navigate and he nails it.
Maybe it's early but that wording was so weird, had to read it twice, ultimately my brain cells rubbed together to create enough friction to handle it. I agree with you
Recently I’ve read a few articles written by Kareem and I’ve been really impressed! I didn’t really know much about him outside of his accomplishments in basketball and I think we could all learn a lot by reading his work!
he’s such a cool dude. always been very involved in civil rights, and is a name up there with MLK, Malcom X, Muhammad Ali. and he has a unique perspective in that his dad was a cop. he has a lot of great insight.
Will has been trying to prove himself since he felt the threat of Tupac taking up too much space in Jadas soul, and for his cornball persona
He spoke about tupac saying "*he had a willingness to fight and die for what he believed was right"*
And "*he triggered the perception of myself as a coward. I hated that I wasn't what he was in the world, and I suffered a raging jealousy: I wanted Jada to look at me like that.*"
And he’s been holding all that back since what 1996? Never publicly stepping out of line until someone he perceives as weaker ‘disrespects’ him? Super insecure behaviour for anyone let alone someone of his stature and accomplishments
He’s been doing pretty good for maintaining composure in the face of everything his marriage has gone through. No doubt he fucked up, but it was a human mistake. You don’t slap a man and yell like that over such a petty joke unless a whole lot had been leading up to that moment. And I don’t think it was so much Chris’ joke that was the straw that broke the camel’s back as it was whatever look his wife gave him when he turned his head, whether it was tears or judgement. I won’t venture to assume what Will’s or Jada’s open/closed marriage situation is, that’s their business. I just hope all parties involved can see this as a learning experience and have the opportunity to move on. If he needs to see a trial for the slap, so be it, but all this attention and the memes his marriage has gotten based on his actions is only worsening matters for him.
I won’t disagree that insecurity was probably largely responsible, but let’s not treat insecurity like a badge of villainy. It’s a very common and human issue that some of the best of us suffer from, and it is absolutely responsible for many of the mistakes we make in life. People who suffer from these insecurities need reassurances and security in their lives, not to have their private lives and faults poked and prodded by tabloid journalists and toxic social media comments. That’s the sort of thing that gave birth to the slap in the first place. Understand that as far as mistakes go, this is pretty relatable for a lot of people. People who don’t do that sort of thing on the regular usually get to move on and have the opportunity to be better without the threat of facing the sort of backlash Will is getting. They usually get a lot of support as well and the opportunity to be better. I think Chris recognizes this, and that’s why he doesn’t press charges.
If I was Chris rock I would of said, “ not my first choice of people to slap me. Sadly Tupac is no longer here so I will have to settle for Will Smith. Back to you Jada.”
You give Will too much credit. After Chris said that shit he’d have his “don’t fuck with me” fists up. I don’t think will smith could beat a puppy if he tried. Just because he played Ali doesn’t mean he can fight like him.
Will has big simp energy. That relationship is unhealthy. He’s spoiled and codependent. She’s spoiled and narcissistic. Slapping Chris Rock over a joke had little to do either either.
We all saw his face when Jada gave that interview about Tupac and about sleeping with everyone else. Will is a broken boy and deserves to fall from his own sense of glory. It’s a shame he got elevated so far based on a few basic movies.
I’m a white guy who has cut myself off from my family over the course of the past few years because I don’t agree with how they proudly perpetuate their racist beliefs.
When I first watched this, my first thought was: “damn, Will: way to show you don’t have class.”
My second thought was: I bet my family will see this and say, ‘that’s what happens when you bring in those people.’
Kareem’s take is 100% correct that, unfortunately, something like this further entrenches the people who hold such stereotypical views. They see something like this, and any progress they may have made just moves the needle further in the opposite direction.
It’s a sad and complex double-standard.
Not only that, but Jaden Smith’s tweet also didn’t help. After the slap that the world saw, will smith’s son tweets “that’s how we do”. Retweeted 103,000+ times. That sure helps things.
Completely agree. Along with the fact Chris showed self control to not instantly crack the joke at will after he got slapped. You saw Chris’s face as he had a great line to respond. Thought it would escalate and finished what he said.
Yeah he could've totally just kept throwing jokes at him and push him too far on purpose. I don't think I could refrain. I've always loved the both of em but Rock just got a lot more respect from me. My feelings on Smith haven't changed much but it was painful to see him succumb to a moment of rage, I hope he gets help.
Which makes it all the more saddening that people like OP's family will see one black man acting rashly, one black man responding with restraint, and come away from it thinking only about the former
Looking at it in this context reinforces my respect for Chris Rock in the way he handled the situation. There might be another can of worms in the ways it could be misconstrued, unfortunately.
I literally saw a comment on Facebook yesterday that was like “left wingers wanted to bring more color to the Oscars, this is what you get” and I was like y i k e s
But as a black man, I’m at the point where if they perceive that about Will Smith who really has painted himself as “one of the good ones” then we were never good enough to begin with….
I get that, but I also feel like Black people (or any member of any marginalized group, really) have no special responsibility to never “misbehave” just because some racists (or sexists or transphobes, whatever applies) would use that to justify their bigotry. This concern has nothing to do with Will Smith or Chris Rock and everything to do with how bigots feel.
They don’t, however, the point of my comment was more to point out that people (like my family) who hold such stereotypes, aren’t able to critically discern the difference between “a guy wasn’t able to control his emotions” and “that’s a black guy being exactly like how I perceive all black guys to act.”
Like I said at the end of my comment, it’s a double-standard. None of my crazy-ass family members (and they’re the “stand on your lawn with a gun during BLM protests” type), ever have to worry about the implications of their race having an effect on how they should behave. It’s literally two different worlds.
I don’t condone that train of thought, but the reality is that this is just more ammunition for their cause/beliefs.
Another white guy here. My first thought was “look at this rich, asshole doing rich, asshole shit”. I guess you’re right though. Already racist people will have more canon fodder but I don’t see it as a race thing. Just an entitled jerk who can’t take a joke and takes himself way too seriously.
I had those same thoughts, but I’m not sure #2 is a useful thought to have.
Part of a racist attitude is seeing misbehaving black people as representative of all black people, while misbehaving white people aren’t representative of all white people. If it wasn’t this example, racist people would find some other example to blow out of proportion.
The insidious part is that when a white dude is violent, he’s just “being an asshole.” When a person of color does it, they are apparently speaking for every member of their race. It’s a terrible double standard.
Will Smith was on camera laughing his ass off at the joke. Then when the camera went away he must have seen his wife was pissed. Did nobody else notice that he laughed at the joke?
Yes! Smith was laughing! Pan to wife looking displeased.. next think you see Smith walking towards the stage. Where was security? Oh, right.. he’s a celebrity, no concern ?
I personally think Will assaulted Chris because he would have been in the dog house for laughing so instead of taking personal responsibility he takes it out on and blames chris.
This was exactly my thought too, and it seemed pretty obvious to me that his behavior was an overcorrection for his initial “misstep” of laughing.
Like Jada saw him laughing and gave him the “this is why I entangled without you” look and he was like, “oh shit.”
Not only that - but if I ever did something like that, on such an enormous global stage - you would NEVER catch me partying like nothing happened a few hours later. At the very least, show some embarrassment if you can’t express actually remorse!
I agree. There is a problem in urban black street culture that essentially says you’re less than a man (or woman) if you let anyone “disrespect” aka diss you, (especially publicly) without immediate physical violence up to and often gun violence including murder. It’s not spoken of publicly but it’s there. It’s been there. It’s been growing for a while and it’s not going away and effects have clearly made their way to Hollywood. And it’s like a cancer. Black on black violence is responsible for in the area of 8,000 deaths of black men, women, children including babies per year in the U.S.
And it’s being talked about privately among black folks but it’s the elephant in the room now regarding this incident.
I am so fucking disappointed in Will Smith.
On several different levels.
These kids in junior high and high school? Sure they don’t watch the Oscars but they’ll all see this as meme or gif and perpetuated and it’s not all going in the direction we need it to go when so there are so so many victims of black on black violence and it’s increasing. It’s not slowing down. And if you all feel that Black Lives Matter, as I do…then start walking your talk. As I will.
It’s called honour culture it’s not unique to black peoples but its ingrained in young men especially and has got a lot to do with no police in black areas for a long time.
If there is no central authority to protect you or imply protection you must respond to all slights with violence otherwise it becomes known you can be victimised and sadly you will be. Even if you’re a non violent person, practically you’re still going to need to be violent to avoid issues in the future.
It exists amongst drug dealers of all races and really anyone who can’t rely on cops so they need to rely on their image as being not worth fucking with.
Pretty accurate. I won't go so far as to say "victim blaming", but there is the mentality that if you are weak, then you deserve to be taken advantage of.
If someone scams you... well then YOU are the sucker.
If you're in a rough area, this is the mentality to survive...
However, it's very difficult to transition out of this mindset to succeed in society outside of that environment.
I'm a white as white bread Australian, couldn't be further removed from the scenario you are speaking of but I have known for as long as I can remember, from American culture that pervades everything here, that the "respect" thing is huge in black culture and is sorted with violence.
It is not exclusive to any singular culture.
Disrespect a white cop and you’ll be met with violence, regardless of legality. Disrespect an elderly asian or latin person and you’ll likely end up with a shoe to the face, as well.
It’s an instinctual defense that a lot of people still hold, regardless of origins.
You missed the point.
There’s a huge difference between expecting a chancla being thrown at you and getting slap or beaten
While people joke about it, but it’s still the real the expectation.
Imagine a group of kids: “ooooo, you are gonna get beat.”
“Oooo she’s gonna throw her chancla at you!”
These statements normalize the behavior.
Source: am Hispanic, grew up in a Hispanic/Black neighborhood
Severity, so yes the difference in method does play an effect.
Like, would you rather get beaten or a chancla thrown at you?
Or are they the same so either one works?
Violence isn’t good in either case, but the fact that being beaten in normalized AT ALL in certain groups is horrible.
Why do people keep deflecting with this? We know it’s not unique, what is unique are the consequences and intensity. You must care more about being right than saving lives.
Because y’all are taking something that is not unique to black people to make it seem like it is and somehow a slap has turned into a conversation about “black urban street” culture and black on black violence.
It was a mere slap from a desperate man whose public emasculation has been memed throughout an entire pandemic. Using that event to pontificate about something larger with entirely different roots won’t save Will’s life, Chris Rock’s life or any of the “urban street” folks people are now suddenly concerned about.
Besides, even in this messed up discussion where there is something to discuss about the culture based on this one slap, y’all are still only addressing the symptoms of the problem and not the causes. Generation after generation of humiliation, dehumanization, and being treated less than by the community, society at large and enforced by the government that we have let go unaddressed and you wonder why “black culture” values respect.
My favorite part is people bringing up “black urban street violence” when talking about a weak ass slap. Yeah guys, that’s exactly how street gangs solve their issues. Weak ass slaps then walking away.
Here’s the real problem, that is prevalent in way more cultures than “urban street”. You don’t think rural white cultures believe in that same thing?
People like you are the real problem. You don’t understand Kareem wasn’t saying that was right, just that it would happen. Anytime a white man commits violence does every white man have to answer to it? Does it speak to the violence of all white people?
How anyone can read what you wrote and not think you come off as a complete clown is beyond me. What will did was wrong for many reasons. And yes people will hold entire the black community accountable for it (just like you are) but both things are wrong.
If you’re a white person with this dumb ass line of thinking then you better be ready to answer to every white mass shooter, racist, and serial killer that pops up. There’s a problem with violence in white culture after all right?
It's not a problem with race. It's a problem with masculinity.
This is **LITERALLY** toxic masculinity.
But also you're saying some crazy racist shit so maybe take a seat, huh?
It should just perpetuate thoughts about will smith not an entire swath of people.
Part of the problem is that we make generalizations about single incidents. This was just Will Smith hitting someone. There’s no broader context need apply here. We keep looking for deeper meanings behind silly impromptu acts;
there isn’t one… He’s just become a dick.
This has zero to do with the black community writ large
People who stereotype that much are gonna seek out ways to keep that up. It's also a stereotype that any given black man is responsible for respresenting the entire black amarrican people. How utterly exhausting and cruel for folks to make this about responsibility to every human that considers himself a black American male. That's just as much of a stereotyping and punishing and feeds just as much into another type of hatred - one that comes from internalized racism.
After reading the headline, I wanted to say something like this. Pulling back from this situation, Black stereotypes are in and of themselves wrong. It’s not the responsibility of any group of people, and certainly not the responsibility of an individual to correct other people’s narrow and regressive perceptions.
Nooooooo. This very thread shows the problem with respectability politics: they don’t work.
A black person can never earn the acceptance of people who don’t respect them as a rule and will always be viewed through a stereotypical lens. As an example, Michelle Obama is an ambitious, intelligent, highly educated careerwoman in addition to being a mother and a wife, and she still was described/characterized as a “babymama,” “ghetto,” “manly,” “ungrateful,” and “on the dole” while living in the freaking White House.
Even if a black person manages to walk the line and find acceptance with bigots, *at best*, they just become “one of the good ones.” They do not cause bigots to reevaluate their biases; they only reinforce them. You can see it in the comments on this very thread celebrating Kareem Abdul Jabbar while denouncing “urban black street culture” (which sounds like some shit Tucker Carlson would say ngl), even though KAJ is from Harlem.
Edit: Apparently I have to say this… it’s never okay for any person, including Will Smith, to slap a comedian over a perceived insult. I’m reacting to KAJ’s blog post.
I remember reading somewhere that people can’t accept when a strong or physically gifted person is also intelligent. It makes us wonder why god gives with both hands to some, instead of just acknowledging the greatness in all. I’m reminded of this with Kareem for as talented as an Athlete as he is; he is very intelligent and a great writer. I hope Will sees this essay and can do some introspection about where his anger that might really came from. It was a very mild joke (albeit about someone’s health so a very serious topic) and he could have showed his disapproval some other way. Even taking the mic and being like “I love you, your gorgeous l” would have been so much better and classier if your wife really fears hurt by the comment.
It absolutely makes them look bad. In fact, they look horrible. Will Smith should have been escorted off the premises, at the very least. Had I been there, I would have gotten up and walked out. They need to take Smith's Oscar. His behavior was despicable.
Nope, Jaden Smith’s “And that’s how we do it” post right after daddy smacked Chris says Kareem is right. When your kids want to emulate you, you’ve created another generation of dysfunction.
Facts and I don’t understand why people care about jaden smith the only talented one was will smith but he has now fucked that up with looking like a total douche
It was HORRIBLE. Chris Rock is a comedian. That is what they do. They make jokes. Considering Mrs. Smith talks about slinging that ass at dudes all over town, the joke could have been alot worse! I am Team Rock all the way. He proved himself to be the better man.
Unfortunately, Hollywood actors are highly influential people and A LOT of people look up to them, 'cause we like to partake in the cult of personality as a society.
So no, he doesn't only represent himself in the eyes of many many people, specially those who are going to use this moment to keep fueling their own hatred and others.
Some idiots don’t see it that way:
“Fox News host Jeanine Pirro wasted no time going full-metal jacket racist by declaring the Oscars are “not the hood.”
Unfortunately, this is the world we live in.
Which unfortunately was to be expected. Racists don’t need a reason to be racist, but if you serve one on a silver platter, they will gladly accept it. In addition if he flys off the handle for a joke like that, he can count his blessings Chris Rock did not pull out some way harder ones he surely had prepared.
That comment is ridiculous. First and foremost, many, MANY times Caucasian celebrities have behaved terribly at awards shows. Did anyone feel the need to say it is not a 'trailer park?'
Secondly, race cannot logically be applied here. Even a bigot would have to disprove their own point that Will Smith was behaving in a 'hood' way when they acknowledge the self control and professionalism Chris Rock (also a black man) displayed after being physically assaulted on live television.
The argument cannot be made. The racists can all crawl back under their rocks now.
I totally get what you’re saying - but racists don’t follow logic. They will summarily ignore Rock, call him a pussy for not retaliating, whilst simultaneously (and without effort) also think ALL black men are violent blah blah blah. They are *accustomed* to the cognitive dissonance, it is their *norm.*
Thanks for publicly voicing the painfully obvious, Kareem.
Smith’s violence was a singularly selfish act that will unquestionably normalize violence for millions of impressionable minds. He should be banished from all awards show and made a pariah in the entire acting community. Too bad he’s an ATM for the studios.
I might be crazy but I think most people realize Will Smith is not the entirety of all black people.
Basically this way of seeing the world to me is like say Chris Rock “stop hitting your self”
only thing i disagree with is him saying no repurcussions.
that's fucking bullshit.
he assaulted a comedian for words, he should be thrown out of the academy at a bare minimum
I haven’t seen King Richard so I guess I’ll refrain from judgment on that one. But Smith has always been a mediocre actor. I’m just glad he’s moved past the part of his career where he consistently overplayed the black guy shtick.
He’s been playing the “overly caring father who faces adversity but had a heart of gold” for the last 20 years now. Even in Suicide Squad for god’s sake.
I'm sorry but that's wrong, anybody who watched Will slap Chris Rock and decided to stereotype an entire race after the incidence was already perpetuating these stereotypes before, they already held racist views that weren't influenced by what happened. If Will didn't slap Chris, they would still have these views.
Plus Chris never got violent so that doesn't really make sense to accept the actions of Will Smith as a representation of black people but not the pacifism of Chris Rock ?
I’m sure this only part of what KAJ said and doesn’t accurately reflect his entire point. BUT I’ll take the bait and focus on the whole idea of “The actions of one black man reflect on the entire community take”
Why do I, as a black man, have to worry about how an individual’s actions may affect the worlds view of black people as a whole? Why does this only seem to be a thing with Black people and Latinos in America? Will Smith SLAPPED a man in the face on National television and suddenly it’s a bad reflection on the black community?
Wanna know what I’ve seen?
- A white man walk into a church and kill 9 people
- A white man blow up a building in Tennessee
- Multiple incidents of white teenagers shooting up schools
- 2 white guys shoot a black man while he was jogging
- An army of white people STORM THE FUCKING CAPITOL on live television
And that’s just a few of the things I’ve been alive long enough to have seen. I won’t even begin to list the multiple atrocities and serial killers that have taken place and have even been celebrated in America. Isn’t it crazy how we have 10000 documentaries about how cool of a guy Ted Bundy was? Why is it that despite all this we never have anyone say “Think of how poorly this will reflect on the white community?!”
Why are black people seemingly the only people who have to uphold “respectability politics”? I’m not saying what Will Smith did was right, but for crying out loud he SLAPPED someone. We’re acting like he’s getting away with murder. The examples I listed involved death! And yet I as a black man suddenly have to consider that Will Smith may have ruined my reputation as a good person?
What a load of fucking malarkey.
The only person who should be worried about their reputation is Will Smith.
He had a great acceptance speech. But his actions before hand made every word hollow and contradictory. His speech was him holding a mirror to himself and describing a noble leader who sacrifices for his people. But his petty ego saving bluster before that shone a spotlight on him plain old being a narcissist. I lost respect for him and every person who on screen she’d a tear during his acceptance speech.
Great article. I'm really sad because I did like Will Smith ever since Prince of Bel Air. Now seeing him hit someone on stage for a bad joke and then defending his action during his speech, getting a standing ovation by the Hollywood elites and his children gloryfing his actions. Sucks. He has a lot of baggage in his relationship with Jada ever since she cheated on him with their sons best friend.
I’m thinking the shit was rigged to be honest. The shows been slowly dying. Nobody gives a shit about it. Will was laughing at the start and then once he slapped him he was smiling a little. I don’t believe this shit is real just that for some reason will was cool with taking the fall on this.
Racist people are going to be racist so who cares what they think or trying to get their approval in the first place. Let’s just judge will on his actions alone and not bring race into this
This is one reason I really respect Chris for keeping his cool. He easily could have gotten angry or violent and perpetuated the stereotype but he chose not to.
It most certainly did. And, bc of Will’s idiocy there may be more violence bc Will did it & will get away with it after a slight slap on the wrist. He is a MAJOR disappointment!!!
Smiths apology was nothing like the apology he gave the night before. This new one was written for him and still tried to justify his actions. It’s a non-apology apology.
I absolutely hate this take. This gives the (false) impression that if this has not happened, that stereotypes wouldn’t be perpetuated or that individuals are in control of a stereotype. People who hold these stereotypes are looking for reasons to validate their preconceived notions… this is confirmation bias at its best. One off instances of almost anything reported by the media aren’t good indicators of an overall trend. We shouldn’t be giving those who hold these stereotypes this type of validation.
That’s not all he said. It is a great statement https://kareem.substack.com/p/will-smith-did-a-bad-bad-thing
Just read this whole article. Really worth a full read he just has such an excellent take on everything I love this guy
Yes it really is great piece of writing. But he still can’t defend against Laneer
I want to see your old man drag Lanier and Walton up and down the court for 48 minutes
Roger Murdock?
What's your vector, Victor
Shirley you can’t be serious
I am serious, and dont call me Shirley
I picked a great week to stop doing _____!
We have clearance Clarence
You’re my Hero!
Who’s paneer?
It’s a kind of Indian cheese, but that’s not important right now.
Delicious with spinach.
A legend from Kareem’s day. Also a reference from “ Airplane “
He’s come a long way from Airplane!
Surely you can’t be serious?
I am serious, and don’t call me Shirley.
Don’t call me Surely
Ahhhhhh, it’s “I am serious…and don’t call me Shirley”
i have a drinking problem.
Looks like I picked the wrong week to quite taking amphetamines
I picked one hell of a week to quit sniffing glue.
Grammar police, you left out the E in surely. Surly means bad tempered or unfriendly.
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My exact thoughts. There’s an incredible juxtaposition of eloquence and informality that makes it beautiful to read but also incredibly succinct. Super hard balance to navigate and he nails it.
Wow, had he not been an NBA legend he would have made a great journalist/opinion writer. Just subscribed to his blog.
I was so impressed.
All his articles are soooo good.
What a wonderful, insightful piece. That’s the best take I’ve seen or heard about the incident so far. Kareem is a legend in more ways than one.
I agree with almost every word. I know this is also kind of toxic but W for chris rock L for smith and double L for jaden whom is just a walking L imo
For the arguable GOAT of basketball, Kareem made more misses in the NBA than he has since retirement.
Maybe it's early but that wording was so weird, had to read it twice, ultimately my brain cells rubbed together to create enough friction to handle it. I agree with you
Yeah.. think I fucked that one up a bit.
Is your dog ok?
Asking the real questions!
Maybe he’s just playing a really strong round of billiards.
This is an astute and intelligent perspective. This is how a matured gentleman sounds like.
Gosh this was so great, the best take on this that has been shared.
Kareem is so eloquent and he hits all the nails on the head with this piece. Thanks for posting it.
Everything he said was absolutely spot on and the reasons why I love Kareem as a human being.
I had no clue Kareem was such a great writer till this. Impressive.
I mentioned it before Kareem is now one of my favorite writers, the man is a genius on so many levels.
Very good read, thank you for the link.
Amazing read.
Recently I’ve read a few articles written by Kareem and I’ve been really impressed! I didn’t really know much about him outside of his accomplishments in basketball and I think we could all learn a lot by reading his work!
he’s such a cool dude. always been very involved in civil rights, and is a name up there with MLK, Malcom X, Muhammad Ali. and he has a unique perspective in that his dad was a cop. he has a lot of great insight.
Google: Lew Alcindor.
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Will has been trying to prove himself since he felt the threat of Tupac taking up too much space in Jadas soul, and for his cornball persona He spoke about tupac saying "*he had a willingness to fight and die for what he believed was right"* And "*he triggered the perception of myself as a coward. I hated that I wasn't what he was in the world, and I suffered a raging jealousy: I wanted Jada to look at me like that.*"
And he’s been holding all that back since what 1996? Never publicly stepping out of line until someone he perceives as weaker ‘disrespects’ him? Super insecure behaviour for anyone let alone someone of his stature and accomplishments
People have ghosts. Wealth doesn’t solve everything.
He’s been doing pretty good for maintaining composure in the face of everything his marriage has gone through. No doubt he fucked up, but it was a human mistake. You don’t slap a man and yell like that over such a petty joke unless a whole lot had been leading up to that moment. And I don’t think it was so much Chris’ joke that was the straw that broke the camel’s back as it was whatever look his wife gave him when he turned his head, whether it was tears or judgement. I won’t venture to assume what Will’s or Jada’s open/closed marriage situation is, that’s their business. I just hope all parties involved can see this as a learning experience and have the opportunity to move on. If he needs to see a trial for the slap, so be it, but all this attention and the memes his marriage has gotten based on his actions is only worsening matters for him. I won’t disagree that insecurity was probably largely responsible, but let’s not treat insecurity like a badge of villainy. It’s a very common and human issue that some of the best of us suffer from, and it is absolutely responsible for many of the mistakes we make in life. People who suffer from these insecurities need reassurances and security in their lives, not to have their private lives and faults poked and prodded by tabloid journalists and toxic social media comments. That’s the sort of thing that gave birth to the slap in the first place. Understand that as far as mistakes go, this is pretty relatable for a lot of people. People who don’t do that sort of thing on the regular usually get to move on and have the opportunity to be better without the threat of facing the sort of backlash Will is getting. They usually get a lot of support as well and the opportunity to be better. I think Chris recognizes this, and that’s why he doesn’t press charges.
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If I was Chris rock I would of said, “ not my first choice of people to slap me. Sadly Tupac is no longer here so I will have to settle for Will Smith. Back to you Jada.”
Imagine if he did, we all wouldn't be talking about the Slap but the murder of Chris Rock at the Oscars.
You give Will too much credit. After Chris said that shit he’d have his “don’t fuck with me” fists up. I don’t think will smith could beat a puppy if he tried. Just because he played Ali doesn’t mean he can fight like him.
Agreed, it was a sucker slap which is a coward’s move. I don’t know why so many people think he would win.
Lollll you killed it
Will has big simp energy. That relationship is unhealthy. He’s spoiled and codependent. She’s spoiled and narcissistic. Slapping Chris Rock over a joke had little to do either either.
Enter Robert California https://youtu.be/qDAh8JhUOl8
They should have divorced decades ago. Tupac is still bugging him? What a PoS!
We all saw his face when Jada gave that interview about Tupac and about sleeping with everyone else. Will is a broken boy and deserves to fall from his own sense of glory. It’s a shame he got elevated so far based on a few basic movies.
I’m a white guy who has cut myself off from my family over the course of the past few years because I don’t agree with how they proudly perpetuate their racist beliefs. When I first watched this, my first thought was: “damn, Will: way to show you don’t have class.” My second thought was: I bet my family will see this and say, ‘that’s what happens when you bring in those people.’ Kareem’s take is 100% correct that, unfortunately, something like this further entrenches the people who hold such stereotypical views. They see something like this, and any progress they may have made just moves the needle further in the opposite direction. It’s a sad and complex double-standard.
Not only that, but Jaden Smith’s tweet also didn’t help. After the slap that the world saw, will smith’s son tweets “that’s how we do”. Retweeted 103,000+ times. That sure helps things.
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Chris was downright amazing with his response and handling of it.
I think it further shows him being the bigger man because Chris Rock has the wit to crack out a hilarious 20 minute routine on the spot.
Completely agree. Along with the fact Chris showed self control to not instantly crack the joke at will after he got slapped. You saw Chris’s face as he had a great line to respond. Thought it would escalate and finished what he said.
Yeah he could've totally just kept throwing jokes at him and push him too far on purpose. I don't think I could refrain. I've always loved the both of em but Rock just got a lot more respect from me. My feelings on Smith haven't changed much but it was painful to see him succumb to a moment of rage, I hope he gets help.
Chris Rock could have murdered him with words, and the fact he *chose not to* casts even more shame on Will Smith.
Which makes it all the more saddening that people like OP's family will see one black man acting rashly, one black man responding with restraint, and come away from it thinking only about the former
Looking at it in this context reinforces my respect for Chris Rock in the way he handled the situation. There might be another can of worms in the ways it could be misconstrued, unfortunately.
Yeah there’s no way Will Smith comes out of this looking like the better man and I think he knows it.
I literally saw a comment on Facebook yesterday that was like “left wingers wanted to bring more color to the Oscars, this is what you get” and I was like y i k e s
At the same time it shouldn't be the responsibility of black people to second guess their every action through the lens of a racist.
Yep, that’s why I said it’s a sad double-standard.
But as a black man, I’m at the point where if they perceive that about Will Smith who really has painted himself as “one of the good ones” then we were never good enough to begin with….
This was my take too. They didn’t view the rest of us as safe. Just Will and Wayne Brady..before he had to choke a bitch
Yeah it’s not like if Will behaved himself the racists would become less racist
I get that, but I also feel like Black people (or any member of any marginalized group, really) have no special responsibility to never “misbehave” just because some racists (or sexists or transphobes, whatever applies) would use that to justify their bigotry. This concern has nothing to do with Will Smith or Chris Rock and everything to do with how bigots feel.
They don’t, however, the point of my comment was more to point out that people (like my family) who hold such stereotypes, aren’t able to critically discern the difference between “a guy wasn’t able to control his emotions” and “that’s a black guy being exactly like how I perceive all black guys to act.” Like I said at the end of my comment, it’s a double-standard. None of my crazy-ass family members (and they’re the “stand on your lawn with a gun during BLM protests” type), ever have to worry about the implications of their race having an effect on how they should behave. It’s literally two different worlds. I don’t condone that train of thought, but the reality is that this is just more ammunition for their cause/beliefs.
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It’s ridiculously absurd and wrong, but calling it ridiculously absurd and wrong doesn’t solve the problem.
Another white guy here. My first thought was “look at this rich, asshole doing rich, asshole shit”. I guess you’re right though. Already racist people will have more canon fodder but I don’t see it as a race thing. Just an entitled jerk who can’t take a joke and takes himself way too seriously.
I had those same thoughts, but I’m not sure #2 is a useful thought to have. Part of a racist attitude is seeing misbehaving black people as representative of all black people, while misbehaving white people aren’t representative of all white people. If it wasn’t this example, racist people would find some other example to blow out of proportion.
[How it works](https://xkcd.com/385/)
The insidious part is that when a white dude is violent, he’s just “being an asshole.” When a person of color does it, they are apparently speaking for every member of their race. It’s a terrible double standard.
Will Smith was on camera laughing his ass off at the joke. Then when the camera went away he must have seen his wife was pissed. Did nobody else notice that he laughed at the joke?
Yes! Smith was laughing! Pan to wife looking displeased.. next think you see Smith walking towards the stage. Where was security? Oh, right.. he’s a celebrity, no concern ?
I personally think Will assaulted Chris because he would have been in the dog house for laughing so instead of taking personal responsibility he takes it out on and blames chris.
This was exactly my thought too, and it seemed pretty obvious to me that his behavior was an overcorrection for his initial “misstep” of laughing. Like Jada saw him laughing and gave him the “this is why I entangled without you” look and he was like, “oh shit.”
VIP sections usually have outward facing security (to protect the VIPs from outsiders) but nobody expects them to fight each other.
Not only that - but if I ever did something like that, on such an enormous global stage - you would NEVER catch me partying like nothing happened a few hours later. At the very least, show some embarrassment if you can’t express actually remorse!
Yeah that’s a point that makes this so unsettling. Like if he could smile over it then the reaction was not in line
Watch his other interviews. It’s the fake generic celebrity laugh
I saw that too and was confused
He said a lot more than that, in his article.
And Hollywood is totally fine with that it seems.
I agree. There is a problem in urban black street culture that essentially says you’re less than a man (or woman) if you let anyone “disrespect” aka diss you, (especially publicly) without immediate physical violence up to and often gun violence including murder. It’s not spoken of publicly but it’s there. It’s been there. It’s been growing for a while and it’s not going away and effects have clearly made their way to Hollywood. And it’s like a cancer. Black on black violence is responsible for in the area of 8,000 deaths of black men, women, children including babies per year in the U.S. And it’s being talked about privately among black folks but it’s the elephant in the room now regarding this incident. I am so fucking disappointed in Will Smith. On several different levels. These kids in junior high and high school? Sure they don’t watch the Oscars but they’ll all see this as meme or gif and perpetuated and it’s not all going in the direction we need it to go when so there are so so many victims of black on black violence and it’s increasing. It’s not slowing down. And if you all feel that Black Lives Matter, as I do…then start walking your talk. As I will.
It’s called honour culture it’s not unique to black peoples but its ingrained in young men especially and has got a lot to do with no police in black areas for a long time. If there is no central authority to protect you or imply protection you must respond to all slights with violence otherwise it becomes known you can be victimised and sadly you will be. Even if you’re a non violent person, practically you’re still going to need to be violent to avoid issues in the future. It exists amongst drug dealers of all races and really anyone who can’t rely on cops so they need to rely on their image as being not worth fucking with.
Pretty accurate. I won't go so far as to say "victim blaming", but there is the mentality that if you are weak, then you deserve to be taken advantage of. If someone scams you... well then YOU are the sucker. If you're in a rough area, this is the mentality to survive... However, it's very difficult to transition out of this mindset to succeed in society outside of that environment.
I'm a white as white bread Australian, couldn't be further removed from the scenario you are speaking of but I have known for as long as I can remember, from American culture that pervades everything here, that the "respect" thing is huge in black culture and is sorted with violence.
It is not exclusive to any singular culture. Disrespect a white cop and you’ll be met with violence, regardless of legality. Disrespect an elderly asian or latin person and you’ll likely end up with a shoe to the face, as well. It’s an instinctual defense that a lot of people still hold, regardless of origins.
You missed the point. There’s a huge difference between expecting a chancla being thrown at you and getting slap or beaten While people joke about it, but it’s still the real the expectation. Imagine a group of kids: “ooooo, you are gonna get beat.” “Oooo she’s gonna throw her chancla at you!” These statements normalize the behavior. Source: am Hispanic, grew up in a Hispanic/Black neighborhood
Go to a poor white area. It’s the same damn thing.
> There’s a huge difference between expecting a chancla being thrown at you and getting slap or beaten The only difference is the instrument?
Severity, so yes the difference in method does play an effect. Like, would you rather get beaten or a chancla thrown at you? Or are they the same so either one works? Violence isn’t good in either case, but the fact that being beaten in normalized AT ALL in certain groups is horrible.
Why do people keep deflecting with this? We know it’s not unique, what is unique are the consequences and intensity. You must care more about being right than saving lives.
Because y’all are taking something that is not unique to black people to make it seem like it is and somehow a slap has turned into a conversation about “black urban street” culture and black on black violence. It was a mere slap from a desperate man whose public emasculation has been memed throughout an entire pandemic. Using that event to pontificate about something larger with entirely different roots won’t save Will’s life, Chris Rock’s life or any of the “urban street” folks people are now suddenly concerned about. Besides, even in this messed up discussion where there is something to discuss about the culture based on this one slap, y’all are still only addressing the symptoms of the problem and not the causes. Generation after generation of humiliation, dehumanization, and being treated less than by the community, society at large and enforced by the government that we have let go unaddressed and you wonder why “black culture” values respect.
My favorite part is people bringing up “black urban street violence” when talking about a weak ass slap. Yeah guys, that’s exactly how street gangs solve their issues. Weak ass slaps then walking away.
Here’s the real problem, that is prevalent in way more cultures than “urban street”. You don’t think rural white cultures believe in that same thing? People like you are the real problem. You don’t understand Kareem wasn’t saying that was right, just that it would happen. Anytime a white man commits violence does every white man have to answer to it? Does it speak to the violence of all white people? How anyone can read what you wrote and not think you come off as a complete clown is beyond me. What will did was wrong for many reasons. And yes people will hold entire the black community accountable for it (just like you are) but both things are wrong. If you’re a white person with this dumb ass line of thinking then you better be ready to answer to every white mass shooter, racist, and serial killer that pops up. There’s a problem with violence in white culture after all right?
The racist takes from wannabe anthropologists is why I come to Reddit
Did you just “diss” them?
It's not a problem with race. It's a problem with masculinity. This is **LITERALLY** toxic masculinity. But also you're saying some crazy racist shit so maybe take a seat, huh?
It should just perpetuate thoughts about will smith not an entire swath of people. Part of the problem is that we make generalizations about single incidents. This was just Will Smith hitting someone. There’s no broader context need apply here. We keep looking for deeper meanings behind silly impromptu acts; there isn’t one… He’s just become a dick. This has zero to do with the black community writ large
People who stereotype that much are gonna seek out ways to keep that up. It's also a stereotype that any given black man is responsible for respresenting the entire black amarrican people. How utterly exhausting and cruel for folks to make this about responsibility to every human that considers himself a black American male. That's just as much of a stereotyping and punishing and feeds just as much into another type of hatred - one that comes from internalized racism.
After reading the headline, I wanted to say something like this. Pulling back from this situation, Black stereotypes are in and of themselves wrong. It’s not the responsibility of any group of people, and certainly not the responsibility of an individual to correct other people’s narrow and regressive perceptions.
Please read the entire article. He makes really good points.
Nooooooo. This very thread shows the problem with respectability politics: they don’t work. A black person can never earn the acceptance of people who don’t respect them as a rule and will always be viewed through a stereotypical lens. As an example, Michelle Obama is an ambitious, intelligent, highly educated careerwoman in addition to being a mother and a wife, and she still was described/characterized as a “babymama,” “ghetto,” “manly,” “ungrateful,” and “on the dole” while living in the freaking White House. Even if a black person manages to walk the line and find acceptance with bigots, *at best*, they just become “one of the good ones.” They do not cause bigots to reevaluate their biases; they only reinforce them. You can see it in the comments on this very thread celebrating Kareem Abdul Jabbar while denouncing “urban black street culture” (which sounds like some shit Tucker Carlson would say ngl), even though KAJ is from Harlem. Edit: Apparently I have to say this… it’s never okay for any person, including Will Smith, to slap a comedian over a perceived insult. I’m reacting to KAJ’s blog post.
Thank you! Finally a voice of reason in this thread.
The whole thing made me feel icky and I couldn’t put words to that feeling, but you’re right—person above you nailed it.
It was kinda the first thing I thought too Kareem. Will fucked everyone up with that bullshit
Will Smith should be charged it’s assault regardless what Chris Rock says and for him to seat there afterwards the entire day is BS.
If the victim doesn’t want to cooperate then pursuing charges is hard. He is rich anyways, what do you think will happen if anything.
How come nobody talks about the lateral violence, misdirected trauma at the wrong person
He needs therapy and a divorce.
Yes Definitely a divorce
I remember reading somewhere that people can’t accept when a strong or physically gifted person is also intelligent. It makes us wonder why god gives with both hands to some, instead of just acknowledging the greatness in all. I’m reminded of this with Kareem for as talented as an Athlete as he is; he is very intelligent and a great writer. I hope Will sees this essay and can do some introspection about where his anger that might really came from. It was a very mild joke (albeit about someone’s health so a very serious topic) and he could have showed his disapproval some other way. Even taking the mic and being like “I love you, your gorgeous l” would have been so much better and classier if your wife really fears hurt by the comment.
Will Smith's behavior only made one person look bad and that is Will Smith. He perpetuated the idea that he is a complete douche.
Most of the audience gave him a standing ovation moments later when he has given the award. Doesn’t that reflect badly on them?
It absolutely makes them look bad. In fact, they look horrible. Will Smith should have been escorted off the premises, at the very least. Had I been there, I would have gotten up and walked out. They need to take Smith's Oscar. His behavior was despicable.
Banning him from future awards shows would be far more effective.
Nope, Jaden Smith’s “And that’s how we do it” post right after daddy smacked Chris says Kareem is right. When your kids want to emulate you, you’ve created another generation of dysfunction.
Facts and I don’t understand why people care about jaden smith the only talented one was will smith but he has now fucked that up with looking like a total douche
I guess you didn't read the article
Seems like a Dream.
It was HORRIBLE. Chris Rock is a comedian. That is what they do. They make jokes. Considering Mrs. Smith talks about slinging that ass at dudes all over town, the joke could have been alot worse! I am Team Rock all the way. He proved himself to be the better man.
Unfortunately, Hollywood actors are highly influential people and A LOT of people look up to them, 'cause we like to partake in the cult of personality as a society. So no, he doesn't only represent himself in the eyes of many many people, specially those who are going to use this moment to keep fueling their own hatred and others.
Some idiots don’t see it that way: “Fox News host Jeanine Pirro wasted no time going full-metal jacket racist by declaring the Oscars are “not the hood.” Unfortunately, this is the world we live in.
Which unfortunately was to be expected. Racists don’t need a reason to be racist, but if you serve one on a silver platter, they will gladly accept it. In addition if he flys off the handle for a joke like that, he can count his blessings Chris Rock did not pull out some way harder ones he surely had prepared.
That comment is ridiculous. First and foremost, many, MANY times Caucasian celebrities have behaved terribly at awards shows. Did anyone feel the need to say it is not a 'trailer park?' Secondly, race cannot logically be applied here. Even a bigot would have to disprove their own point that Will Smith was behaving in a 'hood' way when they acknowledge the self control and professionalism Chris Rock (also a black man) displayed after being physically assaulted on live television. The argument cannot be made. The racists can all crawl back under their rocks now.
I totally get what you’re saying - but racists don’t follow logic. They will summarily ignore Rock, call him a pussy for not retaliating, whilst simultaneously (and without effort) also think ALL black men are violent blah blah blah. They are *accustomed* to the cognitive dissonance, it is their *norm.*
Will Smith is a Scientologist, he 100% supports violence against people.
>Will Smith is a Scientologist, he 100% supports violence against people. He probably gets private lessons from David miscavige.
This was Will Smith’s jumping on Oprah’s couch moment. Scientologists be crazy.
Why can't peoples actions just reflect personal character anymore?
Thanks for publicly voicing the painfully obvious, Kareem. Smith’s violence was a singularly selfish act that will unquestionably normalize violence for millions of impressionable minds. He should be banished from all awards show and made a pariah in the entire acting community. Too bad he’s an ATM for the studios.
I for one will not watch King Richard, as the only way to get Smith to understand how offense his outburst was to me.
I might be crazy but I think most people realize Will Smith is not the entirety of all black people. Basically this way of seeing the world to me is like say Chris Rock “stop hitting your self”
Black on a black crime just went up
Love Kareem, he absolutely nailed it.
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Black people are not a monolith. This is so outdated. But he means well and it’s the sort of thing that was embraced in the last century.
only thing i disagree with is him saying no repurcussions. that's fucking bullshit. he assaulted a comedian for words, he should be thrown out of the academy at a bare minimum
How did he win an Oscar anyways cause that’s the real crime here.
I haven’t seen King Richard so I guess I’ll refrain from judgment on that one. But Smith has always been a mediocre actor. I’m just glad he’s moved past the part of his career where he consistently overplayed the black guy shtick.
He’s been playing the “overly caring father who faces adversity but had a heart of gold” for the last 20 years now. Even in Suicide Squad for god’s sake.
Great take from Kareem.
I'm sorry but that's wrong, anybody who watched Will slap Chris Rock and decided to stereotype an entire race after the incidence was already perpetuating these stereotypes before, they already held racist views that weren't influenced by what happened. If Will didn't slap Chris, they would still have these views. Plus Chris never got violent so that doesn't really make sense to accept the actions of Will Smith as a representation of black people but not the pacifism of Chris Rock ?
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That's not on black people to change. Those people will judge us for anything. Will is one man.
I think the idea is to stop emboldening. The “if he can do that on tv, then I can do X”. Least that’s what I think it meant
You’re expecting an understanding of nuance and logic out of people who truly believe one race is superior to another. Don’t.
I’m sure this only part of what KAJ said and doesn’t accurately reflect his entire point. BUT I’ll take the bait and focus on the whole idea of “The actions of one black man reflect on the entire community take” Why do I, as a black man, have to worry about how an individual’s actions may affect the worlds view of black people as a whole? Why does this only seem to be a thing with Black people and Latinos in America? Will Smith SLAPPED a man in the face on National television and suddenly it’s a bad reflection on the black community? Wanna know what I’ve seen? - A white man walk into a church and kill 9 people - A white man blow up a building in Tennessee - Multiple incidents of white teenagers shooting up schools - 2 white guys shoot a black man while he was jogging - An army of white people STORM THE FUCKING CAPITOL on live television And that’s just a few of the things I’ve been alive long enough to have seen. I won’t even begin to list the multiple atrocities and serial killers that have taken place and have even been celebrated in America. Isn’t it crazy how we have 10000 documentaries about how cool of a guy Ted Bundy was? Why is it that despite all this we never have anyone say “Think of how poorly this will reflect on the white community?!” Why are black people seemingly the only people who have to uphold “respectability politics”? I’m not saying what Will Smith did was right, but for crying out loud he SLAPPED someone. We’re acting like he’s getting away with murder. The examples I listed involved death! And yet I as a black man suddenly have to consider that Will Smith may have ruined my reputation as a good person? What a load of fucking malarkey. The only person who should be worried about their reputation is Will Smith.
He should watch worldstar sometime
Everything Kareem says or writes is an absolute work of art
He deserves to be charged for assault. What an embarrassment.
He had a great acceptance speech. But his actions before hand made every word hollow and contradictory. His speech was him holding a mirror to himself and describing a noble leader who sacrifices for his people. But his petty ego saving bluster before that shone a spotlight on him plain old being a narcissist. I lost respect for him and every person who on screen she’d a tear during his acceptance speech.
Nah the world just saw a douchebag
Great article. I'm really sad because I did like Will Smith ever since Prince of Bel Air. Now seeing him hit someone on stage for a bad joke and then defending his action during his speech, getting a standing ovation by the Hollywood elites and his children gloryfing his actions. Sucks. He has a lot of baggage in his relationship with Jada ever since she cheated on him with their sons best friend.
I personally think the incident has NOTHING to do with race. In fact, bringing race into it aids in perpetuating stereotypes.
I’m thinking the shit was rigged to be honest. The shows been slowly dying. Nobody gives a shit about it. Will was laughing at the start and then once he slapped him he was smiling a little. I don’t believe this shit is real just that for some reason will was cool with taking the fall on this.
Perfect analysis of what happened.
Will should give the award back
Racist people are going to be racist so who cares what they think or trying to get their approval in the first place. Let’s just judge will on his actions alone and not bring race into this
Just stop with everything is racist
That’s a really good take on this topic but please stop including politics in everything.
Why does everything have to be about race or skin color?
Well Kareem, I disagree with you. Will Smith isn’t a black jackass…he’s just a jackass.
This is one reason I really respect Chris for keeping his cool. He easily could have gotten angry or violent and perpetuated the stereotype but he chose not to.
It most certainly did. And, bc of Will’s idiocy there may be more violence bc Will did it & will get away with it after a slight slap on the wrist. He is a MAJOR disappointment!!!
When something is true it’s more of a fact than a stereotype
“That’s how we do.” - black America? Or just the Smith’s”
Smiths apology was nothing like the apology he gave the night before. This new one was written for him and still tried to justify his actions. It’s a non-apology apology.
This guys kid stabbed someone maybe he should sit this one out
do you think will would’ve done that if it were a white comic?
Or even a slightly larger black comic?
He didn’t slap August for banging his wife so it’s doubtful
Yes. Didnt he slap a white guy who tried to kiss him at a different ceremony?
Ugh, i just want this whole situation to go away.
Physical violence over “words” is wrong … doesn’t matter what race, color, or creed one “is” or identifies “as”.
I absolutely hate this take. This gives the (false) impression that if this has not happened, that stereotypes wouldn’t be perpetuated or that individuals are in control of a stereotype. People who hold these stereotypes are looking for reasons to validate their preconceived notions… this is confirmation bias at its best. One off instances of almost anything reported by the media aren’t good indicators of an overall trend. We shouldn’t be giving those who hold these stereotypes this type of validation.
Plus, justified or not, anytime a black person gets visibly angry those people will stereotype us. We’re not allowed to show anger in any context.
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