This is the News!

[Funt Solo]

Headlines I didn't think I'd be seeing tonight: Oscar winner Will Smith hits Chris Rock on stage

[broodblik]

Well that is the only way that I can watch the Oscars maybe next time organize a full out brawl

[Tiplodocus]

Pretty disappointed in this actually. I wouldn't put up with it from Jeremy Clarkson so I shouldn't put up with it from the Fresh Prince.

Violence never a good idea. Especially when the joke about Jada was based around GI JANE. Surely the obvious response is to tell Chris Rock "Suck my d!*k!".

[Richmond Clements]

Making a joke about a persons medical condition is horrible behaviour. Slapping someone in the face is also horrible behaviour. None of them come out of this well and I bet they both feel like shit this morning.

[Richard]

Quite an understandable reaction under the circumstances.

[Mister Pops]

I heard after that one little fight his mom got scared and said “You’re moving to your auntie and uncle in Bel-Air”

[Funt Solo]

I can't accept Smith's behavior as being at all justified. First off, his wife isn't his property - so he doesn't need to defend her honor by slapping people about. I don't even know if Chris Rock knew that her hair style was more of a condition than a choice. Smith didn't act with honor (even if you buy into the idea that husbands have a duty to protect their wives) because he didn't give Chris any warning - he sucker-slapped him. Then he gives a speech in which he effectively says that violence is love, which is an excuse used by abusers.

Seems like a lot of folk are walking away from this with entirely the wrong message in their heads - because "violence is the answer" deserves a more compelling question than this.

[nxylas]

I don't even know if Chris Rock knew that her hair style was more of a condition than a choice.

These events are heavily scripted. You'd think somebody would have said "are you sure about this?"

[Richard]

First off, his wife isn't his property - so he doesn't need to defend her

People don't only care about their property. You can defend people you care about too.

I can't accept Smith's behavior as being at all justified

I agree it's not justified. But I think it's quite understandable, and that there's no need to suggest that he's an abuser who thinks his wife is his chattel; that's a bit of an overreaction and lacking in empathy.

There's plenty of ground between "morally beyond reproach" and "despicable."

[Funt Solo]

a bit of an overreaction and lacking in empathy.

What's worse: Smith's assault or my reaction?

I'd have a lot more sympathy for his assaulting someone without warning if he took the time to apologize for it later - which he hasn't. I mean: not to the the victim of his physical violence. Painting it as "violence out of love" is - simply - abusive. "This is going to hurt me more than it hurts you." Yeah - no.

Maybe he will apologize in the future. Who knows? I hope he does - because he's an influential man, and what he's just taught everyone watching is that violence is okay, violence in defense of ill-defined honor red lines is okay - you even get to have an award later and go to a party and smile for the cameras and not apologize to your victim. It's all perfectly okay.

[Funt Solo]

And there's the direct apology: Will Smith apologises to Chris Rock after Oscars slap.

[Tiplodocus]

Refreshingly a proper apology. No weasel words immediately obvious to me and none of that "I'm sorry you feel that way..." crap.

[Funt Solo]

Ukraine war: Russia to curb Kyiv assault as peace talks progress

Glimmers of hope at the peace talks - so odd to see Abramovich in the middle of all that. I thought he was "just a businessman". I suppose that's naive of me.

[Mister Pops]

Ukraine war: Russia to curb Kyiv assault as peace talks progress

Glimmers of hope at the peace talks - so odd to see Abramovich in the middle of all that. I thought he was "just a businessman". I suppose that's naive of me.

Have you heard of "sports washing"?

[Funt Solo]

Ukraine war: Russia to curb Kyiv assault as peace talks progress

Glimmers of hope at the peace talks - so odd to see Abramovich in the middle of all that. I thought he was "just a businessman". I suppose that's naive of me.

Have you heard of "sports washing"?

I'd not heard the phrase before - although I was aware of the 1936 Olympics being a propaganda platform for Nazi Germany. I'd always thought Russia having oligarchs was relatively positive - you know - happy economy means happy state, sort of thing. Mind you - I was just reading one of the later chapters of Sapiens (Harari, 2015) and he was saying how relatively peaceful the world had become. (He did end the chapter by saying that it might not stay that way, though.)