Out of Outrage
To start off, any form of violence is wrong and unacceptable, period. When having a public discussion, we have to start off with the obvious because there are some that will read this and miss that the nonviolent sentiments were clearly stated in the beginning of this blog.
In addition to those nonviolent sentiments, we must also remember that words can be violent as well. Chris Rock was correct in titling his Netflix special “Selective Outrage” because we all can be guilty sometimes of suffering from selective reasoning.
But let’s be real, growing up, how many of us have ever heard an elder say “you going to make me slap some sense into you”? Whether they meant it figuratively or literally, it was said to bring us back to our natural senses for understanding. As with this situation, it sounds like Will Smith slapped all of the sense out of Pookie from New Jack City’s argument.
Chris Rock, a brilliant brother, took to the stage the other night and stated that he didn’t respond to being slapped at the Oscars because “his mother taught him not to fight in front of white folks.” Culturally, that statement sounds reasonable.
However, are we to conclude that Mrs. Rock condones the son that she raised, calling a woman the B-word in front of the world, at the beginning of Women’s History Month?
If so, then Mrs. Rock would also too be guilty of selective outrage.
Regardless of the circumstances, it is not manly to degrade and verbally assault a woman like this, while complaining about how her husband physically assaulted you (in front of the same folks).
All that I know is that, if my momma got wind of me speaking so blatantly disrespectfully about any woman like that, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air wouldn’t get a chance to lift his finger. My momma would have come onto that stage and slapped me all the way back into Black History Month!
Barnard the Barber
3/7/2023
Good point, Barnard. Selective outrage seems to be a cultural phenomenon of what the new hashtag movement will be, the new flavor of the month cause, when folks don't really care to stick with them. It's interesting to see people growing in the public view. Makes me think of the quote "People don't see you as you are. They see you are they are."