A recent event involving Will Smith and Chris Rock at the Academy Awards following the latter joking about Smith’s wife has thrown up a lot of issues bothering on self-restraint, emotional intelligence, and violence.
I read so many comments on different social media platforms blaming Will Smith for overreacting. Many people initially chose to treat this encounter in isolation and rained blame on Will Smith as going over the bar without considering the circumstances surrounding this confrontation.
However, a few mainstream media have provided more context to this controversy.
Jade Pinkett Smith is said to be suffering from alopecia, an autoimmune disorder that causes hair loss. I shuddered. What woman on earth can live with this experience? Whatever her choices are or frame of reference, I do not think she would have found this easy to live with. She may have gone through some depressive cycles and her husband, being the closest person to her, would have known and understood her struggles.
And then, he sees someone who should know better (even if he does not), make his wife a subject of public ridicule.
But what is more unsettling for me is people’s reactions. Some describe the ‘slap’ as violence, expressed physically. My question is how do you then address online trolls who troll (pun intended) others to depression and suicide?
What’s my point? It is important for people to respect what they do not know. Do not disrespect what you don’t understand to ‘catch cruise’ – by the way, this expression ‘catch cruise’ is a Nigerian lingo meaning ‘to say something for the fun of it’. It is disrespectful and violent – that’s psychological violence.
By Olasunmbo Olajubu
