Oscars So Violent

This week we got to see that this is not the case. They're human beings like everyone else, and they're just as flawed, if not more.I woke up on Monday to the trending story of Will Smith storming the Oscars stage to slap comedian Chris Rock for making a joke about his wife, Jada.At first glance this seemed like Will couldn't take a joke and he went too far by escalating things to actual physical violence, but I think it's a lot deeper than that.It's quite interesting to see these guys lose their cool, like us regular folk, and it's even more interesting to see the think pieces and threads that are being written on Twitter. I actually don't tweet much these days, but I'd log in for this.As usual, that place is managing to turn a crazy, unplanned, but totally human reaction into debates and fights that will no doubt rage on all week.Some folks are for Will and “standing up for black women”, some are against the violence, some say you can't take black people anywhere.Well, making a bald joke about someone who has alopecia, a condition that causes hair loss, is tactless and distasteful and no one in that room should have laughed. That joke itself is violence, if you ask me.This isn't the first time he's made insensitive “jokes” about the couple, and Jada once mentioned on her Red Table Talk Show that it was hurtful and that she and Will have tried taking the high road multiple times.People are now saying comedians have a free pass to make jokes about people, but funny enough the same grace was not extended to Dave Chappelle. Others, especially Americans, claim “violence is not the answer”. It's a laughable opinion when you consider how much that country worships guns and war.Some have said it was staged, but I highly doubt it. I think people have been trolling Will and Jada for so long now, that it all just got too much for the man, and we got a glimpse of his very human, not perfect side.That and the fact that Chris Rock was so flustered afterwards, barely making it through his announcement of the 'Best Documentary' nominees, make me believe it was a truly spontaneous thing.I salute Chris Rock though for keeping his cool as much as he did in the face of assault. I was holding my breath watching him and I was shocked and impressed by the fact that he did not touch his face once after being attacked. Not once, you guys! He did not even rub it a little to see if he was okay or to soothe it. He kept the show going. It was sad and magnificent.Chris Rock says he won't press charges, which is big of him, because I would've collapsed, called out for 911 and sued him for hundreds of millions of dollars the next morning.Will posted a long apology to Instagram, but I'm not buying it.I can't say for certain what on earth is going to happen next, but I do know that people will start being a little less quick to troll the Smiths, lest they bear witness once more to the rage that lies beneath the surface.This is honestly such a wild story that I wouldn't have believed it had I not seen it with my own eyes.I truly don't even know whose side I'm on. I think they were both wrong, but Will definitely should have waited until he was backstage, if not for humanity and decorum, at least so that there were fewer witnesses.I don't even know what else happened on award night. I feel exactly like the faces Lupita Nyong'o made as she watched the action up close and it slowly dawned on her that Will Smith was very serious.I need some time.*Anne Hambuda is a poet, writer, social commentator and media personality. Email her at annehambuda@gmail.com for more.

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