Are you not not going to watch the Oscars this year?

[BurtReynolds]

Why are you apparently unable to see that women can be just as bad as men?

That's his whole schtick. His identity.

[epilogue]

Well, if a person just goes around willy nilly slapping people, I would say that's a very silly way to live

I think this is the fundamental division here. There is an argument that what Will did was not "willy nilly." You may see it differently. But until you understand this other perspective, you're going to continue to be frustrated by this discussion.

[Jorge]

Haha... Will-y nilly

[Ms Harmless]

Sometimes men deserved to be slapped at the bar. Of course. ive wanted to slap many a men at the bar watching their behavior. It's why i dont go to the bars anymore.

However, context matters. Harmless didn't provide any and we got mocked for asking for some.

you don't get to ask for some in a context where you simply see a woman smack a man in a bar after his comment

that's my point; you don't get any context, only she knows it, and she decides what action to take based on context only she is 100% privvy to

who are you going to give the benefit of the doubt? I don't mean verbally or openly (you don't have to get involved); I mean instinctively, without having to think or plan

Well, of course i would generally assume that the man is an asshole. But whats your point? Why providing us with these silly what ifs? We dont live in a black and white world.

why "of course"?

Harmless, we, or art least I, are not arguing that men aren't assholes and generally creepy and cause chaos and destruction.

that's not what I am saying

I am suggesting you would have an automatic, I would say good-natured bias towards the woman being verbally harmed, because of what you already know about women's experience... especially if that woman was white (it's automatic, I've done it, we've all done it)

Black women move through the world without being afforded so much benefit of the doubt by onlookers; it is considered less taboo for Black men to protect the women they love in the way Will did, not least because of how relatively worse it would look for them if *they* handed out the slap

white women, more often, don't have to think about that; they just slap

having heard, read and seen all this from others' first-hand experiences, I decided that as long as we were choosing between two Hollywood rich guys to support in a public spat, I would choose Will

[Mickey]

Tree, let's say your wife is out and about running errands. You're home with the kids. She comes back a few hours later and says, "I had the worst day. I slapped a guy."

How do you react?

RM is about to come to the shocking conclusion that I might assume more good faith on behalf of my wife than I would of a stranger regardless of their subject position.

But that does not extent beyond your wife?

It's us against the world baby

[Coach]

I was at the first Chris Rock show in Boston last night. I don't have much to add that's been reported. I will say that seeing him tear up was unexpected but very human. His new material on Trump, Covid, Hillary Clinton, and his kiddos was stellar. Can't believe he's 57. He looks great.

[Ms Harmless]

57? holy crap! he does

[tree_]

Well, if a person just goes around willy nilly slapping people, I would say that's a very silly way to live

I think this is the fundamental division here. There is an argument that what Will did was not "willy nilly." You may see it differently. But until you understand this other perspective, you're going to continue to be frustrated by this discussion.

I wasn't even talking about Will Smith... I'm pretty sure that was calculated.

[epilogue]

No one is saying that women can't be awful or bad faith actors. Or rather -- I don't want to speak for everyone here -- I'm not seeing that here. It's certainly not my worldview or my "shtick." But Burt's gonna Burt. He hasn't ever heard me in the past, I can't imagine he'll start any time soon.

[Anders]

It shouldn’t be ok to slap someone just because they are a man (like a woman on a man in a bar), or because they are both black men. Flip it and everyone would be shocked, if say Will Smith went on stage to hit Amy Schumer.

[tree_]

listen, this is stupid

Ms. Harmless said, a woman hits a man, is she right or wrong? We say we need more context. How is this controversial at all?

[Ms Harmless]

It shouldn’t be ok to slap someone just because they are a man (like a woman on a man in a bar), or because they are both black men. Flip it and everyone would be shocked, if say Will Smith went on stage to hit Amy Schumer.

that's more complicated than many would think; if Amy Schumer had a history of being racist towards Will, I wouldn't bat an eye; rich white women get away with too much crap (and in Amy's case, two self-admitted cases of sexual assault)

[McParadigm]

Longer than the Ukraine and Transgender Rights threads combined.

[bada]

This is a problem we can solve McP.

[tree_]

I was at the first Chris Rock show in Boston last night. I don't have much to add that's been reported. I will say that seeing him tear up was unexpected but very human. His new material on Trump, Covid, Hillary Clinton, and his kiddos was stellar. Can't believe he's 57. He looks great.

[VinylGuy]

Longer than the Ukraine and Transgender Rights threads combined.

this is more important

[Mickey]

It shouldn’t be ok to slap someone just because they are a man (like a woman on a man in a bar), or because they are both black men. Flip it and everyone would be shocked, if say Will Smith went on stage to hit Amy Schumer.

that's more complicated than many would think; if Amy Schumer had a history of being racist towards Will, I wouldn't bat an eye; rich white women get away with too much crap (and in Amy's case, two self-admitted cases of sexual assault)

Incredible post

[BurtReynolds]

Longer than the Ukraine and Transgender Rights threads combined.

the balance has been restored.

[Ms Harmless]

It shouldn’t be ok to slap someone just because they are a man (like a woman on a man in a bar), or because they are both black men. Flip it and everyone would be shocked, if say Will Smith went on stage to hit Amy Schumer.

that's more complicated than many would think; if Amy Schumer had a history of being racist towards Will, I wouldn't bat an eye; rich white women get away with too much crap (and in Amy's case, two self-admitted cases of sexual assault)

Incredible post

I know I throw around privilege theory a lot, but white women have a lot of privilege over Black men; it's not as simple as a sexism binary there

[epilogue]

There were a lot of women applauding that Cleveland bus driver (male) who punched that woman a couple years back.