[Taltarzac725]

Something Simon Scarrow posted on Facebook about the Will Smith-Chris Rock altercation at the Oscars last night.

Simon Scarrow is a British writer of historical novels. Many of these are set in ancient Rome and Britain.

(A lot of people here are saying what Smith should have done. I don't disagree that it would have been wise to do something other than strike Rock. But that's not what my comment was about. I was discussing the implications of what actually happened. Coulda, woulda, shoulda is not a helpful response. I am not best pleased by some of the attacks on my values as a result of people twisting my words to suit their values. But relax, I'm not in the mood for issuing a slapping...)
After having a think about this I have to condone Will Smith's actions. I've seen far too many men use the defence of 'just having a joke' when called out on what is effectively bullying. And a man in position of influence using a public stage to attack a woman with health issues is, let's be honest, about as low as it goes. This was not a dialogue in which Chris Rock could be called to account. He was on the stage with the mic and she was in the audience and inaudible.
More widely, I think it's time that people grew up enough to understand that context is as important as principle. Free speech is not a license to bully and demean. It is about using the ability to communicate freely to challenge ideas that deserve to be challenged and to encourage progress. It is a bad thing when the principle is weaponised to simply bully, offend or humiliate others, as was the case here.
Does that mean that Smith should not have reacted with violence? Again, we have to balance context with principle. Violence maybe wrong in principle but in some contexts it is justified. As in Ukraine where a war of conquest is wrong but a war of resistance is certainly not. Smith could have gone up on stage and used his not inconsiderable charisma and intelligence to put Chris Rock in his place. In fact he should have done that. However, he had seen the hurt Rock's crass remarks had caused his wife and I dare say there are few amongst us who would have resisted the impulse to strike back somehow.
Sometimes emotions rule reason. Ideally reason wins out and prevails and is enough to right the wrong. Sometimes raw emotion drives us to act when reason fails. Sometimes that is justifiable. Sometimes not. As a teacher I've seen bullies smack other kids just because they are stronger and have lost an argument. That's unforgivable. But here, Rock was the bully and, frankly, he had it coming to him.