Rock’s joke and Smith’s violent response are both examples of the toxic patriarchy that society can no longer tolerate
I refuse to accept that the implication of my criticism is that comedians will be gagged. We should push back against straw person responses when it comes to analysis of speech acts that are indecent.
During the joke, he imitated a deaf person who confronted him for never including deaf people in his material as a comedian. It was a brilliant meta comment on the fear of comedians to offend people they regard as vulnerable, but in the process being exclusionary and implying that people with disabilities lack a sense of humour.
We have naturalised the use of violence to settle our differences as men, and to give expression to our deepest frustrations and anger. Smith didn’t have to put up with the joke, but critical responses to such moments are not confined to acts of violence. The fact that he cried during his acceptance speech later will tempt many of us to treat him with kid gloves because a vulnerable-looking man who apologises is such a rare sight. Add to that the fact that he is very good-looking, and likeable generally, and we are even more prone to giving him a discount for his violence. We should not do so.
Even his tears later on, not unlike white women tears in conversations about allyship in the fight for racial justice, are about the man of the household as “a fierce defender of family”.
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