The Smith-Rock debacle at the Oscars did not occur in a vacuum. It encapsulates many of the dysfunctions in our society: denigration disguised as “humor,” attention to women’s appearance, privileges of celebrity and the dangers of giving status to wounded men, the passivity of an indifferent audience, private demons playing out on a public stage, victimizing of people with medical conditions, and toxic masculinity. We saw the misogyny of making fun of a woman who, for her own reasons, did not conform to the role expected of her in this man’s world.
If Smith’s actions were perpetrated by an audience member, security would have ejected him without question, and he’d have been turned over to the police. But we see that status has its privileges that allow perpetrators to act with impunity. Even if it’s true that Rock didn’t want Smith ejected or criminally charged, it does not change the law or moral violation. Smith’s actions were an affront to the audience, the academy, and to the larger audience as well.
He certainly wasn’t acting to prevent or protect anyone or anything. His was an act of angry revenge. Ironically, his actions made him the center of attention, which make it easier to downgrade Rock’s actions – as if violence against another man should engender respect. Imagine what might have happened if, when he accepted his Oscar, Smith would have addressed the insults and disrespect by Rock. His later words about love would not have rung so hollow.
Thus, these are not aberrations, but a reflect our society at large.
It’s all too common to see victims created by other wounded victims.
Aggrieved victims feel justified in committing crimes of violence against another, against a minority, or against the government.
Unhealed wounds and immature acting out are dangerous in people of power, status, and celebrity as we saw in the previous president and some of our current legislators.
Women are overwhelmingly judged through their appearance, as if everything she does has meaning for the world of men. Too many men think they are the center of the universe.
Humor has become a tactic of avoiding real issues, and degrading others is now a common practice in politics as well as in “entertainment.” Denigration is a humor for the witless.
Neither man honored himself that night, nor those he claimed to care for. And they reflected back to us the unwholesome state of our American society built on privilege, status, dominance, aggression, and toxic patriarchy.