It's been a year since the 'Will Smith Slap' and I still find the collective societal backlash far more disturbing (and telling) than the slap itself.

https://www.ign.com/articles/oscars-2023-will-include-a-crisis-team-after-will-smith-slap

American society has truly, TRULY become too civilized if we really have lost the ability to distinguish between physical altercation and actual, violent oppression.

It's the difference between Jesus who whipped salesmen out of his Father's temple and Jesus who turned the other cheek in the face of tyranny and personal persecution.

(I'm not comparing Will Smith to Jesus, don't start).

I'm simply saying the way the world freaked out after the Smith slap is indicative of our over-civilized culture that's lost all ability to differentiate between wildly varying expressions of physicality.

And it's a perfect example, actually.

If you've always struggled to reconcile the Jesus who whipped salesmen with the Jesus who healed the ear of the man who literally took him away for torture and crucifixion, IT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN STANDING UP FOR YOUR LOVED ONES AND SEEKING THE PERSONAL GRATIFICATION OF RETALIATION!

If so many people earnestly conflate Smith's actions with abuse, assault, or other forms of conduct that place human beings beneath the proverbial boot-heel, then such a widescale misconception demands immediate rectification.

If we, as a civilization, have lost the ability to tell the difference between defending a loved one's honour and persecuting our fellow man through acts of tyranny, then we need to take a step back and realize we've crossed a line that NEVER should have been crossed.

Keep your grandstanding.

I stand with Smith.