Why we can't agree on Will Smith's slap [usatoday.com]

By Alia E. Dastagir, Image: Screenshot from article, USA TODAY, March 29, 2022

As reactions to the Will Smith Oscars' slap snowballed Monday, it became clear the most revealing story wasn't about what occurred between Smith and presenter Chris Rock, but about what our intensely divergent reactions to that violence said about ourselves.

In a surreal moment initially mistaken for scripted comedy, Smith slapped Rock across the face and yelled profanities at the comedian after he made a joke about Smith's wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, comparing her shaved head to Demi Moore in the movie "G.I. Jane." Pinkett Smith has alopecia, an auto-immune disorder that can cause hair loss, a side effect the actress has called "terrifying."

At the moment of impact, everyone watching united ‌in collective shock and confusion. But as the night wore on, as people replayed the violence over and over again, as they frantically texted and tweeted, an initial shared reaction gave way to a spectrum of ideas about what the incident meant, who was harmed and who deserved empathy.

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