The Slap

The Will Smith slapping of Chris Rock, while a trivial event in the overall scheme of things, is actually a very interesting subject because it just so happens to bring up a myriad of controversial questions and observations. Such as:

1. If Rock fell or was injured should Smith’s punishment be harsher? (Assuming the slap was delivered with the same force).
2. If Rock was unhurt but the blow was a punch, should that matter? (Compared to a hard slap, not a symbolic slap which would be in a different category.)
3. Did the magnitude of their stardom effect the repercussions? Should it?
4. Was Smith under some substance influence? Should it matter?
5. Would (and should) it matter, if the two guys were white, or white slapped black, or black slapped white? What about the four combinations except they were both female? Or one female and one male?
6. Was Smith’s wife’s main emotion being pleased or embarrassed?
7. Would Smith’s action been significantly more forgivable had he not added the shouting when returning to his seat?
8. Does Smith’s initial laughter change anything?
9. Would Smith’s action been significantly more forgivable if it didn’t include messing up the show and the award winners.
10. Should it matter that the slap probably helped future ratings of the Academy Awards and upped the future income and fame for Chris Rock?
11. Would the repercussions be different if Rock didn’t bite his tongue.
12. Is this incident evidence that, for whatever reason, black men are quicker to anger than white men?
13. Even though minor battery does not usually result in an arrest when the victim doesn’t press charges, should this be an exception because of the notoriety?
14. Should Smith have been ejected?
15. Should Rock’s supposed ignorance of Smith’s wife condition change anything?