|
| |
|
NEVER TOO LATE
TO SCREW THINGS UP |
|
I'm not a huge fan of award shows. I cringe during the
acceptance speeches, especially when the recipient starts thanking
everyone from their two-year old daughter to their yoga teacher.
For some reason, it almost always makes me uncomfortable. But
just like a car wreck, I'll tune in every once in a while out of a morbid
sense of curiosity. And Sunday night was one of the greatest car wrecks of
all time.
"Well, that was interesting," I said to my wife
after watching Will Smith walk on stage in front of millions of viewers
and slap-punch Chris Rock. He then engaged in a foul-mouthed shouting
match over a tasteless "joke" Chris Rock had made about Smith's
wife.
"I'm sure you'd do the same for me," my wife
replied. "If you were the dumbest person on Earth."
We were now transfixed on the show, waiting for more car
wrecks. Sure enough, a short time thereafter Will Smith was announced as
the winner of the Best Actor award. This was one acceptance speech I
wanted to hear.
But first there was a standing ovation for him. Really? The
guy had just sucker punched a comedian, and the audience was applauding
him?
"I think I need a shower," I said after Smith
finished his five-minute acceptance speech, complete with tears, laughter
and more applause. "That was painful to watch."
"Love will make you do crazy things," said my wife,
repeating the excuse Smith used in his speech for his bizarre behavior.
"That's the standard excuse for wife beaters, too."
"Yeah, I don't think that gets him off the hook. He'll
have to come up with something better than that. Maybe he didn't take his
meds. That would help."
We considered some other excuses, but nothing passed muster.
He just made a monumental mistake in the heat of the moment, like many
others have done. My wife wanted some assurances that I would never do the
same.
I let her know the chances of me slugging someone who
offended her were very, very slim. My last fight was in 6th grade, and it
didn't go well.
It wasn't about love. George Lewis, who was about half my
size, called me, of all things, a teacher's pet, which was probably true.
But those were fighting words to a sixth-grade boy, and I let him know.
We retreated to a street corner, where a crowd of classmates
gathered to watch us duke it out. It was pretty even for a while, at least
until he hit me on my forehead where I had a scab from a week-old fall.
The scab opened , I started bleeding, and I began crying like the
teacher's pet I was. My fighting career was over.
I often think about how many people are in prison for losing
their temper and throwing that one punch that sent their victim reeling
backward and hitting their head on the pavement, killing them or
permanently disabling them. It's happened in stadium parking lots, and
it's happened in bars.
Love will make you do crazy things? True, but how about a
filter? Will Smith has shown the world that violence is never the answer.
He got the standing ovation, and he got the laughter, but it's now clear
the audience was in a state of shock, not knowing how to react.
The aftermath has been almost universal outrage over his
actions. He has profusely apologized, but the damage is done. There's
still a few apologists out there, but they are few and far between.
And, of course, there are the conspiracy theorists, who claim
the whole spectacle was staged. If that's the case, there is only one
conclusion: Will Smith has the worst public relations advisor in the
history of entertainment.
No, he simply made a monumental mistake. Chris Rock came
across as dignified, and Will Smith came across as an aggressive,
dangerous combatant with no common sense.
The esteemed investor Warren Buffett said it best a long time ago:
"It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin
it."
Yep, it's never too late to screw up your life. |
|
|
