I will agree men have to do something, but it isn't this. will smith's white knighting and male fragility and 100% all-in toxic masculinity approach is wrong.
As an expert in masculinity and therapy to back the multiple layers of dealing with trauma and handling conflicts where a person is harmed. There is no angle that this is good.
If we are to bring up what men did right in this? Chris Rock for not escalating the fight, Denzel Washington for trying to help de-escalate.
will smith is no hero. He has the markers of an abusive partner, is just an entitled rich adult male who was caught laughing at Chris Rock's joke and then decided to go all alpha male.
There isn't one thing he did that was good or was in the promotion of safety for women. He didn't even ask Jada's consent to "defend her".
The right actions:
1. Not to laugh
2. Confront the verbal attacker
3. Validate if he knew about her health issue
4. Call out the harm he did and bring forth what he did was unacceptable
Prior to 2, he needed to ask Jada'a consent, and if she said no to the defense response, then ask if she wanted to leave and report.
If she wanted to confront him, be an ally and go with her to have her back while she responds.
If Chris Rock didn't apologize or escalated then get closer and repeat and if violence happens (Chris Rock shoves or punches) then violence is a go.
will smith's fake apology and IG apology was all about protecting his image and not protecting his wife.
This is the action as a male feminist especially with a male issue on violence and bad behavior needs to be done.
As I have stated before, I nearly killed a rapist with my bare hands, and that was an appropriate response and the woman asked me to stop. It took 1-2 days to recover from the violence, so I couldn't have partied or done anything he "did" on that show.
I have called out guys in bars when I was younger which started fights ...
I get it from a male POV, and will smith is not a man, and in fact if I were Jada I would be worried he would snap and hit her behind closed doors.
Chris Rock so you know has NVLD similar to Asperger's, and it is not known if he knew about her health condition. In fact in his mind, stating a powerful and strong woman who became a special ops' woman, which is an amazing feat may have been an attempt at a compliment.
Please don't hold will smith anywhere near being a "man" or representing anything good about masculinity stepping up.
He is a disgrace and his actions actually are disgusting for any man that knows how to respect and attempt to be good authentic men being partners for women.
As for his actual execution of defense? Honestly, every man I know laughs at him because the fact he didn't put "down" Chris Rock states Jada should be concerned since if he encountered anyone with some strength, he would be taken down.
Are actions required to stop the shaming of women and people with body issues? Definitely. Do men need to step up and do things? Absolutely.
This ... well if you wanted a text book view of how many things you can do wrong as an adult male trying to be a man? Picture perfect for will smith.
The messed up thing is of the two adult males in that situation, Chris Rock was the only one that executed any proper responses., which was not to escalate.
