The news of the moment is the striking of Chris Rock by Will Smith at the 2022 Academy Awards.

I don’t often write about celebrity behaviour as I think there are more important things happening that needs ventilation.

However, I am writing because real crime, real killing begins with the acceptance that violence is acceptable. Influencers like sports stars, actors, and leaders have outreach that others can only dream about.

So, when Mr Smith committed this silly act of bullish behaviour, he sent a variety of messages to literally millions of young men. So what were the messages?

Firstly, if provoked by your teacher or your classmate you can resort to violence in response to words, just words.

Also, if the person is smaller, then that makes it even easier because, trust me, if it was The Rock or even Jamie Foxx, he wouldn’t have done it. Chris Rock is about 80 pounds lighter than him. This is the mindset that encourages domestic violence against women — hitting someone who is smaller because of provocation; therefore, it’s OK to beat your wife.

There are also issues relevant to race. If it was a white comedian would he have hit him? If the answer is yes, then you strengthen the very forces that have failed to recognise black actors in the past. If the answer is no, then the question arises as to why he thinks it is OK to hit another black man half his size.

Why is this important in any way, shape, or form to Jamaica? Because our war began when our leaders in the 70s endorsed violence as a tool to settle political issues. That generation failed us. My generation, the generation of Will Smith, is failing the ones who come behind us.

When influencers like Adidja Palmer, otherwise called Vybz Kartel, uses killing in a dispute over missing illegal guns, it seems OK for some teenager to resort to stabbing his classmate over a ring. When a public figure is seen beating his partner with a chair it becomes OK to box down your woman because she didn’t give you a hot cup of tea that morning. It’s all related. Once you accept any negative behaviour one time, then it can be repeated.

That’s why it’s so important that there are consequences when influencers commit offences. This alone insures that the message doesn’t end with the act.

Kartel was convicted, the politician with his chair was rebuked by his party. Former minister JAG Smith was imprisoned when he pilfered the farm workers’ money.

Will Smith needs to be treated like anyone else who chooses cowardly violence over restraint.

He committed an offence in front of millions. He needs to be charged criminally for it. He needs to go sit in a prisoner’s dock like other violent cowards and face the judge.

This is my problem with actors in particular. They play great roles of great men. They are not firefighters, soldiers, police, or freedom fighters. They just play a role. This does not make them great men, just great actors. They are entertainers, like modern-day court jesters.

Why then do we treat them like they are risking their lives or serving the public? They are just doing a job like anyone else for money, lots of it.

The Academy needs to act as well. They need to take back the award and ban Will Smith from further attendance. Would they have acted already if the victim, that is, Chris Rock was a white entertainer? That in itself sends a message that is problematic.

Now, Will Smith’s wife, Jada Smith: What is her role in all this? She also is an influencer. What does she do to ensure that the public doesn’t think it’s OK to strike people in the face because you’re angry?

She needs to condemn her husband’s actions.

This is not a time to “stand by your man” at the expense of other people.

Remember, the culture of killing begins when the culture of violence is accepted.

It all starts right here when leaders, influencers, and superstars in general put their ego over their image. They then start the process of accepting this image as what they want to project

In our own little country, our leaders have never apologised for their actions that haunt us today, especially the gang culture they birthed. So it is embraced. Generations later we are attending crime scenes that would never have occurred if violence as a means to settle disputes was not introduced to us by our leaders

The image of Will Smith striking a smaller man because his wife chooses to sport a bald head rather than a wig will forever serve as an endorsement that you can strike anyone who offends you if he is smaller and if you are rich enough, and “nuh bwoy caan chat to you”.

I have spent decades watching young men in courthouses for committing offences that frankly destroyed their lives. I have warned that the process of being charged and convicted for an offence is a life-altering act. Even if you get no jail time you are almost certain to become less than you could have been.

I have noticed that they are almost all poor, about 99.99 per cent. Many have been locked up for offences less serious that Will Smith’s and none had an audience the size of his.

The police need to ensure that Will Smith is charged somehow, someway.

If this public act is treated as OK, it will become a trend. After all, it is already considered cool.

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