Oatmeal Joey Arnold (@JoeyArnoldVN)

My biggest thought regarding Will Smith hitting Chris Rock at the Oscars is how that scene is used to not only justify, dismiss, rationalize, sympathize, excuse, tolerate, but also encourage people to commit acts of violence against anybody who says anything they don't like, period, regardless of whether it's a joke or otherwise. Some people use these types of situations to their advantage, it is being weaponized as one more thing added to a long list of things designed to destroy culture. Choosing not to engage in the discussion will only make things worse in the long run. These types of situations become embedded in culture at a subliminal or subconscious level which means they don't know a thing like that is in fact programming them to be snappy at alleged hate speech. It is designed to maximize your ability to be triggered to do the Will Smith Slap yourself. Regardless of whether or not the slap was real or not, that is what it does to you. Regardless of whether or not Will rehearsed the slap before the show or not, that is not the most important thing here. How this affects geo-culture is the bigger concern, period. It is affecting culture all around the world in a variety of ways. This is being used to teach people it's ok to attack free speech if it makes you or people around you to feel emotionally uncomfortable, angry, sad, confused, upset, sick, triggered, nervous, anxious, depressed, suicidal, etc. Use these kinds of situations as teaching moments with people around you. Take it as an opportunity to talk about things. These situations can either push people away or connect people together like a magnet. When these moments come in life, treat them like much needed leverage. You need all the leverage you can get. Believe it or not, these kinds of situations don't come all the time. They're a blessing in disguise. It's now or never. Do something now or miss out on a chance of a lifetime to truly influence people away from the desire to attack free speech as that is what this is.