The bitch-slap heard 'round the world

Will Smith strode across the stage at the Academy Awards ceremony, and bitch-slapped Chris Rock right in the face.  I come from a time and place where if that had happened on the street, Will Smith would have been the target of a well-honed knife blade or razor, and spectators would be yelling to call an ambulance because a lot of blood was about to be spilled. A slap on the face conferred disrespect and humiliation on the recipient, who would be expected to retaliate with vigor.

While in high school, I had a part time job as a stock boy in a  department store.   There was a fire station across the alley, and some of the firemen worked in the store receiving department on their days off.  The firemen had a bossy attitude toward the stock boys. One day when a fireman told a stock boy to do something, the boy responded with, "You aren't my boss," and the fireman slapped his face.  The boy grabbed a wooden 2-by-2 used as a guide for cutting wrapping paper and whacked the fireman on the side of the head with it.  The fireman, resorting to his city hall connections, called the police, who showed up quickly.  The problem was that there were a number of witnesses who said the stock boy was acting in self-defense, and the police called their headquarters for advice on how to handle the situation.  They were told that the stock boy was acting under extreme provocation and if the fireman hadn't been severely injured to drop the matter, which they did.  The fireman was the aggressor.

The manager of the receiving room changed the work schedules so that the fireman and the stock boy were never working at the same time.  He eventually eliminated the fireman from the schedule altogether.  He said he didn't want to have to deal with the kind of employee who went around slapping people in the face.  And other employees didn't want to work with the fireman, either.  

The kind of person who uses a face-slap to deal with some issue raises an attitude of contempt in most people.  The act says more about the slapper than it does the slappee.  Even if the slapper is responding to a verbal insult, the physical act of slapping denotes a person out of control.  A slap in the face is an invitation to fight.  It settles nothing, but leaves spectators waiting for the next blow and wondering what form it will take.

And so, we wait for the next blow.