People talk a lot about refusing to let others steal our joy — Black folks especially. The originator of that term may be lost in time and a sea of memes, but during Sunday night's Oscar telecast, the concept came to mind as I processed the sight of Will Smith striding onstage at Hollywood's Dolby Theatre to slap Chris Rock.
While presenting the award for best documentary feature, Rock cracked jokes about Jada Pinkett Smith's baldness. What he may not have known is that Pinkett Smith has openly discussed living with alopecia, an autoimmune condition that causes rapid hair loss. For the record, Rock's jokes weren't creative or fresh; the punchline referenced "G.I. Jane," a 1997 movie that's faded from popular memory. Millions of slack-jawed people around the world won't soon forget about this, though.
