If you teach a Monday morning class on comedy writing, like I do at Georgetown University, then Sunday night's assault and battery on comedian Chris Rock at the Oscars provides some really ace material for "class discussion." It's like teaching a course on "Space Exploration" the day after Neil Armstrong bopped astride the surface of the moon. Actually, it's more like teaching a course on "Nuclear Weaponry" the day after someone lobbed a missile into your campus.
Which is my way of saying that Will Smith's open-hand slap (about which more anon) is really bad for comedy and comedians. Then again, what's bad for comedy and comedians, and most likely the country as a whole, isn't necessarily uninteresting or without educational value.
