Category Archives: Freedom

The United States and the international community are paying close attention to the Talibans actions inside Afghanistan, and it is with alarm and deep concern we learned of the Talibans decision to stifle the Afghan peoples access to independent, objective, international media sources. Media outlets such as the Voice of America, the British Broadcasting Corporation, and Deutsche Welle have reported that their local broadcasting partners have been prevented from airing their programming in the country due to new, restrictive, and unpublished guidelines from the Taliban.

The United States is committed to supporting the right of freedom of expression the world over, especially for journalists and human rights defenders, to operate freely without fear of violence against them.

In addition to this restrictive new media policy, the Taliban continue to move Afghanistan in the wrong direction by failing to uphold commitments they have made, including their March 23 decision to prevent girls from attending secondary school. Each of these actions alone is alarming, but combined, they make clear the Taliban are not living up to the essential commitments they made to the Afghan people and the international community.

Education and freedom of expression are human rights held by every person in Afghanistan. These are not Western values or concessions to the international community; they are human rights and essential to a peaceful and prosperous Afghan society, which is something the Taliban claim to desire. We urge the Taliban to cease these infringements on the rights of Afghans, and we continue to stand with the Afghan people.

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Media Access and Fundamental Freedoms in Afghanistan - United States Department of State - Department of State

Kyrie Irving hadn't played a home game at Barclays Center since Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals last season, but after spending the bulk of the season held out because of a New York City vaccine mandate, Irving returned to the Nets in Brooklyn on Sunday after Mayor Eric Adams created an exception to that mandate allowing unvaccinated athletes to play. The result was underwhelming.

Irving shot 6-of-22 from the field, including a 2-of-16 start, on his way to just 16 points in a 119-110 loss to the Charlotte Hornets. The defeat had significant playoff implications for a Nets team still fighting for seeding. Charlotte's victory pulled the Hornets into a tie with the Nets for the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference. Charlotte, by virtue of its 2-1 record against Brooklyn this season, has secured the head-to-head tiebreaker, so the Nets will have to outplay the Hornets down the stretch to avoid falling to No. 9. If they do, they would need to win two play-in games, including one on the road, just to make the playoffs. The Nets and Hornets trail the No. 7-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers by 2.5 games with seven to play.

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The end result was hardly the story, though. After missing the bulk of Brooklyn's home games throughout the season, Irving's mere presence is what matters to the Nets. If they can just sneak into the postseason, having him, Kevin Durant and possibly Ben Simmons would make the Nets one of the most dangerous teams in the field. Even if they don't make it, Irving stands by his decision. As he explained, his decision was about freedom.

"I made it very clear it was never just about me," he said. "You know, I think from our legacy that's to be read by all those that I impact and all those that impact me, and it's far bigger than just the basketball game but when I'm in this locker room, I get a chance to perform with a bunch of guys that are selfless in our sacrifices just most of the time. You know, it makes it worthwhile. And that's the only thing I've really focused on is the now, get back ready for the next game and just go from there but the point of this season for me was never to just take a stand. It was really to make sure that I'm standing on what I believe in: Freedom.

"Freedom, I don't think that's a word that gets defined enough in our society, about the freedom to make choices with your life without someone telling you what the f*** to do and whether that carries over to nuances of our society that politicians control, the government controls, or things people who are in power -- the powers that may be.

"So that's in all facets of my life. And there's nobody that's enslaved me, there's nobody telling me what I'm going to do with my life. And that's just the way I am. If I get tarnished, you know, in terms of my image and people try to slander my name continuously because, you know, those aren't things that I forget. You know, I haven't forgotten anything that anybody said. I read everything, but I definitely read some things that put my family's name in a certain position that I believe right there.

'I've been discriminated against. You know, people have said things that have been biased, they've gone against their own morals, and where we live in today, I have such a strong moral code of just being honest, being truthful, following God's guidance and living with the results. But in terms of that, that's selfless. I'm a servant. So I'm in that position."

With Irving back on the floor full-time, the focus will now turn back to basketball. The Nets have only a few weeks to secure their place in the postseason, and with their star point guard back in the fold, they'll have a chance to do just that.

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Kyrie Irving struggles in first home game of season, Nets star says his absence was about 'freedom' - CBS Sports

Within a few years owning a car, writes Bryan Appleyard in this entertainingly forthright history, might seem as eccentric as owning a train or a bus. Or perhaps it will simply be illegal.

Although Appleyards intention is to document a way of life that he believes is passing, his book is not a lament or a eulogy, nor really a celebration, but instead an acknowledgment of the extraordinary cultural and environmental impact the car has had on this planet in the last 135-plus years.

We have shaped our lives, our cities, our worlds around the needs and possibilities of internal combustion engine vehicles. And nowhere has this global trend been more conspicuously evident than in the US, a nation whose rise, supremacy and incipient decline closely match the fortunes of the motorcar.

In a book that almost delights in the contradictions wreaked by the automobile, one of the more glaring paradoxes is that while the author focuses on America, he is no fan of the cars it has produced with very few exceptions.

With that discrimination established, it is thankfully not a work specifically aimed at petrolheads and is thus largely free of discussions of camshafts and torque. Instead Appleyard approaches cars through the people who made them not the assembly-line workers, but the factory owners and designers.

After a few preliminaries, the story really begins with two contrasting, though equally paradoxical, figures: Henry Ford and Alfred Sloan. The men behind Ford and General Motors, for much of the 20th century they presided over the two biggest car manufacturers in the world. Ford was an unpredictable, idiosyncratic visionary who brought all his considerable energy to bear on producing the most utilitarian car imaginable: the Model T.

Sloan was a far less colourful almost faceless businessman whose success was based on diversification, imaginative marketing and stylistic flourishes. It was as if their insights were the opposite of their characters.

Yet despite their different approaches, Ford and GM were equally complacent when it came to foreign competition. For several decades, their shared sense of superiority was understandable. Despite producing some wonderful cars, European manufacturers never made much headway in the American market.

Its sobering to be reminded that in 1932 Britain was the worlds largest car manufacturer and by the 1950s was the worlds biggest car exporter. But for all its engineering strengths, the UK failed to invest and innovate in manufacturing processes and became increasingly subject to disastrous industrial action.

While Germany fared much better, as Volkswagen cornered the small car market, and BMW, Audi and Mercedes dominated the executive end, it was Japan that revolutionised car manufacturing. In the process it left Detroit Motor City itself fighting for its life.

As sharply as he draws portraits of the key players, Appleyard, one of the liveliest minds in journalism, is at his most acute when musing on the cultural effects of the car. When four wheels replaced the horse as the main mode of transport, people were still severely restricted in their movements.

Particularly in America, the world beyond major cities was not easily accessible. Paved road systems changed that. The roads were paved because thats what cars required and, equally, cars were built to fill the paved roads. All of this circular activity brought city dwellers into contact with the great outdoors, the unspoilt wilderness beyond city limits.

But of course the building of roads, and the cars they bore, encroached on the wilderness, spoiling the very nature that drivers and their passengers wanted to savour. Part of the automobiles attraction was the autonomy it offered to individuals, the sense of freedom of movement, of personal liberty, a freedom whose cost we are only now really counting.

This is the strange mental condition that the car helps foster, an idea of individual liberty that is curtailed only by others, never ourselves; its why we see traffic jams as something thrust upon us, rather than a whole of which we form an active part. Another way that cars have affected our sense of space is in the emotional draw of imagined destinations the existential lure of the road trip.

Somewhere out there, cars seem to suggest, is an authentic reality that, if we could only drive for long enough, we could find. As Appleyard wryly observes: There is a popular conviction, first, that America in particular is a country that needs looking for and, second, that it cannot be found.

Appleyard has plenty more zingers where that one came from. In the first half of the book, they help animate a fast-moving narrative of industrial development, but in the second half theyre more often employed to disguise the fact that the story has run out of road. So economically and brightly does Appleyard establish the main plot points of the automobiles progress and then crisis that after the halfway point he is increasingly reliant on revisiting popular culture to make his invariably witty points.

Perhaps the cars gradual automated demise is too dull and unromantic to engage his creative imagination. Or maybe pondering the meaning of celebrity car deaths or commenting on the inefficacy of drive-by shootings is just more engaging than considering the algorithm-shaped future. Weighing up the ecstatic freedoms and the remarkable convenience the car has brought against the death and destruction it has also delivered, Appleyard finishes on a note of anticipated nostalgia. All the many driven car designers and manufacturers, he concludes, made a way of life that was worth living.

The Car: The Rise and Fall of the Machine That Made the Modern World by Bryan Appleyard is published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson (20). To support the Guardian and Observer order your copy at guardianbookshop.com. Delivery charges may apply

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The Car by Bryan Appleyard review freedom on four wheels - The Guardian

Country

United States of AmericaUS Virgin IslandsUnited States Minor Outlying IslandsCanadaMexico, United Mexican StatesBahamas, Commonwealth of theCuba, Republic ofDominican RepublicHaiti, Republic ofJamaicaAfghanistanAlbania, People's Socialist Republic ofAlgeria, People's Democratic Republic ofAmerican SamoaAndorra, Principality ofAngola, Republic ofAnguillaAntarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S)Antigua and BarbudaArgentina, Argentine RepublicArmeniaArubaAustralia, Commonwealth ofAustria, Republic ofAzerbaijan, Republic ofBahrain, Kingdom ofBangladesh, People's Republic ofBarbadosBelarusBelgium, Kingdom ofBelizeBenin, People's Republic ofBermudaBhutan, Kingdom ofBolivia, Republic ofBosnia and HerzegovinaBotswana, Republic ofBouvet Island (Bouvetoya)Brazil, Federative Republic ofBritish Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago)British Virgin IslandsBrunei DarussalamBulgaria, People's Republic ofBurkina FasoBurundi, Republic ofCambodia, Kingdom ofCameroon, United Republic ofCape Verde, Republic ofCayman IslandsCentral African RepublicChad, Republic ofChile, Republic ofChina, People's Republic ofChristmas IslandCocos (Keeling) IslandsColombia, Republic ofComoros, Union of theCongo, Democratic Republic ofCongo, People's Republic ofCook IslandsCosta Rica, Republic ofCote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of theCyprus, Republic ofCzech RepublicDenmark, Kingdom ofDjibouti, Republic ofDominica, Commonwealth ofEcuador, Republic ofEgypt, Arab Republic ofEl Salvador, Republic ofEquatorial Guinea, Republic ofEritreaEstoniaEthiopiaFaeroe IslandsFalkland Islands (Malvinas)Fiji, Republic of the Fiji IslandsFinland, Republic ofFrance, French RepublicFrench GuianaFrench PolynesiaFrench Southern TerritoriesGabon, Gabonese RepublicGambia, Republic of theGeorgiaGermanyGhana, Republic ofGibraltarGreece, Hellenic RepublicGreenlandGrenadaGuadaloupeGuamGuatemala, Republic ofGuinea, RevolutionaryPeople's Rep'c ofGuinea-Bissau, Republic ofGuyana, Republic ofHeard and McDonald IslandsHoly See (Vatican City State)Honduras, Republic ofHong Kong, Special Administrative Region of ChinaHrvatska (Croatia)Hungary, Hungarian People's RepublicIceland, Republic ofIndia, Republic ofIndonesia, Republic ofIran, Islamic Republic ofIraq, Republic ofIrelandIsrael, State ofItaly, Italian RepublicJapanJordan, Hashemite Kingdom ofKazakhstan, Republic ofKenya, Republic ofKiribati, Republic ofKorea, Democratic People's Republic ofKorea, Republic ofKuwait, State ofKyrgyz RepublicLao People's Democratic RepublicLatviaLebanon, Lebanese RepublicLesotho, Kingdom ofLiberia, Republic ofLibyan Arab JamahiriyaLiechtenstein, Principality ofLithuaniaLuxembourg, Grand Duchy ofMacao, Special Administrative Region of ChinaMacedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic ofMadagascar, Republic ofMalawi, Republic ofMalaysiaMaldives, Republic ofMali, Republic ofMalta, Republic ofMarshall IslandsMartiniqueMauritania, Islamic Republic ofMauritiusMayotteMicronesia, Federated States ofMoldova, Republic ofMonaco, Principality ofMongolia, Mongolian People's RepublicMontserratMorocco, Kingdom ofMozambique, People's Republic ofMyanmarNamibiaNauru, Republic ofNepal, Kingdom ofNetherlands AntillesNetherlands, Kingdom of theNew CaledoniaNew ZealandNicaragua, Republic ofNiger, Republic of theNigeria, Federal Republic ofNiue, Republic ofNorfolk IslandNorthern Mariana IslandsNorway, Kingdom ofOman, Sultanate ofPakistan, Islamic Republic ofPalauPalestinian Territory, OccupiedPanama, Republic ofPapua New GuineaParaguay, Republic ofPeru, Republic ofPhilippines, Republic of thePitcairn IslandPoland, Polish People's RepublicPortugal, Portuguese RepublicPuerto RicoQatar, State ofReunionRomania, Socialist Republic ofRussian FederationRwanda, Rwandese RepublicSamoa, Independent State ofSan Marino, Republic ofSao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic ofSaudi Arabia, Kingdom ofSenegal, Republic ofSerbia and MontenegroSeychelles, Republic ofSierra Leone, Republic ofSingapore, Republic ofSlovakia (Slovak Republic)SloveniaSolomon IslandsSomalia, Somali RepublicSouth Africa, Republic ofSouth Georgia and the South Sandwich IslandsSpain, Spanish StateSri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic ofSt. HelenaSt. Kitts and NevisSt. LuciaSt. Pierre and MiquelonSt. Vincent and the GrenadinesSudan, Democratic Republic of theSuriname, Republic ofSvalbard & Jan Mayen IslandsSwaziland, Kingdom ofSweden, Kingdom ofSwitzerland, Swiss ConfederationSyrian Arab RepublicTaiwan, Province of ChinaTajikistanTanzania, United Republic ofThailand, Kingdom ofTimor-Leste, Democratic Republic ofTogo, Togolese RepublicTokelau (Tokelau Islands)Tonga, Kingdom ofTrinidad and Tobago, Republic ofTunisia, Republic ofTurkey, Republic ofTurkmenistanTurks and Caicos IslandsTuvaluUganda, Republic ofUkraineUnited Arab EmiratesUnited Kingdom of Great Britain & N. IrelandUruguay, Eastern Republic ofUzbekistanVanuatuVenezuela, Bolivarian Republic ofViet Nam, Socialist Republic ofWallis and Futuna IslandsWestern SaharaYemenZambia, Republic ofZimbabwe

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Freedom Town Column: Library accepting donations of used books for sale - Conway Daily Sun

Sudbury's Laurentian University has agreed to start processing Freedom of Information requests again starting on May 1, but will seek direction from a judge if it receives one or more applications it deems will take time and resources away from its restructuring efforts.

The information is contained in a consent order, supported by the Information and Privacy Commisioner(IPC), filed on-line last week.

Earlier this month the Information Privacy Commissionerrequested Laurentian meet its obligation to respond to Freedom of Information requests, which was put on hold shortly after the university filed for insolvency in February 2021.

At that time, Laurentian asked that it not be required to answer Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA) requests, because it said it did not have the resources available to handle them.

The university argued it could not allocate the human resources needed to respond to FIPPA requests.

A judge agreed with that argument and issued a stay on such requests.

In an email sent to the office of the IPC on March 23, 2022, Laurentian's legal counsel said it would be "agreeable" to lift the stay for three existing requests it had not yet answered

Two of the requests predate the stay order, and the university's insolvency, and a third was during the stay.

Laurentian said it received a fourth request just before the stay, but it determined it would not qualify as a Freedom of Information request.

"In January 2022, Laurentian advised the IPC that it received a fourth FOI (Freedom of Information) request that would be subject to the stay," the March 23 email said.

"Upon further review, Laurentian concluded that this request is not an information request under FIPPA. Rather, it is an academic issue between that individual and Laurentian."

While Laurentian will answer its existing requests, it says it mayseek "further direction or relief" for any future FOI requests it receives thereafter.

Laurentian "reserves its right to return to the Court for the purpose of seeking further direction or relief in the event that the Applicant receives one or more FOI Requests that would require the Applicant to expend significant efforts or take steps within a timeframe that would result in the Applicant being unable to focus its limited resources on the advancement of the CCAA proceedings."

Earlier this month, the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) said Freedom of Information requests are critical for staff to negotiate their collective agreements, which rely on sound financial information.

"Often, this information can be obtained from the university or college employer by virtue of the governing labour laws," the association wrote in a factum on the matter.

"It is not uncommon, however, for academic staff associations and unions to have to resort to freedom of information requests to obtain specific information to support their bargaining and labour relations."

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Laurentian agrees to lift stay on Freedom of Information requests on May 1 with reservations - CBC.ca

This article was translated from our Spanish edition using AI technologies. Errors may exist due to this process.

Creative, dynamic and perpetually active Elon Musk has shown how much he loves using Twitter . There is not a day that the owner of Tesla, SpaceX and The Boring Company does not post and generate reactions among his more than 79 million followers. He asks questions, asks for opinions, changes his name and challenges the world's most dangerous leaders to a duel. Now he asks users of the social network about freedom of expression on the same platform.

Last Friday Musk uploaded a tweet with a poll and the following caption: Freedom of expression is essential for a functioning democracy. Do you think Twitter strictly adheres to that principle? Also in another message, he warned: "The consequences of this survey will be important. Please vote carefully."

The survey was voted on by more than 2 million users and generated a chain of reactions, likes and comments; In addition, 70.4% of the participants responded that they do not consider that Twitter strictly adheres to the principle of freedom of expression. With the results in hand, Musk published two other messages: "Since Twitter functions as the de facto public square, not adhering to the principles of freedom of expression fundamentally undermines democracy." And later: "Is a new platform necessary?"

Followers again engaged in comments suggesting that he buy the social network or, better yet, develop a new one. As is his custom Elon responded to some of them saying that it would not be a bad idea to buy Twitter, nor would it be a bad idea to develop a new platform that respects the freedom of expression of its users and in which there is no propaganda.

Is Elon Musk serious? As always, it is impossible to know.

DON'T MISS A SINGLE STORY! FOLLOW ENTREPRENEUR IN SPANISH ON FACEBOOK AND TWITTER .

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Elon Musk surveys freedom of expression on Twitter and plays with the idea of buying the social network - Entrepreneur

It's great that Virat Kohli is using his feet against the spinners, but he must start playing the sweep more often, and "with freedom", to make it tougher for the opposition, Ravi Shastri has said.

"The thing I liked most about Virat was his fluency [in the 29-ball 41* against Punjab Kings]," Shastri said on ESPNcricinfo's T20 Time Out ahead of Wednesday's game between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kolkata Knight Riders. "He was prepared to use his feet against the spinners. Now he has to bring out the sweep. It's a very important shot. He doesn't play it much, but he should, with freedom.

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"The four days you get in the nets [between matches], he should get rid of Raghu [D Raghavendra, the throwdown specialist], and the fast bowlers - he has played them a lot in the last one-and-a-half to two years. Get a spinner and keep playing the sweep. Because if he uses his feet and starts to play the sweep, any spinner will think twice, thrice about what to bowl."

Shastri, as head coach of the Indian team for four-and-a-half years up to November 2021, worked closely with Kohli, who was India's all-format captain through the tenure. He explained that though Kohli did play the shot in the nets, he didn't need to employ it too much in international cricket since the numbers of spinners in operation are usually fewer than is the case in the IPL.

"He does play the shot at training. But this [IPL] is the sort of tournament where he can practice it with some conviction, because he has to play the shot," Shastri said. "It's not like you are playing it in the nets and you won't get a chance to play it [in a game], in Australia or England. So there is no point. Maybe against Nathan Lyon, but he won't get to face much spin there, it's mainly fast bowlers.

"But here, he will definitely get to face a lot of spin. We will move into May soon, it will be quite hot, the pitches will get drier. The sweep will become a very important shot. Play at least one. It's such a shot that if a batter can play it, the spinner won't know where to pitch the ball. Because the range of the shot is from in front of square leg to short fine-leg.

"There is a process - how much back lift should be there, how to use the pace of the ball, what the position of the feet should be if you want to hit it along the ground it's important to practice it, and it's important to get the position of the feet right."

Against Punjab Kings, a game Royal Challengers lost by five wickets with one over to spare despite putting up 205 for 2, Kohli had to face Rahul Chahar and Harpreet Brar, in the main, but against Knight Riders, there will be the two-pronged threat of Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy.

"If he uses his feet, the bowlers will start thinking, then he can play it," Shastri said of playing a shot Kohli doesn't play much against such quality spinners. "Maybe the sweep in front of square will be tricky, but the paddle sweep or the reverse paddle sweep can be played. Because both of them bowl quick, so he should use their pace."

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Shastri: Kohli should 'play the sweep with freedom' to make like tougher for spinners | ESPN.com - ESPN

The United States is concerned about the democratic path in Tunisia, a senior US official announced yesterday. The US Under Secretary of State for civilian security, democracy and human rights, Uzra Zeya, called on the Tunisian authorities to respect freedom of expression and halt the military trials of civilians.

Zeya's remarks followed her recent visit to Tunisia. It is important, she stressed, to launch an "inclusive political and economic reform process, in coordination with political parties, unions and civil society."

Washington has been critical of the "emergency measures" introduced by Tunisian President Kais Saied last July. Political opponents describe his suspension of parliament and assumption of executive powers a "coup".

However, Saied has insisted repeatedly that his actions were needed to save Tunisia from what he described as a "corrupt political system that brought a decade of paralysis since the 2011 revolution."

READ: Tunisia's suspended parliament to convene on Wednesday

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US calls on Tunisia to respect freedom of expression - Middle East Monitor

A recent sub-district court decision in the Netherlands dealt with the limits of an employees freedom of expression. In this case, an intensive care nurse at the Elisabeth-Tweesteden Hospital (ETZ) was given a warning for posting on social media comments that doctors were brainwashed. In its warning to the employee, the ETZ referred to its social media code of conduct and asked the nurse to consider the interests of the ETZ as well as the consequences that his comments could have for the image of the ETZ and his relationships with his colleagues.

Interview, despite the warning

Despite this warning, the employee took the initiative to give an interview about the way COVID-19 patients were being treated at the ETZ. During the interview, he also mentioned details about the patients, including deceased patients, albeit without naming names. In response, the ETZ suspended the nurse and asked the sub-district court to dissolve his employment contract without awarding a transition payment on the grounds of seriously culpable conduct. In his defense, the nurse argued on behalf of freedom of expression and indicated that he wanted his employment at the ETZ to continue.

Sub-district court

The sub-district court held that freedom of expression was not unfettered. The judge referred to the Herbai judgment of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), where the Court held that there were four important elements when deciding whether it was permissible to restrict the right to freedom of expression in an employment relationship. These elements are:

The sub-district court held that the intensive care nurse had overstepped the limits of freedom of expression by sharing detailed information about patients, including deceased patients. This was unacceptable and also in breach of the social media code of conduct and the Individual Healthcare Professions Act (Wet op de beroepen in die individuele gezondheidszorg), which imposes a duty of confidentiality on care providers.

Freedom of expression has its limits

While freedom of expression is a fundamental right, we think that this judgment is correct. The European Convention on Human Rights dictates that freedom of expression can be subjected to a range of specific formalities, conditions, restrictions or penalties set out in the law and necessary in a democratic society, in the interests, for instance, of protecting the good reputation or rights of others and of preventing the dissemination of confidential information.

The Dutch Supreme Court will also be ruling on this issue soon. That case deals with a member of a works council of a Regional Education Centre, who published a book criticising personalised education. We will report on that case as soon as the Supreme Court hands down its judgment.

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The Netherlands: The District Court for Zeeland-West-Brabant Recently Issued an Interesting Judgment about Freedom of Expression in Employment...

For a moment, it almost seemed like it was part of the gag a scripted bit of levity to make a stuffy evening more fun. Will Smith, the amiable Hollywood A-lister, jumped up on stage after comedian Chris Rock made a joke about his wife. The actor slapped the comedian. As it became clear that the moment wasnt scripted, the audience the celebrities at the Oscars and those watching around the world struggled to come to terms with the shock. Smith, as he accepted the Academy Award for best actor for his performance in King Richard, offered a tearful justification protecting his family from the slur and an apology to the Academy.

On social media, there have been justifications and expressions of support for the slap. Rocks joke can certainly be seen as insensitive he made fun of Jada Pinkett-Smiths alopecia, which causes hair loss. Then there are Smiths traumatic experiences witnessing domestic violence in his home as a child, which, many conjecture, have made him more sensitive to words he perceived as bullying towards his wife. It is possible, of course, to have sympathy for Smiths anger. But that sympathy should not obfuscate a glaring truth: On a stage that is meant to celebrate art and freedom, one man hit another, tried to subdue and silence him.

Smith could have just let the joke slide, or responded with words of his own. Rock is known as a comedian who pushes the boundaries of what is socially acceptable and he may well have crossed a line. In the end, however, the Oscars, which have been struggling to retain an audience, were overshadowed by an act of violence the art of cinema, which it professes to celebrate, be damned. Will Smith won best actor. But he proved himself to be a poor artist.

This editorial first appeared in the print edition on March 29, 2022 under the title Whats in a slap.

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On a stage that is meant to celebrate art and freedom, one man hit another, tried to silence him - The Indian Express