(ThyBlackMan.com) I believed in fairness, hence why I am an egalitarian. I don’t support men subjugating an abusing women, furthermore I don’t support women doing said things to men. There has been a push to hold men accountable for their abusive ways [ which I agree with], but we are not sold on holding women accountable for the same trashy behavior. We give women more passes, and we seek to want to know why this woman is behaving is such a manner. If a woman is dragging her husband, there must be a reason. If she is mentally abusive and manipulating, we tend to dissect the man to find what he has done to cause said woman to treat him in such a horrible manner. Like, why did he provoke her. Now, if anyone [man or woman] asked what she could have done to provoke horrible behavior a war will begin.
We are looking to cancel relationships and people because how dare that man not take accountability for his toxic behavior. I am of those that feels everyone should be accountable for their toxic behavior. I believe human beings are capable of trash behavior…not just men…women too. This might be hard or some to understand, and sometimes it’s due to having been abused. With that being said, it’s important to understand that our personal experiences cannot absolve another person of horrible behavior because it’s the opposite gender of who harmed us. Right and wrong should apply to every human being equally.
I admit I am of those that are tired of seeing Jada & Will on everything every time I open my social media. I’m tired. I feel like we are being forced to swallow the details of their life and it’s none of our business. I’m the queen of, if you don’t want to see it scroll on, but you can only scroll do much when the drama is saturated. We can’t help but know what’s going on even when we want to look away. It’s because of this oversaturation of information, on the heels of a book release, that forced me to start looking at the double standard at play. I’m convinced if we flip the narrative completely, and switch Will and Jada…Will would have the kind of career damage that there is no coming back from. He would have been done the moment he entered a sexual relationship with the friend of his child who came to their family initially due to health issues. He would have been seen as a predator…as an abuser and there would not have been a conversation around it…he would have been cancelled. He would not have been able to have a show, whereby he sometimes sits as a moral authority to other celebrity guests. He would not have been able to have a book turn into a bestseller. People would be getting shamed for supporting the show or the book. The look some people get when they listen to R. Kelly would be the look given if they mentioned they were still a Will Smith fan. You might not feel comfortable with this assessment…but it’s pretty spot on.
Jada’s career would have burned up to a crisp if she where a man. The question we need to ask ourselves is why it did not. For anyone thinking it…let me answer, I read both Will & Jada’s book and they are very different. Even when telling “her story” she comes off as giving advice and counsel verse letting us learn from walking through her life with her in the book. That’s a conversation for another day. When we can say…if you were a man things would have been different, or if you were a woman you would not have been allowed, we must begin to look at the unfairness we partake of.
We can all speculate on what Will must have done to make Jada do as she has done. However, to do so is unfair. He hasn’t publicly embarrassed her in the manner by which she has embarrassed him. If we are going to talk about fairness…we must push for it even in areas that are uncomfortable. We must hold all accountable to the same standard. I don’t claim to know more about Will & Jade than what is forced down our throats in the media. However, from what has been shared from their own mouths for all to witness…there is unfairness afoot. Will could never do as Jada and survive…let alone thrive.
Staff Writer; Adonicka Michele