hidden image

Bob’s Banter by Robert Clements Will and Gandhi at the Oscars..!

Robert Clements Robert Clements
04 Apr 2022
Will Smith slaps Chris

A resounding slap indeed. A punch heard all round the world. One that revealed not a broken jaw or black eye, but showed ever so clearly, that you can take a man off the streets, but you can’t take the streets out of the man.
Will Smith revealed himself: An ugly revelation!
As a youngster, when his grandmother found a notebook of his lyrics, which he described as containing "all his little curse words", she wrote him a note on a page in the book, which read, "Dear Willard, truly intelligent people do not have to use words like this to express themselves. Please show the world that you're as smart as we think you are". Smith said this influenced his decision not to use profanity in his music.
But his decision didn’t change how he was deep inside.
And that is very important. When the Father of our Nation, introduced non-violence to the world, he spent a long, long time working on himself. It was because he worked on himself, he was able to take any insult thrown at him, and keep his mind focused on the idea of ‘turning the other cheek’.
What an opportunity lost for Will. He, the six footer that he is, could have taken those giant strides to the front of the hall, stood by Chris Rock, and then using powerful, impactful words, told Chris and the rest of the world how needed it was to have compassion on someone’s illness and not make a joke about it.
The world would have loved him for it, realizing, the Will they knew in reel life was even bigger in real life.
But he blew it.
He blew it, because his mask was off and he showed his true colours.
In our country, we have many Will Smith’s. Many politicians who speak gently and convincingly to the poor, and thereby get votes, then use the same tongue to slander and cut down men and women who worship differently.
You can’t unite and also divide, because though you may have some cheering for you, the world will consider you a hypocrite.
After this Oscar incident, let us as a country start becoming proud again of a simple man with simple tastes, who had simplicity both in his heart and outward appearance, using those same simple methods to win a victory over the overdressed Englishman!
Tell America, what our Gandhiji would have done, and even as they put their heads down in shame, will them not to say, ‘Then why have you started honouring his assassin?”
Because it’s time we emulate and glorify the one man who stands tall in the world arena, one who would have got his point across with his arms around Chris Rock’s shoulder and not a fist at his face..!

bobsbanter@gmail.com   

Recent Posts

India's daughters are still treated as someone else's property, burdened by patriarchy, denied autonomy and forced to surrender independence. Rahul Gandhi's women-only gathering in Pune challenged thi
apicture G Ramachandram
14 Sep 2026
If changing the Constitution is difficult, changing the electorate may prove easier. SIR's mass deletions raise the disturbing possibility that Hindutva's route to a Hindu Rashtra may run not through
apicture Jacob Peenikaparambil
14 Sep 2026
This writer must admit to a vested interest in this story, as the Election Commission office in New Delhi erased his wife from the national capital territory's electoral rolls, and restored it only af
apicture John Dayal
14 Sep 2026
Reservation is not charity; it is a constitutional instrument of social justice. But leaving sanctioned posts vacant, replacing permanent employment with contracts and privatising public institutions
apicture Joseph Maliakan
14 Sep 2026
Children do not always need another lecture, correction or punishment. Sometimes they need an adult willing to listen beneath the behaviour and discover the unmet need. The language we use can rebuild
apicture Dr Arnald Mahesh SDB
14 Sep 2026
A 7.8 per cent GDP growth rate makes for an impressive headline. But GDP does not pay the rent, buy food or protect a worker from illness or unemployment. The country's growth remains incomplete until
apicture Jose Vattakuzhy
14 Sep 2026
He may speak of purity and pollution, tradition and order, custom and inherited authority.
apicture Dr Suryaraju Mattimalla
14 Sep 2026
To commemorate this historic occasion, the Departments of History, Sociology and Political Science organised a one-day state-level seminar in collaboration with the Internal Quality Assurance Cell (IQ
apicture Isaac Gomes
14 Sep 2026
Gentlemen, before telling women to stay at home, remember that the doctor saving your life, the judge protecting your rights, or the pilot flying your plane may be a woman.
apicture Robert Clements
14 Sep 2026
The RSS has spent decades building an international ecosystem of charities, cultural bodies, donors and political influence. Bhagwat's centenary outreach seeks to consolidate it. The West has noticed.
apicture Oliver D'Souza
07 Sep 2026