Will Smith's Illogical Logic
[on "Fault vs. Responsibility"]
- by Hénock Gugsa -
Recently, thru a video, Will Smith had the following to say about fault and responsibility:
<< I was just having a debate with a friend of mine, and we got stuck on the difference between fault and responsibility. She kept talking about how something was "somebody's fault". I was like it don't matter whose fault it is that something is broken, if it's your responsibility to fix it. For example, it's not somebody's fault if their father was an abusive alcoholic, but it's for damn sure their responsibility to figure out how they're gonna deal with those traumas and how they're gonna make a life out of it. It's not your fault if your partner cheated and ruined your marriage; but it is for damn sure your responsibility to figure out how to take that pain and how to overcome that and build a happy life for yourself. Fault and responsibility don't go together. It sucks, but they don't. When something is somebody's fault, we want them to suffer, we want them punished, we want them to pay. We want it to be their responsibility to fix it, but that's not how it works, especially when it's your heart. Your heart, your life, your happiness is your responsibility and your responsibility alone. As long as we're pointing the finger and stuck on whose fault something is, we're jammed and trapped into "victim's mode". When you're in victim mode, you'stuck in suffering. The road to power is in taking responsibility. Your heart, your life, your happiness is your responsibility and your responsibility alone!>>
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My reaction: ===>
I hope that dd not come from Scientology ... it surely does not sound charitable because he is not exactly talking about forgiveness or Love. On the contrary, I only hear a tone of harshness and reverse-blaming in this message. There is no sympathy or empathy for the "abused". Instead that person is being berated to suck it up and move forward. There is no specific help offered on how to deal with the bad experience. It could at least have been suggested that the first step to healing is self-forgiveness! Moreover, it is implied that there is no fault at all. What if the damage were a fatal one? Telling the dead person to take responsibility would really be a silly proposition then, wouldn't it?!
<< I was just having a debate with a friend of mine, and we got stuck on the difference between fault and responsibility. She kept talking about how something was "somebody's fault". I was like it don't matter whose fault it is that something is broken, if it's your responsibility to fix it. For example, it's not somebody's fault if their father was an abusive alcoholic, but it's for damn sure their responsibility to figure out how they're gonna deal with those traumas and how they're gonna make a life out of it. It's not your fault if your partner cheated and ruined your marriage; but it is for damn sure your responsibility to figure out how to take that pain and how to overcome that and build a happy life for yourself. Fault and responsibility don't go together. It sucks, but they don't. When something is somebody's fault, we want them to suffer, we want them punished, we want them to pay. We want it to be their responsibility to fix it, but that's not how it works, especially when it's your heart. Your heart, your life, your happiness is your responsibility and your responsibility alone. As long as we're pointing the finger and stuck on whose fault something is, we're jammed and trapped into "victim's mode". When you're in victim mode, you'stuck in suffering. The road to power is in taking responsibility. Your heart, your life, your happiness is your responsibility and your responsibility alone!>>
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My reaction: ===>
I hope that dd not come from Scientology ... it surely does not sound charitable because he is not exactly talking about forgiveness or Love. On the contrary, I only hear a tone of harshness and reverse-blaming in this message. There is no sympathy or empathy for the "abused". Instead that person is being berated to suck it up and move forward. There is no specific help offered on how to deal with the bad experience. It could at least have been suggested that the first step to healing is self-forgiveness! Moreover, it is implied that there is no fault at all. What if the damage were a fatal one? Telling the dead person to take responsibility would really be a silly proposition then, wouldn't it?!
Another point I want to raise --- I wonder where Will Smith stands on "Black Lives Matter". Does he consider it just a "blame-the-whites" movement ... or ... a responsive "sick-of-being-victims-organization-that-seeks-retribution"? I suspect that he is more concerned with the individual (the self) than the group (the community). I also do not see enough seriousness or gravitas in him to consider him a selfless, concerned citizen. These are just my views and impressions of the person ... I could be wrong of-course. But these are matters where you cannot separate the man from the things he says. Strangely, Will Smith protests (takes matter into his own hand, becomes "responsible"?) when blacks are not adequately represented for movie Awards in a single year and he and his wife boycott the awards ceremony. Big deal!
