Okay: we can all agree that Jussie Smollett did a dumb. But, should this be a career-ending dumb?

LIZARD BRAIN SCREAMS “YES”!!!

Okay, but seriously: why should this be a career-ending mistake?

Because it should be!

Everybody

But why?

To be honest, I think we’re conflating “should” with “will”. We all assume that this is going to be a career-ending mistake because of our mechanistic understanding of society. Here’s how it works:

1. Jussie did a dumb.
2. Millions of people learned about this dumb, and they each feel individually responsible for punishing Jussie.
3. These people will decide to punish Jussie by refusing to watch any show in which he participates. Furthermore, they will actively harass/boycott any network that chooses to continue working with him.
4. The networks will fear financial loss and choose to cut their ties with Jussie.
5. This will effectively end Jussie’s acting career.

Yup. That about sums it up.

But, let’s say that an egg has fallen off of a table. Gravity will pull this egg downwards until it hits the hard wooden floor, which will cause the egg to crack. But, does this mean that the egg should crack?

Let me rephrase that: are we somehow violating the laws of the universe if we manage to catch the egg and prevent it from cracking?

Nope.

So, I ask again: should this be a career-ending mistake for Jussie? If not, then what other outcomes would be acceptable? For instance:

1. Everybody forgets the incident and pretends it never happened?
2. He gets a year in jail?
3. He pays $200,000 in “damages” to the MAGA campaign?
4. Something else?

I’ll be interested to hear your thoughts.