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| The Rock was in the wrong, and Brandon was in the right to be even more hostile than he was Photo Credit: WWE.com |
However, some of those who agree with Stroud on the subject have bemoaned his tone with Rock or levied other semantic complaints. Basically, some who have disagreed with him, those who would agree with him otherwise, are criticizing his methods and attacking him for being a "douche" or not being tactful enough. Those people have turned his exchange with Rock on Twitter into a meme on Tumblr, criticized him in comments on Best and Worst, or have just sub-tweeted him. Honestly, that line of debate against Stroud bothers me the most because it represents a virulent idea that diplomacy is a must in social debate.
First off, what about what Stroud said was wrong? He tweeted to Rock in an attempt to get him to stop talking to women like they were garbage. When has Rock ever talked to a woman on-screen like they were a human being? I could understand if he were a heel and some white knight face were to come out and take him to task for his rampant misogyny. But the point of most of Rocky's shtick, including the Rock Concert, is to get people to cheer him while he belittles someone else for various reasons. Strafing Triple H for using his connections to cheat to win is one thing. But villainous actions deserve to be called out, and equating an evil action to looking like a "hooker" is a damaging equivalency, one that continues to demonize the female gender just by accident of birth.
But, for one second, I'm going to pretend that what Stroud tweeted was incendiary because of reasons other than the truth hurting like a motherfucker. Diplomacy only works when shown between two equal parties or by the party that has the advantage. For example, the Soviet Union and United States had to show decorum to each other because both had the capability to create a faithful, more destructive version of the Day of Lavos if they got too hostile. Diplomacy was definitely on the table out of necessity of self-preservation. However, could Grenada show decorum and follow stuffy protocol when the US was looming large? No, America had a decided power advantage. They didn't have to play nice with Grenada upon their request because they could be bullies. In order for diplomacy to work, the US would have to be the bigger "person" so to speak.
If anything, Stroud probably had more room and reason for hostility. Decorum is a false construct used by those in power to deny the rights of those they oppress, and whether that power comes in fame, success, or even number of Twitter followers who will have your back, Rock had those advantages. The treatment of women in wrestling has been such that people who perpetrate their status as second-class citizens need a good lashing out against. They deserve fire and brimstone, and yet when they get it, those with a legitimate beef end up getting brushed aside at best until the groundswell is so great that they can't be refused a voice.
Whether it's someone like Rock accusing Stroud of "mouthing off" with the sentence of "putting him in his place," or someone like Dave Meltzer trying to convince himself and his readers that homosexuality in wrestling was a "non-issue" despite the suspicion that Chris Kanyon might not have been the most welcome person in the locker room because of his sexual orientation, the wrestling establishment needs a swift kick in the ass. Stroud is not a douche. He's not setting back his own cause by being rude. He doesn't need to go on a tweet-storming campaign to everyone ever associated with WWE. He's fighting a good fight. Being nice has never helped anyone get anything of note. You've got to fight for what's right, because the people who can make it right have way more power than anyone will ever admit, and rarely will they ever use said power to help the disenfranchised by the kindness of their own hearts.