"The Comeback Kid" or "How Soon We Forget"
I'm going to be making use of the LJ-cut function because I will be posting some upsetting pictures that are not for the faint of heart. You have been warned.
Remember this picture?
How about this one?
Well, I'm glad that somebody does, because I'm beginning to think that there is a pandemic of amnesia happening among music fans around the world.
Long story short: the lady in the photos is singer Rihanna. The injuries to her faces were given to her in 2009 by her then (and some say now) boyfriend, rapper Chris Brown. I'm happy to report that the same night Rihanna got herself down to the police station and had his sorry ass charged with domestic assault. After due process, Chris Brown was convicted. He was convicted because he (eventually) plead guilty.
Don't get me started on the lack of celebrity condemnation. I'm sick to death of the whole "We weren't there, so we don't know what went down..." mentality. Look at the pictures, folks. Those are injuries that can only be inflicted by another person. Contrary to what a number of people seem to think, nothing a person can say or do would be justification for injury, especially if the abuser purports to love that person.
I could go on about how unimpressed I was that Chris Brown was a nominee and performer at this year's Grammy awards, now that his "legal troubles" are behind him. I won't though, because I think that Sasha Pasulka summed up my issues succinctly in his/her post: I'm Not Okay With Chris Brown Performing At The Grammy And I'm Not Sure Why You Are (as posted bypoetic_pixie_13). It's an informative read and I encourage everyone to take a look.
This is not about gender; domestic abuse is never okay. It's not okay for women to hurt men. It's not okay for men to hurt women. It's not okay for women to hurt women. It's not okay for men to hurt men. Yet it seems to be the kind of crime for which we expect both parties to apologize. What gives? We teach our children all kinds of strategies for dealing with conflict, but Chris Brown can't seem to access that skill-set learned in Kindergarten and remove himself from the situation in order to cool off? Really? What we have here is a case of celebrity/spousal/being physically bigger privilege. "Nobody talks that way to me!" It's a case of adolescent entitlement enforced with violence.
I can't stop wondering why the public that recoiled in horror upon viewing the pictures above seems to have chalked Chris Brown's actions up to youthful high spirits. What does that tell our sons about the consequences of domestic abuse? And what does it tell our daughters about the value of their health, safety, and role in a relationship? Is it that if the person is talented enough, they can get away with anything?
Heaven deliver us from privilege of the talented.
Remember this picture?
How about this one?
Well, I'm glad that somebody does, because I'm beginning to think that there is a pandemic of amnesia happening among music fans around the world.
Long story short: the lady in the photos is singer Rihanna. The injuries to her faces were given to her in 2009 by her then (and some say now) boyfriend, rapper Chris Brown. I'm happy to report that the same night Rihanna got herself down to the police station and had his sorry ass charged with domestic assault. After due process, Chris Brown was convicted. He was convicted because he (eventually) plead guilty.
Don't get me started on the lack of celebrity condemnation. I'm sick to death of the whole "We weren't there, so we don't know what went down..." mentality. Look at the pictures, folks. Those are injuries that can only be inflicted by another person. Contrary to what a number of people seem to think, nothing a person can say or do would be justification for injury, especially if the abuser purports to love that person.
I could go on about how unimpressed I was that Chris Brown was a nominee and performer at this year's Grammy awards, now that his "legal troubles" are behind him. I won't though, because I think that Sasha Pasulka summed up my issues succinctly in his/her post: I'm Not Okay With Chris Brown Performing At The Grammy And I'm Not Sure Why You Are (as posted bypoetic_pixie_13). It's an informative read and I encourage everyone to take a look.
This is not about gender; domestic abuse is never okay. It's not okay for women to hurt men. It's not okay for men to hurt women. It's not okay for women to hurt women. It's not okay for men to hurt men. Yet it seems to be the kind of crime for which we expect both parties to apologize. What gives? We teach our children all kinds of strategies for dealing with conflict, but Chris Brown can't seem to access that skill-set learned in Kindergarten and remove himself from the situation in order to cool off? Really? What we have here is a case of celebrity/spousal/being physically bigger privilege. "Nobody talks that way to me!" It's a case of adolescent entitlement enforced with violence.
I can't stop wondering why the public that recoiled in horror upon viewing the pictures above seems to have chalked Chris Brown's actions up to youthful high spirits. What does that tell our sons about the consequences of domestic abuse? And what does it tell our daughters about the value of their health, safety, and role in a relationship? Is it that if the person is talented enough, they can get away with anything?
Heaven deliver us from privilege of the talented.