Chris Brown Redemption 2.0: The Forgiveness Project
“I let my fans down once. And I will never do it again.” — Chris Brown
He came. He danced. He…cried. And just like that, Chris Brown was seen primarily as a splendid performer and not the temperamental guy who played Ali with Rihanna’s face.
Brown’s tribute to Michael Jackson may have come a year late for some, but that didn’t stop him from moonwalking, strutting, crooning, crotch-grabbing and doing everything else he could to channel Michael Joseph Jackson at the 10th anniversary of the BET Awards.
His performance was flawless. It was perhaps, the closest impersonation to Michael Jackson’s brilliance we’ll see in a while. Yet, there are many who will remain unmoved. Rhythm and dexterity aside, many cannot forget the hurting he put on Rihanna on February 8, 2009. His career has taken a nose-dive that rivals the U.S. real estate sub-prime mortgage crisis. Endorsements were snatched. He had a feud with the world’s largest retailer. A country even vetoed his entrance.
He has made public appearances since, and has slowly worked to pull himself back into the public’s good graces. Emphasis on slowly. If Brown was anticipating a large-scale forgiveness party, it wasn’t happening. Larry King couldn’t do it. An online apology couldn’t do it. If Brown’s ordeal has taught us anything, it’s that domestic abuse is harder to recover from than, say, a singer peeing and sexing up a minor on video. Regardless of how much time elapses and how many singles he drop, it may won’t be enough for a society where respect for women is demanded.
To be fair, at the time of the incident and his subsequent trial (he pleaded guilty), Brown deserved the criticism. His behavior was irresponsible for a guy who was on top of the world from a career standpoint. From a teenage wunderkind to this generation’s Ike Turner, Brown earned the deepest enmity from women.
Sunday night’s performance at the BET Awards was the first time he was able to apologize to the world on his terms: through doing what he does best by honoring the best. But everybody didn’t hate Brown coming into this performance. Diehard and forgiving fans were in his corner the whole time, sympathizers of a young man who made a mistake and just happen to be famous enough for the world to know it.
As for the other side, the skeptics went into viewing his performance already sensing any possible public relations ploy on his part. Once the tears came, that’s all the hounds needed. Everything afterward was contrived and purposeful. But people in this camp fail to consider the song he cried to was “Man in the Mirror” at the one year anniversary of a the death of a man he grew up idolizing. Add to that all of the tribulations he has gone through (his fault, no doubt) and that adds up to a healthy recipe for genuine tears.
Was his handlers mindful that this was an opportunity to resurrect his career? No doubt.
Were his tears for Michael Jackson? Some of it probably was. But it’s reasonable that it stemmed from the events in his life as well. Either way, it doesn’t make his tears less genuine.
Did he know beforehand that he was going to cry? More than likely.
Does that make his tears and obvious remorse contrived? No. Just because you know something will work out in your favor doesn’t mean it is any less real. Perhaps isolating these factors to gauge authenticity is a mistake. It was more than likely a confluence of all of these factors that resulted in the man we saw Sunday night. For the first time a while, the world saw the passion of a young man, unvarnished and bare since his reprehensible actions over a year ago.
Artists are a special breed: their performances and works are triggered by emotions. Music induces emotions in people. Anybody who listens to ‘Man in the Mirror’ can get misty-eyed and contemplative. Considering the magnitude of the stage and what was at stake, why wouldn’t Chris Brown cry?
Even if Brown went P.T. Barnum on us, does that take away from the performance? Better yet, does it render the call for forgiveness irrelevant?
Remaining cool and calm wouldn’t made him appear more professional, it would have taken away his ability to do what he does best. Artists feed off emotions. And for any music stan, MJ conjured up massive feelings.
People will still insist that “his tears were for Chris Brown, not Michael Jackson.” So what? If it wasn’t for Michael, there would be no Chris Brown. Just like if it wasn’t for Jackie Wilson and James Brown, there would be no Thriller. MJ even shed a few tears when he honored the Godfather of Soul in 2003, yet there weren’t rumblings of crocodile tears then. These artists are a part of each other. Chris Brown deserves to shed a few tears for his journey. That doesn’t make him phony; that makes him human.
But many people won’t see it that way. Regardless, initial reactions on Twitter indicate that Breezy’s career may have received a second life.
If a flawless rendition of the King of Pop can’t serve as a career defibrillator, then redemption just isn’t in the cards. Fortunately for him, at the moment, he has a winning hand.
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Elle Michelle on
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I concur.
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Love it! Thanks for sharing. My dad has been telling me to read that book. You inspired me to check it out.
I can’t help but to wonder if the public’s reaction would have been the same if Rihanna wasn’t ‘Rihanna,” a pretty pop star. What if Rihanna was an around the way girl? Anywho that doesn’t excuse his actions, but it is a thought.
I’m all for forgiveness, but in my opinion he wasn’t sorry for hitting her in the first place. He was sorry for the what happened because of it. His refusal to leave the spot light, like Kanye, only annoyed me more. It came off as arrogance not a humble start to a road of forgiveness and regret. Regret for hitting her and a deep look at what was ‘wrong’ with it, was what he needed.
Anyhoo, I almost laughed during his BET performance, but I understood what happened. Those tears were for him, a little for Mike, but mainly for his fallen career. Publicity stunt, eh?
Good article though. You took the words out of my head and put then in print.
a friend said it best: “I mean, I understand being devastated by the death of your idol and all that obviously but I don’t think he should even be fucking INVITED to awards shows after what he did and it disgusts me that he’s performing at all. plus, he just seems so fake to me idk it didn’t seem genuine to me.”
I wonder if the same people who think Chris Brown should be forgiven have that same compassion for Kat Stacks…
Question….how can you down somebody for having compassion over Kat Stacks gettin beat up and bullied by 3 grown ass men?! So what your saying is that it’s okay for a woman to get beat up by a man as long as she deserved it or is not seen in any positive light?! You definitely are a HUGE hypocrite. It’s not up to us to forgive but to God, therefore i’m prayin for Chris and hope that he is a changed man and best of luck to him.
First, I would like to say that I don’t consider myself to me ‘a hypocrite’, my dear. Violence against women, whether if its from domestic violence to two women fighting in the street, is something that I do not condone.
Secondly, after posting that question, I realize that I was leaving out a piece of vital info, but I didn’t feel the need to add it in, ever since I wasn’t expecting anyone to answer.
Now, hear is my question again: Would the people who say that Chris Brown should be forgiven, would they say the same thing about Kat Stacks’ attackers? If the attacker wasn’t a pop star and his girlfriend wasn’t a singer, would they be able to say the same thing if those people were their co-workers? Or, how about a next-door neighbor?
If the knuckle heads who attacked Kat asked for forgivness as did Chris Brown, paid the price for what they did if there is a price to pay, then yeah, they deserve to be forgiven. I dont think anyone is saying that people should not be punished for their wrongful actions, what is being said is if they make right by it then everyone needs to move on.
What about violence against men, animals, old people and children? Yes, you are hypocrite.
@Muffy
What does men, animals, old people and children has to do with the topic that we were discussing? Due to my lack of mentioning old people, animals, men and children (in a discussion about Chris Brown and Rihanna), how does that make me a hypocrite?
@Muffy
add all those together, and trust, they still would not be equivalent to the violence committed against women.
next asinine question.
Michelle, you aren’t a hypocrite. i don’t think the people using the word even know what it means.
@Nell
I think so…
I think they really did not try to comprehend the point that I was trying to make with both of my messages.
Chris Brown’s performance was amazing and despite what people are saying I truly believe that his tears was genuine. You have to remember he’s been through a lot last year from the Rihanna incedent, to MJ’s death to going from amazing superstar to worthless scum in the eyes of some people. Remember he also didn’t get to pay tribute to MJ when everyone else got to do so. I think what we saw at the BET awards was true, raw and uncut emotion form a human being. People fail to realize that he is human too, no matter how harsh and disgusting his acts were he is human and he has feelings just like everyone of us. We are supposed to hate the acts not the person.
Love & Light
he went through a lot with the Rihanna incident…yea, having his ear Mike Tysoned could cause a lot of stress.
oh wait….thats what HE did to Rihanna….
yes, lets all feel sorry and weep for the AGGRESSOR.
c’mon. i mean, really, unless you’re 7 years old, i cannot understand fans like this…
Well I must be 7 years old, then
he killed the performance.
the thing is not one of us is Chris Brown so we all need to move along and let him do him. He’s going through is own punishments, he’s battling his own demons. Cause truly at the end of the day he still has more money than all of us, and he’s not helping me get this job i’m sweating over. forgiven or not life goes on.
@ Nell – you need to take that extreme evangelizing on domestic violence to a college and high school lecture circuit. That rhetoric you just spewed convinced me of nothing. You can’t take that one incident from a person you have no in-depth knowledge of whatsoever and try to condemn him to repeating that behavior, especially when no other woman has ever come to the fore about Chris Brown abusing them in the past. No past or present girlfriends AT ALL. There is no basis for it. Shut it down!! Enough already! Take what limited knowledge you have of domestic violence and apply it where it will do the most good! Once again this forum, this blog – ain’t it!
because college campuses and high schools are the only places where people listen with open ears to the REALITIES we have in the black community as well as the overall country? what kind of “i don’t want your knowledge” type of mess is that?
no, no other woman has come forwards (that we know of…), but that doesn’t change the fact that he abused a woman and he has millions of fans. and whether you would like to believe it or not, many of them would do what he does even if he murdered someone. so when he beats his girlfriend down, and everyone forgives him, buys his records, and dances to his songs in the club like it’s nothing, then he and his fans will get the idea that domestic violence is nothing; non-important; something easily forgotten. this can be especially harmful to his female fans, most of which are between 9 and 20 years old. if you want to pretend as though celebrities don’t have an impact on shaping the country’s images of different things, then you are living in a bubble.
limited knowledge of domestic violence? please, inform me if i was wrong in the one statistic i stated. if YOU had even a small amount of knowledge on domestic violence, you would probably agree with my stance.
and yes, this is a forum, a forum where women and men of color discuss issues, some of which are political, societal, racial and gender based. if you don’t want an earful of knowledge, then maybe you should pick a different online magazine.
my 8 year old nephew says Nickelodeon has some interesting topics on their website’s forum. maybe you should check that out.
We all need forgiveness. I forgave him a long time ago and I am glad other people are realizing WE ALL make mistakes.
@ Get Help – I completely agree. I grew up in a situation like this and I put blame on squarely on my father. Don’t transfer your anger at your abuser/father/brother/husband/boyfriend on Chris Brown. Get help and move past it. I understand that many feel if we don’t focus on CB, DV will be pushed to the back burner. Don’t let it. Volunteer to work on a hotline, and gather toiletries for a shelter.
People tend to push aside that Chris was a victim of DV too. If they do acknowledge it they say, “Well…he should know better.” He was on a show talking about the level of violence that was in his home. Cops called… wanting to kill his stepfather with a baseball bat…wetting the bed out of pure fear…My dad was REALLY bad but not even on that level. CB is only 21 and he hasn’t been out of this situation for a full 10 years. It’s easy for adults to judge because we think critically but I’m sure when he thinks about what his mother went through, he goes back to that powerless little boy who couldn’t protect his mother. And the same goes for Rhianna. She came from the same background too.
I’m not saying that as an excuse for his behavior. What he did to Rhianna was deplorable and wrong on every level! I truly believe that. Maybe his family thought his musical outlet was his therapy and overlooked that he needed an actual therapist. I’m saying all this because people tend to focus on the adult women victims of DV and not the emotional state of the kids, boys AND girls afterwards. When a woman with kids finally does leave, she may move on but the emotional stuff is still there for the kids. I honestly wish CB and his family would start a foundation to help children who witness DV get free or low cost counseling. That would be a really good thing.
FYI FYI James Brown abused his wife some 20 years ago. Is he not one of the most respected artists?
FYI FYI APPARENTLY, its ok to piss on a 14 year old in a sex tape cause you can continue to make hits & get respect -_-
FYI FYI EVERYONE MAKES MISTAKES!!!!!! If God could forgive a MURDERER for his sins, why can’t we let Chris back into our hearts???
I swear humans are evil
Humans are evil because they don’t like Chris Brown. I’ve OFFICIALLY heard it all.
I think it’s beyond ridiculous for people to be telling DV survivors and their advocates to seek therapy so they can better appreciate Chris Brown. I mean, really, W-T-F? Being a post-incident fan of Chris Brown is not indicative of any type of good mental health or fitness. I’d be willing to bet that are young women currently in abusive relationships that have long since forgiven CB.
Look, Chris Brown is in the entertainment business, and image and PR are like 75% of the battle. Of course people project things onto entertainers. That’s what they’re there for. “Oh, it should be about the music and the performing . . . “ — Yeah, ok, whatever. If it really were just about the music, CB would have been vetoed a long time ago because there’s nothing remarkable about his songs. Do you think Justin Bieber’s popularity is based mostly on the quality of his music? What about Trey Songz? How about Britney? Nicki Minaj’s verses are just so tight that she doesn’t have to resort to her gimmicks to make an impression (rolls eyes).
Now, if you’re a r&b/pop singer with a wholesome image, singing about love and romance, and the majority of your customers are female, then odds are, a felony assault conviction for beating up your girlfriend aint gon’ do wonders for your rep. It is not the fault of your consumers if all of a sudden they have a hard time buying into your act about wholesomeness, love, and romance, because of crimes you committed.
Chris Brown can go to hell and drink his fake tears if he gets too thirsty. This man has shown no remorse for pummeling Rihanna’s face. I dont care what white men are doing to white women, i care what useless black men like him are doing to black women so pls dont even bring up the white comparisons. Im supposed to forgive this batterer because he jived and cried? Forget that. I hope his record sales continue to perform abysmally. He needs to understand what he did to that girl and atone for it. Other than that, he will not succeed! He released an album a couple of months after beating her ass…is that a sign of someone who is remorseful? Apart from picking dirt on the side of the road, did he enter counseling? admit what he did? Of course not, he said it was all a blur…ask rihanna, im sure it wasn’t a blur to her. Weak ass loser!
I think it is AMAZING how heartless all you CB dissers are. Someone does ONE BAD THING (note BAD, not HORRIBLE) & that erases all the good they’ve EVER done??? And PLEASE people, help me understand why Rihanna is a damn angel with a halo above her head -_- I know girls from Barbados & other parts of the Caribbean & let me tell you….they can lay you OUT. Just so happens that she lost this fight. & NO I’m not condoning violence, but its sooo easy for her to make him look horrible just because she’s a woman.
Now like I said before, if a MURDERER can repent for his sins, and be on his way to heaven, why can’t Chris be forgiven by us MORTALS??? Like seriously! And just put yourself in his shoes for just ONE second. You made ONE mistake and the whole world hates you for it….like, come ON people how coldhearted could you be???
If you were in the same situation, you would want a SECOND CHANCE & everyone deserves one.
“Let he who is without sin cast the first stone”
Yall aren’t exactly on the VIP list either, I’m sure -_-
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“And PLEASE people, help me understand why Rihanna is a damn angel with a halo above her head -_- I know girls from Barbados & other parts of the Caribbean & let me tell you….they can lay you OUT. Just so happens that she lost this fight.”
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Flawless logic. Look, that victim blaming shit aint gonna fly here, and anyway, riddle me this, Dim Knight. If Rihanna is from Barbados, and Caribbean females are just so gangsta wit’ it, how come she didn’t lay him out on that night? How come she was the only one that got fucked up in that “fight” and didn’t leave a mark on him? I mean, is it that Rihanna really isn’t Bajan, cause they’re all such skilled brawlers, or did she somehow forget that she was actually Caribbean and thus, a hot tempered, natural born scrapper? Could it have been that CB really is “Invincible” like Michael Jackson, and that’s why he escaped the melee without a scratch, or was it that CB was just so nice that he could bob and weave and just completely shut down Rihanna’s “Caribbean” ways? I mean, I knew he could shuck and jive, but damn!
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“Someone does ONE BAD THING (note BAD, not HORRIBLE) & that erases all the good they’ve EVER done???”
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Yeah, cause beating women is just bad, not horrible.
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“If you were in the same situation, you would want a SECOND CHANCE & everyone deserves one.”
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Pop a xanex, already, and sit down. Last I checked, Chris Brown was still making albums, singles, mixtapes, and videos that get played on major media outlets across every medium imaginable from radio to tv to the internet. In fact, he got convicted and released “Grafitti” all in the same year. He’s got a movie coming out this summer. He’s been in the studio writing for and recording with other artists, so he obviously hasn’t run out of chances yet.
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“Let he who is without sin cast the first stone”
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What is it about this particular felon that makes some people want to invoke Christ?
Ok. FLIP THE SCRIPT…..is it ok now?
So it’s definitely OK to drag the past along with us? Rihanna has moved on, Chris is TRYING to move on, & Y’all the People are still sentencing him to DEATH, i reeaaaallly don’t get where you’re going with this….
u guys need 2 leave chris brown alone…………… so wat he did was in da past ……………
ya know he’s not da first man 2 hit a lady………….. n i tink rihana went way otta proportion wit it……….. her main aim was 2 bring dat young man down ………… she was actn all emotional like he hurt her………… but didn’t da paparazzi see shortly after she was havin a blast ……… come on b fair guys da deed was done jus let go of it n let chris brown live his life like rihana is livin hers …………. btw wen she was in barbados dont u tink other guys hit on her n she never once talked on them she jus dropped it n plzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz ppl there r 2 sides 2 a story stop listenin 2 rihanna side cause its definetly a fake n jus take da time 2 listen 2 dat boi as we say where im frm “monkey does know which limb fuh jump pon ” n dat sayin goes for rihanna……..
I am hoping that this message is a troll’s message, in hopes of adding some fuel to the fire.
I’m hoping ^^that message is a troll, because you are not a human being if you don’t know how to forgive & give ummm…..SECOND FUCKING CHANCES!!!!!!!!
*closes out of internet explorer*
okay…::eye rolls::
@Snickerz,
-Do I believe that every human being on this Earth makes mistakes and will continue to do so? Yes.
-Do I believe every human being deserve a second chance? Yes. In fact, I believe that certain individuals will probably need third, fourth and fifth chances at receiving redemption.
-Can I forgive Chris Brown? No.
The reason why I cannot forgive Chris Brown because Chris did not do any type of wrong doing to me. Chris Brown has not cause me any type of grief, pain or turmoil. In my opinion, the only people that Chris should ask for forgiveness from is:
-God (even though I really don’t think of God as a person)
-Rihanna’s family (for causing pain to their loved one)
-His own family (for hurting them by his actions)
And if those people have forgiven Chris, then he shouldn’t have to do countless interviews and leaving letters of apologies on blogs and communication websites (i.e. Twitter, FaceBook, MySpace, etc).
In regards to “that night”, my initial reaction to learning that Chris had assaulted Rihanna was a kanye-shrug of the shoulders and I think I may have said “damn”. The only thing that the ruffled my feathers about the situation; the thing that made me give a “side-eye” glance, as well as, an arch of the brow and a “WTF!” moment: the reactions’ of other people about the situation. When I heard things like:
“…Chris had found out that Rihanna had herpes…”
“…Rihanna had hit Chris first…”
“…Rihanna was going through his cell phone and found a text message from another woman…”
“…Rihanna is from the West Indies and you know how those women are…”
And that me a bit angry, because most of those comments had come from females (teens and women) and it also sounded like those people were saying “Chris hit her…it’s okay, she deserved it”. As if it was okay for a man to beat on a woman because she was snooping through his belongings or was made aware of his girlfriend’s STD status. Or, it is okay to attack a lover because she hails from a foreign land, which has a stupid stereotype that is attached to the women who lives there (after all, according to those people who believe that stupidity, Chris was defending himself). Or maybe it is okay for a man to strike his girlfriend, because he believe in some elementary-school mantra about hitting someone back (even though he is a grown-azz man).
Or, maybe, just maybe, there are million and one excuses for blaming Rihanna, in her own attack, because the attacker in this situation was Chris Brown.
If he went Ali on her, but were still able to recognize her? — and she didn’t stay in the hospital? And he wasn’t charged with attempted murder? Does Rihanna have a secret she’s not telling us?
If he went Ali on her, but were still able to recognize her? — and she didn’t stay in the hospital? And he wasn’t charged with attempted murder? Does Rihanna have a secret she’s not telling us?
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From what I know, the infamous police photo (that was taking by the police to record Rihanna’s injuries) of Rihanna was leaked to the press, by two police officers that worked at that precinct.
I’m sure if the doctors wanted Rihanna to stay in the hospital, she would’ve stayed.
I’ve felt some sympathy for Chris since all this began. Not because he was right, or shouldn’t be admonished for what he did, but because I don’t think we got the whole story about the incident. If he attacked her unprovoked, then he has deep issues that only therapy and time MIGHT change. But my gut tells me that Rihanna may have played her part in provoking the situation, but she got to be the victim without taking or even owning up to playing a part. Not the battered women’s syndrome owning up of “He loves me, I bring it on myself” but the “Yeah, I was acting crazy and waling on him for bout five minutes, didn’t listen to his shouts for me to back it up, and he snapped”. Of course there’s no way for me to know what happened, and Chris’s camp didn’t offer anything substantial, but honestly what good would it have done to say “she hit me first”, nobody wants to hear that, makes you sound like even more of a punk.
Everybody has a point of provocation, I don’t care who you are. Some people are provoked by a side-eye glance (and they need help), and others when you slap their momma, or worse. Once again, I gotta be clear; I’m not condoning violence of any kind. But I know what it’s like to be young, in an unhealthy volatile relationship with a woman who is physically aggressive. You’re barely equipped to deal with it, you have little frame of reference to know that this woman is emotionally unstable and you should leave, and so your threshold is lower.
He should not have put his hands on her, but neither should she or any woman put their hands on a man. I have a rule. If you keep your hands to yourself, you never ever have to worry about me putting my hands on you. If you chose to not keep your hands to yourself, I probably won’t touch you still, but you’re more at risk than if you didn’t.
All that being said, call me cynical, but I think that the crying thing was a little contrived. Goes to show that you can be forgiven for anything if you can moonwalk good. I’m working on mine as we speak.
even if i did forgive chris brown for what he did (and i don’t) i still wouldn’t be obligated to support his music. i think a lot of people feel the same and that’s why his career is in the state it is in. i find his actions last year reprehensible and his lack of (sincere) remorse afterwards distasteful. no one OWES him superstardom. his actions cast a pall on his career and that is HIS fault. no one else’s.
How about how he tried to con us on Larry King in his baby blue sweater and tie set with his Mama by his side. I’m still laughing about that! He hadn’t dressed like that before or since.
It’s unfortunate how things often seem to come to down to ‘save a brother at all costs’.
This stance can often be a lose-lose situation and some of these comments are simply mind-boggling. There are mindsets I will never understand (thank ya, Jeebus) and certain things I simply never expect to come out the mouths of females…and I’m trying to figure out if I feel sorrow for some of the commenters or just flat out disgust!
There have been a thousand and one discussions about how certain dudes treat their women so badly, but it is disheartening how vicious and uncaring some females can be towards/regarding other females and, specifically, those who’ve suffered horrendous abuse and disrespect.
Now, considering Chris Brown is young and 19 0r 20, I can understand keeping the door open in hopes that he has learned valuable lessons and is taking his counseling seriously to ensure this never happens again. Dude’s a CONVICTED FELON now, and that’s for life; and, yes, he’s apologized then taken the consequences the court saw fit to dole out but, in all honesty, his ‘sentence’ was a slap on the wrist.
CB is not a surgeon offering pro bono healthcare or surgery to underserved communities; he is not running and funding a soup kitchen or trying to find a cure for AIDS. The boy can’t walk on water and simply sings and dances so it’s laughable that it takes so very little to impress some chicks, and a shame that it appears some females have not been treated well by their fathers and conditioned to expect far more and have a higher bar.
It’s damn sickening that some people couldn’t leave things at wishing Chris well and had to throw vile shade and toss a woman under the bus insinuating Rihanna started the fight, threw the first punch, is not innocent and hiding something, was out to hurt Chris, oh and (my fav) us females from the Caribbean are violent brawlers and “lunatics” etc. etc.
…just pathetic!
There has been a pattern that – in high profile cases where many BM and BW gathered on the same page in support of a female – it has been when the accused or alleged perpetrator(s) is/are white (Brawley, Duke rape case). And only the most ignorant of individuals would fail to see the bigger picture, cost and huge detriment in this.
Contrast with what happened in Dunbar Village (West Palm Beach, Florida) a few years ago when a mother was beaten and gang-raped and her son also victimized by several males. There was actual video of female residents basically saying they didn’t give a shit and one even stated “So a lady was raped, big deal!”. Next comes Sharpton’s clown ass (and the NAACP) advocating for the sick rapists and whining that they were being treated unfairly because they were denied bond.
Stay on that road supporting the Chris Browns, R. Kellys etc. and continue donning those blinders thinking there is sincerity in any ‘support’ given (where the alleged perp(s) is/are white) while things are slickly manipulated to be about males and incidents selfishly co-opted and reduced to another occurrence of ‘racism’. It’s a clever trick that keeps a community right where certain males want…coddling and at their beck and call. And – instead of urgent issues i.e. abuse, violence, drugs, education, sexual assault etc. being seriously addressed to finally find solutions – again they’re pushed to the back of the line. Males are the primary abusers, perpetrators and victimizers and this maneuver has been brilliant in that it has kept ignorant and gullible females lining up to fight the males’ battles with ‘da man’ (to their own detriment and neglect) for at least 50 years.
Thank you, Akai…
I have been trying to get this type of message across, but some other posters are not willing to listen.
It’s sad to hear/see a woman believe the testimony of an abuser than to show compassion for his/her victims, especially when the abuse victim is a woman.
I have never been in a relationship, where domestic violence was present, but the acts of domestic violence always been present in my life. Growing up, I witness women abuse their significant others (both gay and heterosexual), I witness one of my neighbors getting killed by her abusive-estranged husband and I witness my own male relatives attack women.
As frightful and shocking to witness that type of violence, I also had gotten a taste of how other women view those types of situations, as well as, the victims.
totally agree with your assesment, particularly how sexual abuse against black women from white men, is somehow turned into an affront against black men. some women need to wake up. even if chris brown is forgiven for actions by society as a whole, no one is obligated to support anything he does. if he doesn’t have the same amount of superstardom and reverence as he did before, so what? he brought it on himself, and that is how life is sometimes.
and to belitte another woman, particularly a victim of abuse (victim blaming), because you somehow sympathize more with her teenage multimillionaire abuser, is absurd and idiotic. and carribean women are crazy? what? that is the most irrational bullsh*t i’ve ever heard.
Your post touched my soul.. I`m being melodramatic, but you really got to the point. I was disgusted at how so many women were willing to “forgive” Chris Brown, yet they had the no sympathy for the victim in the situation. You know .. that girl who was left on the side of the curb with a bloody, swollen lip and eye when her boyfriend (who threatened to beat her when they got home) drove off. Yeah that girl. I remember a friend saying, “well, if a puppy bites you, you wonder what the person did to make him snap.” <_< Enough female bashing. Chris Brown is not a puppy; he's an adult. I'm in is age bracket, and I've never accidentally, mistakingly, beat a person's fists up with my hands so the whole 'blame it on his youth' spiel is just not doing it for me. Like Akai said, he's no doctor saving lives. The only thing he's contributing to this world is entertainment and some charity for PR. Now dig, I'm no Rihanna fan, but I've seen enough abuse happen in my life to understand that this was no minor mistake. This was an act of physical violence. If ANY man beat your niece or daughter, would you be so willing to minimize his responsibility in the incident and 'get over it'?
I quit, because some people just don't get it. You don't understand how many women are humiliated, suffering, and dying because we see abuse as a 'not horrible, just bad.' Granted we don't know everything that happened that evening, but we have the facts: He hit her, choked her, bit her, threatened her, humiliated her mercilessly, then left the scene of the incident. Later, he plead guilty.
Now if you want to buy his music, by all means do so (because you CB forgivers let his last album stink up the charts – where was all that support then?!), but don't criticize women who don't feel comfortable listening to him sing about tender love and romance after he was convicted of abusing his then-girlfriend. Transform ya indeed.
Some of these comments are really disturbing.
I won’t comment on whether or not I think CB should be “forgiven” but overall, to blame a victim for getting beat up then on top of that downgrading hitting a woman (or anyone for that matter) to being just bad and not horrible is absolutely disgusting.
People need to leave Chris Brown alone. The only person he would have needed to seek forgivness from is Rihanna – thats an issue for them to deal with.
His MJ performance was the best tribute I have seen thus far.
if you do not like Browns music performance etc so be it. but gees