I'm Not Okay with Chris Brown Performing at the Grammys and I'm Not Sure Why You Are

thegirlwithbluehair:

Read the article above; it’s excellently written.

My own thoughts on the matter—basically, the whole Chris Brown situation (read: he abused his girlfriend) makes me livid.

I’ve been hit in the face before, as I’ve written about previously and as many of you might just already know. I’ve been hit in the face out of anger more than once and, to be frank, it fucking sucked. I still feel horrible and powerless and confused about those times, and though I have tons of supportive friends, there’s always at least one or two people that act as though speaking out against it is somehow just “too much,” which is one of the criticisms that many people had regarding Rihanna. Somehow, people believed it was her fault and that everyone made “too big a deal” out of the matter. That she just wanted attention.

You know what also really sucked, though? Hearing people discuss domestic violence as well as sexual violence as though they were knock-knock jokes.

If it doesn’t outrage you that somebody who abused his girlfriend—whom he claimed to love and respect—has not been shunned, then that implies several things about you that may or may not be true:

Violence against women is a-okay in your book.

Domestic abuse should be forgiven, or even rewarded.

Five years probation for putting your girlfriend in the hospital is enough of a punishment.

It’s okay to attack somebody because you feel like it. It may even be that person’s fault because he or she pissed you off.

I don’t care if Chris Brown is “sorry.” He didn’t pay any dues to society—there are people who get caught with a bit of weed that get higher penalties than that. He punched his girlfriend in the face. Re-read that:

He punched his girlfriend in the face. He put her in the hospital.

And somehow he’s allowed to perform? Somehow he’s not been shunned because at this point, we ALL should understand that hitting your significant other in the face is incredibly wrong, and we should not reward the type of person who thinks it’s okay and does so.

I get it: his music is catchy. And that’s okay. But by forgiving him and not condemning him for the horrible, horrible things he did? Not okay. Our media spins stories like Michael Vick’s and Kobe Bryant’s and Chris Brown’s as Cinderella stories. But right now, they’re instead sending a very specific message: “If you are rich, talented, or famous enough, you can treat people-especially women—however you want.”