Kick her while she’s down, why don’t you.

This article enrages me, and not because I give a damn about Rihanna being a role model – because I really could care less. No, it’s how the author chooses to express this opinion that really upsets me. While Mark Harris seems to (kinda?) say he *isn’t* victim-blaming (I think? I’m actually not sure if he really denies he’s doing it), he most certainly is acting such.

Here are a few quotes:
“And what kind of woman gets back together with the man who hit her? A fool. Or someone who is so self-hating she thinks she had it coming or so in love she imagines it won’t happen again. Or someone who might have grown up believing that it’s no big deal. Choose your favorite rationalization as your stomach turns.”

Going to take a big leap here and say you don’t know someone who’s been a victim of abuse, or maybe don’t know someone who was and stayed with the abuser. Maybe you do know someone in such a circumstance, but I’m hoping you never spoke such above thoughts aloud in front of them. You are passing loaded vindictive judgement at someone who was slapped, punched, and screamed at by someone they were in love with. As hard as you will try, you will never understand Rihanna’s sitaution because you are not Rihanna, you are not, were not, and let’s hope will not ever be in her shoes literally or figuratively. So shut up. It would be different if your article made it sound like you cared, wanted to help, wanted to reach out in some way, and were just postulating why victims remain with their abusers, but no it seemed like you were annoyed with Rihanna’s catchy hip hop/pop music, and found a new reason to make yourself feel better than her.
“She is a singer — after all, only a singer” Okay that’s not as much victim-blaming as it is just a stupid thing to say, especially when you’re writing for AN ENTERTAINMENT MAGAZINE. Idiot. Because (qualifications of Rihanna’s talent/influence aside) the mere idea that a singer is JUST a singer and has no power or influence whatsoever flagrantly disregards the very purpose of the FRIGGIN MAGAZINE HE WRITES FOR. Guh.

And my FAVORITE:
“Or perhaps we’re all just looking for new ways to beat up Rihanna and get away with it.”
…..Really?
……………….really.
Wow.
So, um, Mr. Harris, sir, you do realize you are talking about a victim of abuse, right? How about, next time you’re ‘out’ in ‘L.A.’ or ‘whatever’ you and other ‘writers’ such as yourself ‘do’, and you run into Rihanna, why don’t you tell that to her face? Or how about you go to your local womens’ shelter, say something like that to the women there, eh? Feel like such a big smart man telling us idiot women how effing dumb we are?

Yeah, go take a flying leap.

Also, Jezebel wrote an piece about the same article, and I pretty much agree 100% with them.