The Chris Brown/Rhianna Debacle

I was surprised that no one has wrote about this yet. When I heard that this happened, I felt so upset. Upset that it was being glorified. Upset that everyone was looking at Rhianna as a product, not as a woman, as a HUMAN, with emotions. Upset that Chris Brown got off on $50,000 bail – which, let’s be real here, is pocket change to him. I am upset that people are defending him and saying, "She must have done something to deserve it." I am upset that WOMEN are defending him. I am upset that even my OWN MOTHER said, "Well now they think he was in the car with another girl and her bruises might have been from a jealous cat fight." I am upset that this gets publicity because it is about Chris Brown and Rhianna, meanwhile while this was happening hundreds, if not thousands, of women and girls were beaten, raped, and killed yet none of that makes news. I am upset that, most likely, the media will "settle" the situation and just "make it go away." Upset that thousands of young men and women look up to Chris Brown and probably still will. I am upset that the media won’t use this as an opportunity to raise awareness about domestic violence with some real statistics and facts. I am upset that it will continue to be normalized and ignored. I’m not asking to turn this into a PSA or something, and maybe it’s too much too soon, but the powerful media bodies need to use their voices because this is a REAL issue. I don’t care who raises (truthful) awareness about the domestic violence issue, but you would THINK it’s about time. And it’s sad because that probably won’t happen. We live in this hyperreality in America… people think they "know" Chris Brown, saying "he’s so sweet, and such a good guy" that "he’d never do that." Stop it! We do not know him, his past experiences, his temper, his personality, or anything other than the fact that he can sing and dance (and that is still a subjective statement). I think it is horrific how this is being glorified and completely overlooks the thousands of families in America who suffer from domestic violence. I feel powerless because I can’t change the media, nor can I change the minds of everyone in America. And even as a women who has not been a victim of violence, I feel oppressed by this situation. I just cannot believe how this situation, which is very real for too many families, is being glamorized.

I am a student leader on campus, so I was thinking about this: At one of the meetings for my organization, rather than doing the usual agenda, use it as a forum to talk about domestic violence and show people some real statistics (of course with legitimate sources) or something like that. I feel that as one person, that is all I can do. Even if I influence just ONE person to think differently about domestic and sexual violence, I’d feel I’d made a difference.

I just really need to rant about that. I’d like to get other people’s thoughts as well on the situation or if you have a good idea about raising awareness on a college campus (side note- my school is currently in the process of creating a sexual harassment policy. It’s 2009. Why hasn’t this shit been done already? Fucked up, right?)