Another addition to my perpetual theme “Girls are dumb,” I present the sad sad story of Rihanna.
She was born in Barbados, and went on to become an international pop star. Her first album (released when she was 18) reached #10 on the US Billboard 200. She serves as a cultural ambassador to Barbados. She has millions of dollars and legions of fans and she is only 21 years old. She is beautiful and talented and, it would seem, stupid.
As I reported in last week’s wrap up, it has been reported that she has reconciled with Chris Brown, her 19 year old boyfriend who slammed her head in to a car window, punched and bit her repeatedly, and left her in an alley. In the most recent reports, the fight was started when she asked him why he had received a 3 page text message from an ex-girlfriend. It ended half an hour later when Brown stopped his car (oh, yea, they were in his car, he was driving) and left her bleeding in an alley. She filed a police report, and Brown was eventually arrested. He is now released on $50,000 bail.
But, wait, you say, he apologized. He has a history of abuse in his family. He’s a young black man who’s just a product of the system.
Fuck you. Chris Brown is from Tappahannock, VA. He sang in his church choir. He also has millions of dollars and legions of fans. And he attacked a person. He attacked a woman. He attacked his girlfriend. He attacked a celebrity. As much as every human being should be outraged, shouldn’t Rihanna’s lawyers have been able to convince the judge to come up with something a bit more harsh than $50,000?
It is terrible that any woman can learn to forgive her abuser. Rihanna is very young, and this decision does not bode well for her future relationships, let alone her future career. The truth is, though, that this scenario plays out thousands of times over every single day. The fact that this case is so public is simply a fluke. What really worries me is that every parent in this country is not sitting down to explain to their sons that it is wrong to beat a person, it is wrong to beat a woman. Every parent is not sitting down with their daughters to tell them that no one has the right to hurt them mentally or physically or emotionally, ever. Rihanna is setting a dangerous and stupid example. Chris Brown should be in jail.
It is likely that nothing will come of this, and this couple will either stay together or break up a few months from now, and no one will learn anything. For as much as the attack was entirely the fault of the attacker, the reconciliation and the consequences thereof rest on her. And for that, this girl is dumb.
Thursday, December 24th, 2009 at 3:50 pm by Marie
Tags: Christmas, George Hrab
