Alliance of White Anti-Racists Everywhere – Los Angeles
chrisbrown
How Do We Support Men With Violent Histories? [Reader Forum]
010 months ago
![How Do We Support Men With Violent Histories? [Reader Forum]](http://colorlines.com/assets_c/2010/11/comment_073010-thumb-640xauto-471-thumb-640xauto-1216-thumb-640xauto-1288-thumb-240xauto-1550.jpg)
Two parallel topics on Colorlines.com this week: the uncertain paths that led two black men to feminism, and the uncertain future of Chris Brown, a record-industry cash cow with a track record of domestic abuse.
Thoai Lu rounded up two recent pieces by black male writers, the Root’s Byron Hurt and PostBourgie’s G.D., discussing how they came to call themselves feminists. In the comments, pedestr1an pops out a quote from G.D.’s piece:
“But if growing up black and poor and male provided an unlikely bridge to anti-sexist thinking, so has feminism complicated the way I think about blackness and class.”
These articles are really great, but I just want to say that I don’t think that being black and poor is an unlikely bridge to understanding sexism at ALL. I’ve interacted with many educated white male “feminists” who are good at regurgitating theory, but fundamentally don’t get it. They approach feminism like monarchs who have decided in their graciousness that it is now wrong to say these things or act in these ways–even to the point of lecturing women on it. I think that you have to be marginalized to understand what marginalization means.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the blogosphere, Chris Brown got angry when asked about his anger issues and broke some windows at Good Morning America. Akiba Solomon said what needs to be said: committers of abuse are broken and can’t fix themselves, and Brown and his management play a dangerous game by pretending otherwise.
Reader Gladstone:
This commentary is spot on! Mr. Brown could learn a thing or two from Mr. Mike Tyson, whose personal history is very well known to the public. Mr. Brown must learn to face his adult life in the context of his childhood, it is not something that you ever “get past”, because wherever you go, there you are. Like anyone who comes from a family with an inherited disorder, be it a physical ailment, or an emotional one, self-awareness and impulse control are the two things necessary to adjust to life in a civil society.
Anna H:
I’m reading your article and realizing that I don’t know much about treatment for abusive men. Most of the things you hear about are framed within pathologizing women, even DV shelters can almost be punishing women for utilizing them (by not allowing them to have contact with family, etc.). There isn’t a lot out there about what is needed to make men confront their issues with patriarchy and how that has influenced their views on women. After reading the quote you posted, about how little girls will love his music and he was doing “girl business,” it’s really alarming how he seems to be trying to run from his actions instead of holding himself accountable. I think what Chris Brown’s story shows is that violence against women isn’t going to end by pathologizing women, but by pathologizing patriarchy and sexism, because it doesn’t seem like he has changed at all.
And on Jorge Rivas’ first report of the GMA outburst, Facebook fan Gari Buttarsays where the line is drawn:
This is a major reason why I stopped being a fan of Chris Brown’s music. Might be a very talented musician, but I want no part of suporting a person prone to this much anger and violence. :( :(
Also on Facebook, Nicki Angela says dumping the Chris Browns of the world isn’t enough:
I don’t like this dude, but he’s too young to just throw away. He’s not seeking the help he needs, and obviously the people around him are not helping him. He needs to also spend some time at not only an abused women’s shelter but also abused children. As of yet he still is not growing as a person.
Which begs the question: How do we support me with histories of violence? And where’s the line between supporting and enabling? Tell us what you think.
Want to join the conversation? Join us here on Colorlines.com, or hit us up on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Tumblr.
Jay Smooth Takes Chris Brown to School With a History Lesson
010 months ago
Ill Doctrine’s Jay Smooth isn’t letting Chris Brown off so easy. Brown’s stated before that he believes the public has forgiven him for physically assaulting former girlfriend Rihanna. Earlier this week he told Good Morning America’s Robin Roberts that the incident is in the past and he’s not interested in discussing it. But Jay Smooth offered the singer this humbling reality check:
I’ve never seen someone complain so much about getting off so easy for doing something so bad. Chris Brown you did something a couple of years ago that was really horrible. One of the consequences of doing something really horrible is that when you come back out a couple of years later to talk about your new album is some people might also ask about that horrible thing you just did.
…
If the biggest price you pay for that horrible thing you did is that you have to answer some tough interview questions… you’re getting off really easy.”
Jay Smooth goes on to remind Brown that people like Muhammad Ali and Paul Robeson, who did nothing wrong but stand up for their beliefs, were actually persecuted, blacklisted and sent to jail.
“You on the other hand did something horribly wrong, you brutally physically assaulted a woman, a woman you supposedly loved, that you beat to a pulp and then left her alone in that car so you could go get a head start on your PR strategy,” Smooth says in the video.
Chris Brown Apologizes for GMA Outburst, But Still Plays Defense
010 months ago
Yesterday Good Morning America confirmed a “very angry” Chris Brown stormed out of their studios, leaving a broken dressing room window behind. Shortly after Brown made an appearance on BET’s “106 & Park” apologizing to ABC’s staff.
“First of all, I want to apologize to anybody who was startled in the office, or anybody who was offended or really looked, and [was] disappointed at my actions,” Brown told the hosts of “106 & Park.”
“I’m disappointed in the way I acted.”
But then he proceeded to defend his actions by saying he “just let off steam” and that he “didn’t physically hurt anyone.” Brown also defends himself by arguing he was there to discuss his new album “F.A.M.E.” and not his past.
“I didn’t physically hurt anyone, I didn’t try to hurt anyone, I just wanted to release the anger that I had inside me because I felt that I worked so hard for this music and I felt like people kept just trying to take it away from me.”
But even if Brown didn’t hurt anyone the larger issue is he couldn’t maintain his composure — according to ABC a cooler was thrown on the floor and a window was broken by the time Brown left their studios. Colorlines.com’s Gender Matters blogger Akiba Solomon says Brown needs more therapy and less F.A.M.E.
Brown, unlike many men in his community, can afford quality, effective, consistent mental health care without crazy-making bureaucratic nonsense. He’s also in a unique position to circumvent the cultural stigma. He may have heard some variety of “black men don’t go to therapy, they go to the barbershop,” but his healing (in theory, at least) is literally court-ordered. His friends, family, community, fans, stans and future romantic partners already know about his anger management and mental health needs.
Brown is saying his representatives agreed to discuss the album and became upset when Robin Roberts’ began asking questions that he felt weren’t promoting the album. “I felt like they told us this just so they could get us on the show so they can exploit me,” Brown said. “So I took it very, very hard and I really kinda kept my composure throughout the whole interview, although you can see me upset, I kept my composure, I did my performance.”
|
On Good Morning America yesterday, Roberts said that she was shocked at Brown’s reaction after the interview. She explained to viewers that Brown had agreed to questions before the interview started. “Anytime we have a guest here on the program we let them know ahead of time, the topics, the subject matter that we are going to discuss and I was shocked like everybody else.”
|
Chris Brown Needs More Therapy and Less F.A.M.E.
010 months ago
There was a time, before he assaulted his girlfriend, when Chris Brown was candid about the terror he felt at 7 and 8 years old when he’d overhear his stepfather beating his mother. Brown described a terror so profound that he’d wet his bed rather than risk being caught up in the adult violence. So along with being scared, he was humiliated. I weep for that little boy.
But now he’s a 21-year-old man–with choices.
Brown, unlike many men in his community, can afford quality, effective, consistent mental health care without crazy-making bureaucratic nonsense. He’s also in a unique position to circumvent the cultural stigma. He may have heard some variety of “black men don’t go to therapy, they go to the barbershop,” but his healing (in theory, at least) is literally court-ordered. His friends, family, community, fans, stans and future romantic partners already know about his anger management and mental health needs.
Unfortunately, Brown is a celebrity. And he seems to believe that celebrity will disappear the trauma he suffered as a child and the blackout-level violence he committed himself.
Brown has said he uses the arts to escape. But singing those runs, dancing the hell out of a Michael Jackson tribute then breaking down on the 2010 BET Awards, dyeing his kinky hair blond, making Spring Break-ready techno pop hits, tweeting about Jesus, and using urban radio and TV to say “Dueces” to his ex won’t change the fact that he pummeled Rihanna so severely. Because his victim happened to be more famous than him, he couldn’t count on the silence that kills so many women of color.
During yesterday’s hostile interview with a clearly sympathetic Robin Roberts, Brown kept insisting that he had come to “Good Morning America” to discuss his album, “F.A.M.E.,” which alternately stands for “Forgiving All My Enemies” and “Fans Are My Everything.” (After that interview, he allegedly tossed a chair through his dressing room window and ripped off his shirt in disgust.) I’m not clear how Brown could give his album–which hit Number One on iTunes when it dropped yesterday–such provocative subtext then place a gag order on journalists whom he’s using to sell his work.
Besides, when Brown gets his way, which I believe he did in this recent MTV interview, here’s what he gives:
“Being able to collab with [Justin Bieber] was great. He’s a young, energetic cat, so being able to work with him, with the fanbase he has, was incredible. I know a lot of little girls are going to love this record.
…I actually stood [Bieber] up on accident. He was kind of mad … I was all the way on the other side of town handling some business, ‘girl business,’ and I was rushing back, and by that time, he’s like, ‘Man, I’m leaving, bro.”
For me, two things pop out of this blather:
I know a lot of little girls are going to love this record.
I was all the way on the other side of town handling some business, ‘girl business.’
I’m not Chris Brown’s target audience; I’m a grown woman. I’m not enough of a fan to be his everything, and I don’t detest him enough to be one of his so-called enemies. I’m just an observer who believes he should be a better example for the little girls who scream for him and protect the girls with whom he’s ‘doing his business.’ Without some serious mental health work, I don’t think he’ll succeed. And really, I’m afraid of what he will do to himself and to the next woman who gently reminds him that he can’t escape the inescapable.
Why Discussing Black Male Feminism is Necessary
010 months ago
In light of the recent 11-year-old Latina who was reportedly gang raped by 18 black men in Cleveland and news of Chris Brown’s continuing meltdowns, Texas, a few black male writers have stepped up to the plate to explicitly discuss their journey toward becoming feminists.
Byron Hurt of The Root wrote last last week on “Why I am a Male Feminist,” which prompted G.D. of PostBourgie to also write candidly about the topic two days later.
Hurt admitted that observing the way his father would invoke fear in his mother during arguments by virtue of his greater size influenced his own relationships with women. He fell into feminism accidentally; Hurt interviewed for a position with the Mentors in Violence Prevention Project, not knowing that it was designed to use the status of athletes to make gender violence socially unacceptable.
After hearing how women protected themselves from sexual assault and rape, his conception of feminism radically changed:
Like most guys, I had bought into the stereotype that all feminists were white, lesbian, unattractive male bashers who hated all men… Not only does feminism give woman a voice, but it also clears the way for men to free themselves from the stranglehold of traditional masculinity. When we hurt the women in our lives, we hurt ourselves, and we hurt our community, too.
While Hurt’s father’s presence was inescapable, G.D. wrote, “mine was imperceptible.” He had an absent father figure and was raised by “black women who were fantastically smarter and more competent than I was.”
G.D. internalized how his mother always cautioned his twin sister to be responsible while in public, in a way he didn’t have to. Also, during a college summer, one of his female friends woke up in an empty dorm room in a bare bed and had to file a police report and get a rape kit, which was another situation he couldn’t fathom living through. At the least, however, he admits to his own ignorance:
I am routinely very, very dumb about this shit as a heterosexual dude — with all the tunnel vision and privilege that attends that location. The relationship those realities have to my blackness is a muddled one; sometimes they’re independent, sometimes they act in concert. But if growing up black and poor and male provided an unlikely bridge to anti-sexist thinking, so has feminism complicated the way I think about blackness and class.
Hurt and G.D’s corresponding and intensely personal blogs flourish the emerging discussions of black male sexuality and identity, both the ways that their assignments can help and hinder the feminist fight against rape and sexual assault.
Akiba Solomon’s recent column on how black men can fight rape illuminates the power of stereotypes in belittling and even excusing rape cases. A way that stereotypes work is their inconsistency with each other. Akiba noted Dr. R. L’Heureuz Lewis‘s words:
If you say, ‘All black men are criminals,’ we’ll fight you on that. But if you say, ‘All black men have big penises,’ well we’re like, ‘Heh, heh…OK.’ Of course that’s not grossly different from how white American men think, but they have financial, educational, political and social capital that we don’t.
From this perspective, it’s the very lack of capital that impels black men to seek power in their relationships over women. The raw honesty of Hurt and G.D.’s blogs, however, transgress stereotypes. Black men are not all criminals and rapists, and as these writers have asserted, they shouldn’t be afraid to talk about feminism because it helps the African-American community as a whole.
This piece has been updated since publication.
Report: Chris Brown Breaks ABC Studio Windows After Rihanna Questions
010 months ago
TMZ is reporting Chris Brown had a violent outburst and threw a chair through a second story window at ABC’s studios in New York today after a Good Morning America host asked him about his domestic abuse history.
Robin Roberts, who’s interviewed Brown on the subject before and even traveled to his private home, asked him if he’s seen Rihanna since his restraining order was relaxed. “Not really and that’s not really a big deal to me now as far as that situation. I think I’m past that in my life. Today is the album day and I’m here to talk about the album,” a visibly annoyed Brown responded.
Brown was a guest to promote his new album “F.A.M.E.”, which stands for “Forgiving All My Enemies.” But apparently not everything is forgiven and those anger management classes may not have done much.
According to TMZ, Brown stormed into his dressing room after the interview and was screaming “so loud, the people in hair and makeup became alarmed and called security.”
One source said Brown threw a chair through a window in his dressing room, shattered the glass and shards fell onto 43rd and Broadway.
“We’re told by the time security rushed the area, Brown had ripped off his shirt and left the building, blowing off another performance he was supposed to do for the ABC website,” TMZ reported.
But this may all be a publicity stunt because according to Roberts, both she other GMA staff members spoke with Brown before the interview to approve questions about the Rihanna incident. According to TMZ, Roberts “insisted” Brown approved the questions.
Brown was convicted of assaulting Rihanna in 2009 and sentenced to five years probation, 180 days of community labor and ordered not to contact Rihanna. Along with community service, Brown also sought therapy and anger management classes. In a January 2010 interview, Brown told Wendy Williams that he was now in “the best place in my life.” But as he’s begun promoting his album, his history of battery has continued to come up.
According to TMZ, Brown tweeted after the incident that he’s eager to move on from that past: “I’m so over people bringing this past s**t up!!! Yet we praise Charlie sheen and other celebs for there bulls**t.” (But that’s a completely different story.)
The more important question is whether Brown has been able to break the cycle of violence to which spousal abuse counselors often point. Before assaulting Rihanna, Brown told TV host Tyra Banks that as a child he witnessed and heard his own mother being beaten and sexually assaulted by her then-boyfriend. More than one in five women report having been the victims of domestic violence, according to a Justice Department study. Young black women, one of Brown’s key marketing targets, report particularly high rates of intimate partner abuse, research shows.
Chris Brown Says He’s Been Forgiven
011 months ago
R&B pop singer Chris Brown says his audience and fellow artists have moved on and that he’s been forgiven for assaulting ex-girlfriend Robyn Rihanna Fenty, better known as Rihanna.
In an interview with Page Six, Brown cites other artists interests in working with him as a sign of progress and forgiveness.
“They wanna get on the record. They wanna let me back in the door. The last two years, everybody dissed me, but my fans were so dedicated,” Brown told Page Six.
“A handful of people stuck by me,” Brown said, including fellow artists Pitbull and Pharrell Williams of N.E.R.D.
It’s been three years since Brown was booked on felony criminal charges after assaulting Rihanna. He was convicted of assault back in
2009 and sentenced to five years probation, 180 days of community
labor and ordered not to contact Rihanna. Along with community service Brown also sought therapy and anger management classes. In a January 2010 interview Brown told Wendy Williams that he was now in “the best place in my life.”
The saga still continues though.
On February 22, 2011, a Los Angeles judge replaced Rihanna’s restraining order with a level one order — allowing Brown to contact Rihanna as long as he does not “harass, annoy, or molest her.” Days later when MediaTakeOut.com released more LAPD images of Rihanna and Brown the night of the incident Brown took to twitter:
“The Devil is always busy!! But when u have a destiny, nothing or no one can stop what god has planned!”
It’s not clear who he was referring to in the tweet that has now been removed, but what is clear is that all these updates (including nude pictures of Brown) are showing up at what seems like an opportune time. The singer’s fourth album ‘F.A.M.E.’ — which stands for “Forgiving All My Enemies” — will be released March 22nd.
In the end, it’s less about whether your fans and fellow artists have forgiven you, and more about whether you’ve broken the cycle of domestic violence. Before assaulting Rihanna, Brown told TV host Tyra Banks that as a child he witnessed and heard his own mother be beaten and sexually assaulted her then-boyfriend. Watch a clip from that show below.
Readers Debate Chris Brown’s BET Comeback
01 year ago
If singer Chris Brown had beat up Black Entertainment Television (BET) president Debra Lee’s daughter, would she let him on her awards show?
That was just one of the questions readers posed on a ColorLines story published earlier this week. In “Chris Brown’s Fake Tears? He Had No Business on BET Either Way”, I asked readers if Chris Brown had done enough in publicly confronting his woman-batterer past to merit a spotlight on BET’s primetime awards show–the number one rated awards show among Black viewers in the U.S.
A lively conversation erupted on both ColorLines and the ColorLines Facebook page. A number of commenters felt Brown has been unfairly singled out, saying things like: “Please! give the guy a break…it’s obvious he’s hurting.” Others asked their own questions: “I have a question to pose to everyone who felt Chris Brown should not have been able to perform and doesn’t deserve forgiveness, what do you suggest as an alternate?”
First, here’s the back story: After declining Brown’s request to perform last year, BET invited Brown to perform a medley of songs as a tribute to his idol Michael Jackson. He began his six minute performance moving his body in ways that only someone who’s obsessively rehearsed Michael Jackson’s choreography could. Brown mastered and performed each routine meticulously. But by the end of his performance, when “Man in the Mirror” began to play, Brown became emotional and ended up on his knees, crying.
Here’s how, one reader reacted:
Crying to Man in the Mirror isn’t a sign of meaningfully making up for his heinous act of violence… Numerous survivors out there relive their experiences when these men are given platforms to imply that their pain is greater than the brutality they inflict on the bodies of women they claim to love. The bottom line is, we need to make a decision about what kind of world we want to live in: one where violent crimes against women are treated seriously or simply given a year grace period.
Earlier this year, six months after he was sentenced to “labor-oriented community service” for assaulting his girlfriend, Rihanna, Brown received a glowing probation report. At the time, he had completed 17 out of 52 court-mandated domestic violence counseling groups sessions, paid his fines and was performing community service. He’s also apologized to his fans. So is it time to forgive him?
That’s actually the wrong question. The question is not how BET (or the rest of us) should or shouldn’t engage Brown in his personal drama. Rather, the question is, What responsibility does BET have to the Black community and Black women?
More than one commenter pointed out a range of troubling ways in which other artists demean Black women on BET every day and to the many other public figures who have histories of abusing women. All of this is what makes Brown’s appearance so troubling. Against that backdrop, and the backdrop of remarkably high rates of domestic violence among Black women, BET made a particularly loud statement by aiding Brown’s image makeover.
Brown isn’t just any pop star. He was a role model for young boys and a heartthrob to young girls learning about love and relationships through billboard topping songs like “Kiss Kiss” and television appearances on the Disney Channel’s “The Suite Life of Zack and Cody.”
“Kids look up to him. He could of gone out to speak to the youth. Gone in to schools and Boys and Girls clubs and bared his heart out,” says Tanya McLeod, a domestic violence survivor and organizer at the Voices of Women Organizing Project.
That sort of act could go a long way. According to the Women Of Color’s Network, Black women are less likely to report abusers or seek help because of discrimination and Black men’s vulnerability to police brutality and negative stereotyping. As a public figure, Brown had a unique opportunity to put a face to treatment, recovery and what it means to heal from domestic violence. Instead, we’ve now moved on to his personal story of forgiveness–and makeover. “People aren’t talking about his actions, but his performance–and it waters down his actions,” said McLeod.
Who knows where Brown truly is in his personal journey. But it’s clear Black and Latino communities as a whole have a long way to go. BET isn’t helping. Visit Voices of Women Organizing Project – Surviviors of Domestic Violence Organizing For Change to learn how you can.
(Photo by Jason Kempin/ Getty Images)