Chris Brown And The Politics Of Memory
Last week, we here on the Black Youth Project blog celebrated the life and legacy of musical genius and pioneer, Michael Joseph Jackson. Even when the public questioned his sexuality, sanity, and Blackness they never questioned his talent. A pet monkey, child abuse allegations, and an indescribable skin disorder didn’t stop the “Billie Jeans“ and “Dirty Dianas“ from chasing this “Bad” entertainer. Whether he was “Black or White” he was always a “Thriller”. The soft-spoken Jackson was vociferous any time he touched the stage and screamed his poignant messages of healing and self-reflection. Last Sunday at the BET Awards Chris Brown gave an “Off The Wall” tribute to the gloved one. As I watched Brown emulate Jackson’s dance moves to a tee I sat in awe. Brown, who usually puts on a good show, really outdid himself in this one. But did Brown moon walk, sing, and cry his way back into our good graces? Being the cynic that I am, I am inclined to agree with Summer and say that the tears were a little contrived. Although many “teeny boppers” were still unwaveringly loyal to the “Run It” man he has still had an uphill PR battle over the past year.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_-Y__rh9Ok&feature=related
What ever the case may be, Chris Breezy did his thing. Even my cynicism can’t knock that. However, what bothered me the most about the performance wasn’t even the performance itself, but rather the reactions to it. Chris Brown and Trey Songz’ mother set the internet on fire. Everybody on Twitter, Facebook, and in the blogosphere had something to say. No really they did. On Sunday night Trey Songz mother was the number #1 trending topic on Google. Almost all of the Twitter trending topics that night had something to do with Brown too. I saw comments that ranged from “are you guys buying that cris brown breaking down at the bet awards crap?” to “was Chris Brown Redeemed At The BET Awards?” When did crying atone for domestic abuse? I don’t believe in harping on things in the past, but I was upset by the direction of the conversations online. I understand that Brown gave a heartfelt performance, but does that vindicate him? Even CNN ran a story entitled is “America ready to Forgive Chris Brown?” As a Christian I am fully aware that only “he who without sin cast the first stone”, so I’m definitely not here to judge. But why does dancing and singing well make someone cool again? If O.J. Simpson was still in the N.F.L. during the murder trial and rushed for 2,000 yards the next year would we forgive him? If you want to forgive Chris Brown, forgive him because you believe he deserves a second chance, not because he can moonwalk and grab his crotch just like M.J.
Allowing a performance by a person who plead guilty to assault last year to determine whether you forgive him or not trivializes domestic abuse. Between 600,000 and 6 million women are victims of domestic abuse each year. This continues to be a problem in our community that is swept under the rug. Should you allow a man to beat you if he sings and dances for you afterwards to make it better? Don’t get me wrong, I believe we all fall short, yet I think the public should reassess why they are forgiving Chris Brown. If you believe that he has paid his debt then that is fine. However, if you think that because he can “Run It” real well we should forget what happened you should just “Beat It”.
I would hope that people are not forgiving Chris because he can moonwalk good. With most interviews Chris Brown has done, I think his breakdown was mixed with a little bit of acting, but I do believe he is sincere in his remorse. He was/is young. I think he took some mean shots from the media and from older entertainers who should have took him under their wing instead of demonizing him. I often wonder, if Rhianna had been some regular black chic from around the way, if the media would have reacted the same way. Being a star is a double edged sword. Too bad for Chris, he had to learn the hard way.
I would hope that people are not forgiving Chris because he can moonwalk good. With most interviews Chris Brown has done, I think his breakdown was mixed with a little bit of acting, but I do believe he is sincere in his remorse. He was/is young. I think he took some mean shots from the media and from older entertainers who should have took him under their wing instead of demonizing him. I often wonder, if Rhianna had been some regular black chic from around the way, if the media would have reacted the same way. Being a star is a double edged sword. Too bad for Chris, he had to learn the hard way.
“Let us forgive each other – only then will we live in peace” I think Chris Brown deserves to be forgiven and deserves to have the chance to move on in life without everyone judging him forever on a mistake that he made. No one is perfect. I’m not saying that domestic abuse is okay because never is it okay but God forgives the sins of people so who are we not to? Dancing and singing doesn’t make him “cool” again and if people decide to forgive Chris Brown (which they should) it shouldn’t be because they think he is “cool” but because they believe that he is sincerely sorry. To be completely honest this isn’t even our battle to fight. All we can do as being a part of America is help our brothers and sisters. People should stop putting Chris Brown down because of his bad decisions and mistakes and help him. We need to help one another not hurt one another.
“Let us forgive each other – only then will we live in peace” I think Chris Brown deserves to be forgiven and deserves to have the chance to move on in life without everyone judging him forever on a mistake that he made. No one is perfect. I’m not saying that domestic abuse is okay because never is it okay but God forgives the sins of people so who are we not to? Dancing and singing doesn’t make him “cool” again and if people decide to forgive Chris Brown (which they should) it shouldn’t be because they think he is “cool” but because they believe that he is sincerely sorry. To be completely honest this isn’t even our battle to fight. All we can do as being a part of America is help our brothers and sisters. People should stop putting Chris Brown down because of his bad decisions and mistakes and help him. We need to help one another not hurt one another.
America has a soft spot for talent. We could ignore anecdotal evidence like the response to Kobe during his trial after he started playing well or the fact that Mike Jordan spread his seed like a crop duster while in the NBA. The truth is that people are looking for an excuse to let Chris Brown back into our collective consciousness because he is talented. The real question should be if consumers wish to continue to support someone who, truth be told, benefited from his fame and got off easy for assaulting a woman. So chris brown benefited from his stardom in the court of law but suffered from rihanna’s stardom, to respond to a comment above. I feel that these abstractions about God’s forgiving nature are irrelevant; I am a consumer and I can decide who my money supports without being forced to forgive someone. If Mr. Breezy was not famous, he could have caught a felony, losing many of his rights to participate in civic life. What would all of this Christian forgiveness have gotten him then?
America has a soft spot for talent. We could ignore anecdotal evidence like the response to Kobe during his trial after he started playing well or the fact that Mike Jordan spread his seed like a crop duster while in the NBA. The truth is that people are looking for an excuse to let Chris Brown back into our collective consciousness because he is talented. The real question should be if consumers wish to continue to support someone who, truth be told, benefited from his fame and got off easy for assaulting a woman. So chris brown benefited from his stardom in the court of law but suffered from rihanna’s stardom, to respond to a comment above. I feel that these abstractions about God’s forgiving nature are irrelevant; I am a consumer and I can decide who my money supports without being forced to forgive someone. If Mr. Breezy was not famous, he could have caught a felony, losing many of his rights to participate in civic life. What would all of this Christian forgiveness have gotten him then?
To the comment above:
Yes I agree that you most definitely can decide who your money goes to and who you support. If you want to continue to not forgive Chris Brown for what he did last year than don’t. Chris Brown is only human and he just like you and every other person will make mistakes, it happens. His mistake just happened to of been very extravagant and major due to the fact that it was domestic violence, I get that. But at some point in time everyone will have had to ask for forgiveness and I’m sure they will want to be forgiven, just like Chris Brown at this moment. It really has nothing to do with being Christian, it’s the right thing to do. “When we judge or criticize another person, it says nothing about that person; it merely says something about our own need to be critical.” And you can take that however you want to.
To the comment above:
Yes I agree that you most definitely can decide who your money goes to and who you support. If you want to continue to not forgive Chris Brown for what he did last year than don’t. Chris Brown is only human and he just like you and every other person will make mistakes, it happens. His mistake just happened to of been very extravagant and major due to the fact that it was domestic violence, I get that. But at some point in time everyone will have had to ask for forgiveness and I’m sure they will want to be forgiven, just like Chris Brown at this moment. It really has nothing to do with being Christian, it’s the right thing to do. “When we judge or criticize another person, it says nothing about that person; it merely says something about our own need to be critical.” And you can take that however you want to.
i didnt mean to put extravagant!!! oops
i didnt mean to put extravagant!!! oops
Cool website, thanks for sharing the info!!
Cool website, thanks for sharing the info!!
Well I can see by the volume of comments that people are fairly upset. Running a blog is difficult because people don’t always agree, but that’s what makes it so much fun.
Well I can see by the volume of comments that people are fairly upset. Running a blog is difficult because people don’t always agree, but that’s what makes it so much fun.