Domestic Violence Issues

I was able to see a special on MTV this past weekend on Chris Brown, it went into great detail about his childhood, as well as his career as an artist. Chris was born in Tappahannock, Virginia it was here where his mother and stepfather would raise him, however with many serious issues along the way. Growing up Chris was in a setting of constant domestic abuse, where his step father would physically beat his mother. Chris stated in an earlier interview back in 2006 that he disrespected anyone who showed any signs of this abuse both physically and verbally, saying even people using the “b-word” would be out of my life. Unforunately for Chris we all now know what would be lurking in the future for him, that being his own problem with domestic abuse involving Rihanna. Here Chris got into an argument the night of the Grammy’s and ended up punching her in the face several times. According to Sheryl Cates CEO of the domestic violence hotline, she states that there is a very easy explanation for Chris’ behavior, that since he was accustomed to seeing it happen in such a common occurrence when he was a child it became engraved into his mind. He may be outspoken about domestic violence, however if he is elevated to that level of anger he will quickly use that idea as a reaction because he has seen it so much over his life. Eventually Chris pleaded guilty to felony domestic abuse, and was sentenced to 5 years probation and many hours of community service. The show goes into the life of Chris Brown after the incident, noting that it wasn’t until he was performing Man in the Mirror a tribute for his close friend who passed away, Michael Jackson that everything came to a forefront. After getting through the first few series of lyrics Chris broke down and started crying on one of the biggest stages of the year, showing a great first step in knowing you did something wrong. According to Cates the next step is getting help, because if you don’t it will always be there with you. Personally I feel no sorrow for Chris, I think he is a talented musician, but for me treating women wrongly is a very sensitive spot in my heart. I just have always been taught the proper ways to treat a lady and to see him be pretty much a hypocrite about an issue he said scarred his life, is just plain and simply pathetic. I hope he is able to openly speak to people about his life and this incident and say that it is alright to get help before you act in a similar manner. It will definitely be interesting to see how Chris Brown’s career transcends after all these significant events in his life.

http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1604730/chris-browns-family-has-history-domestic-abuse.jhtml