Monday, February 9, 2009

On the Celebrity DV Incident

"So many of the things tied up with experiencing abuse -- fear, rage, shame, boundary and trust violations, entangling love with violence, never learning how to resolve conflicts -- get absorbed, especially for a young child, and can be hard to escape or even understand without help." says Psychologist Dr. Andrea Bonior.

Sad news and a media frenzy, the news you've probably heard: Hip Hop mogul Chris Brown, 19-years-old, violently erupted on Rihanna, 20-years-old outside of a pre-Grammy party. The fight caused both pop stars to be no shows for their awards and scheduled performances at the Grammy’s.

He releases a statement to Source Magazine as cited in the Washington Post, "I don't want to mention the person's name - it wasn't my real father - but somebody hurt my mom and me, I had to deal with that from seven all the way to 13. It affected me, especially (my behavior) towards women -- I treat them differently. I don't want to put a woman through the same thing that person put my mom through. I was scared and timid when I was little. I used to pee in my bed... I think it was me being nervous, and scared to get up (out of bed) and see what was going on. My mom used to try and hide it from me and my sister, but we knew. Anybody that's going through it, just try to deal with it, talk it out."

Chris was arrested for criminal threats, a felony charge, rather than domestic abuse. The victim had visible injuries, which made all the difference in the charges which were brought against him. A criminal threat conviction can award him up to nine years in prison. Domestic abuse holds a less bold four year sentence. Further investigation and the District Attorney lead to higher charges.

As indicated by TMZ, E! and other entertainment websites, contusions were seen on both sides of her face, a black eye with alarming swelling, bruises and bite marks were documented. Her lip was split open and she had a bloody nose. Bite marks on her arms and many of her fingers. News reports belt out notes from the numerous witnesses saying, they saw Rihanna taking numerous tough blows while inside the car with Chris Brown.

How with such disturbances flooding about was he able to rise to such success? Many couldn't believe when Chris Brown surpassed Usher on the charts. Now we see him as a troubled young man. -- Posted by Sarah K. Grundy

4 comments:

  1. Good piece in Salon today, criticizing media coverage of the incident.

    http://www.salon.com/mwt/broadsheet/feature/2009/02/10/chris_brown_rihanna/index.html

    ReplyDelete
  2. A terrific and up close look at the Rihanna story

    http://covergirlsthedocumentary.blogspot.com/2009/03/abuse-between-young-and-famous.html

    ReplyDelete
  3. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Howard University School of Social Work Dr. Tricia B. Bent-Goodley comments on the Rihanna story, http://www.baystatebanner.com/natl20-2009-04-02

    ReplyDelete