Monday, June 28, 2010
Chris Brown's Tribute to MJ
Last night on the BET 2010 awards the world was blessed with what was without a doubt one of the, if not the best, Michael Jackson tribute performances. Who else could have gone out on that stage and leave everything they had on that stage, but Chris Brown. Personally, I was touched with his performance. Man In the Mirror is on of my favorite songs of all time and I could feel Chris' pain when he was singing, or attempting to, before breaking down. For anyone that has appreciated MJ's music, you know the message that song is sending and how it directly relates to Chris Brown and his life after the Rhianna incident. If you weren't able to see the performance... (Look for it on YouTube. The videos I had were taken down.)
Again, I thought that this tribute was long overdue. Regardless of what people felt or feel about Chris Brown, there is no doubt in my mind that he should have been the one doing this tribute last year. Great job Chris. You gave every MJ fan what Michael himself always gave, a great show.
Now, the reason I wanted to write about this event isn't just to express my thoughts on the performance, but to give my thoughts on the Chris and Rhianna situation. After the performance, I saw a lot of people on my feeds writing things such as, 'he still beat her...' The reason I was turned off by those type of comments is that nobody but Chris and Rhianna know exactly what happened and what led up to there situation. Now I am not saying that either one of them were right nor wrong. Nor do I advocate violence, of any kind. Nor will I try to justify the actions of either party.
What I am here to do is to challenge the way people think. Challenge the reason that we as humans, jump out of our seats if a man puts his hands on a woman, but rarely do I see the same reaction when a woman puts her hands on a man. Why is it that as a society, for hundreds of years, we have chosen to put man above woman and believe that men are more powerful. Now I understand the scientific evidence that naturally, men are, one average, bigger and stronger, but what does that have to do with domestic violence. By getting upset at a man for hitting a woman, simply because he is a man, is stating that the woman is not capable of defending herself, simply because she is a woman. I know that may sound a bit confusing and I may not be making myself clear enough, but what I am getting at is this...
If women were seen as the 'stronger' gender in society, would we be scrutinizing males who act violently towards women? I rarely hear any comments about Rhianna physically hitting Chris Brown. Or women being physical towards men in general. To me it is fascinating that women are portrayed to be weak individuals and people seem to be fine with that image.
Again, I am not advocating violence of any kind, I am simply questioning why a society completely rejected a young man who undoubtedly made a mistake? I did not see Rhianna being scrutinized by the media or by the public for her role in the situation. I wonder, if Chris Brown would have had a black eye and Rhianna nothing, would society have treated her the way they did Chris?
I know we will never know the answer to this question, but i my opinion, I don't think she would have gone through what he did.
This is just one of the many issues in this world in which double standards are often employed and while it often benefits one side, we seem to forget that there are always 2 sides. In this incident, Chris Brown was rejected and considered to be a villain, while Rhianna was embraced by both the public and the media.
Lastly I would like to encourage people to not be blinded by the media and social constructs and really take a look at the entire picture. I have seen many instances in which women have been the violent ones towards men, but those cases are often overlooked. Violence happens everywhere, between all kinds of people. We must not neglect another human being because of their actions, instead we must accept them and try to understand them.
Feel free to comment below. Again, this is a conversation. A place for people to come together and discuss an issue that is larger than any of us.
Thanks for tuning in...
Jose
Jose
Labels: Chris Brown BET awards 2010, Conversation, Domestic Violence, Education, Rhianna, Violence
1 Comments:
Anonymous said...
I totally agree with your take on this. I have seen an incident where a sickly old husband was once beaten and kicked by his wife ( she had a psychological problem) but people automatically assumed that he was the one who had done something to receive her ire, which in retrospect was a complete misunderstanding on her behalf. In the end, people condemned him just because he was a man and her actions went unnoticed. You have great insight on the plight of our world :)
Welcome! This Blog is just a way for me to share my light. I just wanted to create a space where I can share my thoughts on everything; from music and art, to life and what it exactly means. I hope to share these things through various methods, whether it be something I just come across or a poem that I wrote... I look forward to sharing this journey with you all! Thanks for tuning in... Jose