Just Another Rihanna/Chris Brown Post In The Internet World

I have to admit I've been holding myself back from writing about the whole Chris Brown / Rihanna situation because I feel most blogs and newspapers are cashing in on this horrible situation and it's now a cliche to chime in. However, after seeing the picture of Rihanna's badly beaten face last night, I couldn't help myself.

The picture makes me angry to say the least. Angry that young men and women alike have responded with "we have to hear the full story" Here's all I needed to know, a young man hit a woman he was dating in the face several times to the point where she was badly bruised. Now that's all I need to know. I don't care if that girl was caught in a threesome with two crackheads, or if she pulled out a knife or kicked you twice in the shin...what this man did to this woman is WRONG! Now the problem is everyone is brainwashed by the media's portrayal of Chris Brown and the couple's celebrity status. These young superstars are PEOPLE before they are anything else and this only highlights a problem the is hardly ever spoken about in our society. Domestic violence is NOT ok and I hate to hear the whole "what did she do" question because it's as if we were saying "maybe she deserved it" Until we all take a no nonsense stance on these sort of situations, it will continue happening to girls all over the world and young men will continue to think it's ok.

Now that I have that off my chest, this brings me to my next point. When do we as women know something is wrong? I've never been in an abusive relationship so I don't know how I'd react. Don't abusive men show signs from the beginning or at least early on? How do we know when we need to get out of a situation? If you walk into a smoking building don't you assume there's a fire and walk out or do you stay there until you see the flames coming at you? How do we teach our daughters, nieces, sisters, cousins and friends to walk out of a situation if there are signs? I can't say I have answers to any of these questions, but these are conversations we should be having amongst our friends and family. Situations like this make me believe raising a daughter will be much more difficult than raising a son.

Then again, this is where it begins. Raising sons that will not only know when to walk away from a situation but will also stand up for a victim of domestic violence. In most of the blogs I've read, there are very few young men coming to Rihanna's defense. I think this bothers me more than the girls that are justifying the situation. Where are the men that will be the future role models? Maybe they aren't on the blogs, that's all. I don't think so...I have a feeling many men have the "wow that was wrong...moving on" mentality. Some even go as far as to say "damn if that was my daughter, I would kill that guy" But how many men out there are thinking "wow I need to teach my son that those things aren't ok so that he never does something like that" I mean in reality, this is where it all started, a young man who watched his mother get beaten. Either way, there are no excuses and this is a very complex subject that makes me feel angry yet helpless.

On that note, my only hope is that despite what Chris Brown fans might think of her, Rihanna will eventually speak out, take a stand against domestic violence and be a proud representative for young women everywhere. But she's still a very young girl in love and one can only dream.