Tracy Clark-Flory on Chris Brown's Larry King appearance

This was such a great article about Chris Brown's upcoming Larry King appearance, that I had to share it in full (links in the article are all in the original posting):

Half a year after brutalizing his then-girlfriend -- by hitting, choking, biting and threatening to kill her -- Chris Brown is still following the script of domestic abusers everywhere. He loves her, he really does, it was totally unlike him and he promises to never ever do it again. That's the tune the R&B crooner sings in a clip from his pre-taped interview for "Larry King Live," which airs in full this Wednesday at 9 p.m.

The 30-second teaser, which you will find below, doesn't reveal the full extent of Brown's feelings about the attack, but what we are shown can be summed up like so: "It's just like, wow." Softballer Larry King asks: "When you hear about all the things the police reports say you did, what do you think of that?" Brown, clad in a boyish baby blue sweater and bow tie, looking ready for his first day of kindergarten, replies: "I just look at it like, wow. I'm in shock, because first of all that's not who I am as a person and that’s not who I promise I want to be. When I look at the police reports or hear about the police reports, I don't know what to think. I just don't know what to think. It's just, like, wow." On an identical note, CNN reports that in a clip not yet released Brown addresses the widely circulated image of a bruised and battered Rihanna: “When I look at it now, it’s just like, wow, like, I can’t -- I can’t believe that -- that actually happened.” He also says he doesn't remember "doing it," as King so indirectly puts it.

As with his scripted apology, Brown dances around what he did. It's this unspecified thing he can't remember doing -- despite having confessed to it. This all serves to distance him from the image of Rihanna's battered face, which has been burned into our collective pop consciousness. Not only does he not remember unleashing such rage upon his ex-girlfriend, but he can't even believe he did that, you know, thing that he did. The message is that he's a nice boy, a good boy and not an abuser. Never mind that abusers are so often nice boys, good boys -- when they aren't abusing. Let's not forget that he was involved in two prior domestic violence incidents with Rihanna.

CNN also reports that in as-yet-unseen footage, he announces that he still loves Rihanna. The declaration of love, the shock at being overtaken by such uncharacteristic rage and the promise to never do it again -- it's straight out of a domestic violence PSA. The only difference here is that he's telling this to us, the American public, the fans he's trying to win back, instead of his lover. I can only hope -- for his sake and that of his worshipful young fans -- that the full interview reveals Brown as being ready and willing to confront in uncensored detail what he did and begin to work at truly healing himself.

You can view the original posting of this article here.

Oh, and there's this, where he states he does remember the attack.

Is anyone else sick of his excuses?

He is trying to distance himself from this incident by talking about how he can't believe what happened, as if he had no control over the situation. It happened. He is thus removing the agency from this incident, accepting responsibility while simultaneously taking a step back.

Congratulations, Chris Brown--you're just like every other abuser; and you're still a douchebag. Your bow-tie notwithstanding.

H/T: Feministing

Oops, don't care

Chris Brown apparently still loves Rihanna, to which I reply with "So fucking what?"

Chris Brown says he doesn't remember savagely beating Rihanna and claims he still loves his former girlfriend.

In his first public interviews on the subject, the R&B singer told People magazine and CNN's Larry King that his feelings haven't changed for Rihanna since the February beating that left her bloody and bruised.

"I never fell out of love with her," Brown told People. "That just wouldn't go away."

Brown has just joined the ranks comprised of men who claim to love the women they've brutally beaten, as if that has any merit after the fact. Sorry, it doesn't. Too many women have been told this, only to be physically hurt again. A man has no reason ever to hit a woman. Brown's supposed love for Rihanna is inconsequential. This admission doesn't absolve him of his crime.

Oh, you don't remember beating her, and you love her you say? Well, I suppose you want a cookie or something?

I hope his fans aren't so quick to forgive--his youtube video and now this seem to be a sort of desperate scraping for sympathy. Apologizing and saying he still has feelings doesn't take away what he did.

In case we're all having a hard time remembering what Chris Brown is, I've included a visual aid:

File under "things that piss me off"

First, I want to apologize for the scant postings recently. My fiance had the weekend off, and trying to write anything of worth while he's in my face is...difficult (seriously--last night he made me watch "He's just not that into you." I spent the duration of the movie banging my head on the floor, screaming "ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME??" and trying to get the cat to play with me, just so I wouldn't have to watch that shit-fest--the only good thing about that movie was I got to stare at Jennifer Connelly here and there. Needless to say, I will not be writing my usual review, since I've deemed it not worth so much of my precious precious time).

Anyway, here are a few things I thought I'd share with my readership in place of an actual post.

First, Chris Brown apologizes, but...it's less than convincing:



While I'm all about men seeking help and guidance to correct their behavior so that they do not lay hand upon a woman again (though it shouldn't happen in the first place), I have mixed feelings about this apology. Now, I don't know Chris Brown, so I have no idea how sincere any of this is; but I am intimidated by him when he says "I told Rihanna..." Even without that, I still feel like this is lacking. He talks about how all of this has affected him; not once does he acknowledge that what he did to Rihanna was wrong, that she didn't deserve such treatment from him. He instead says that his "mother and spiritual teachers" have taught him better than that without really acknowledging why these people might have taught him not to hit a woman. He's interested in maintaining regaining his status as a role model without delving into what that means. He's just apologizing, but isn't doing his audience any favor by not going into the whys. I don't know; perhaps I'm expecting more from him. A 2-minute video just doesn't seem like enough.

H/T to PostBourgie

Trigger warning for this next one:

Yet another example of victim-blaming when a woman has the audacity to leave her husband. Thanks to CaitieCat for the link, who also offers this:

Next time someone says "Why didn't she just leave?", send them this link.

Seriously. I know I'm sick of some man telling me how stupid women are for staying in abusive relationships, absolving the man of any semblance of responsibility for his own actions. Not to mention that women are well-aware of these consequences of leaving a man in a patriarchal society that unthinkingly engages in victim-blaming, and clearly doesn't give a shit about our lives.

I'm done. I will get back on track this week, I promise.

Finally, some juxtaposition!

This is courtesy of Totally Looks Like. At last, we have some handy photos to point out the obvious.
Nail. Head.