By Terri Bulan, Staff Writer, Emerson College
“Oh, no, sweetie. No, no,” Was the first thing that I thought when I heard that Rihanna was back with Chris Brown. I could not believe that she went back to him, even though it was four years since Brown paid the legal consequences for his actions. I remember seeing the photographs of Rihanna after being beat up by Brown. He beat the shit out of her. I vividly remember the cuts on her face and her back eye that was so swollen, she could not open it. I was ecstatic that she went to the police and pressed charges against her boyfriend for what he did. Behavior like that is completely unacceptable.
I thought she was going to be an example for battered women that do not take abuse at all. I thought she was going to press charges and never, ever reconcile with her abuser again. I was so disappointed that she did not set the good example that I wanted her to—that her fans needed her to.
What she did by bringing Brown back into her life was make domestic abuse seem acceptable, as long as he goes to court. Brown did plead guilty to assaulting his girlfriend, did community service, and is still on probation. He paid his dues to the law, but did he necessarily right his wrongs with Rihanna? Regardless of what he may have done to show how sorry he was to the victim, he does not deserve to be back in her life.
Brown was supposed to be in a loving, romantic relationship with Rihanna. If he loved her, he would never have hit her. End of story. It does not matter if he loves her now. If he loved her from the get go, he would have never hit her. If you say you love someone, you do not hurt them. If Brown is as loving as Rihanna claims, then she would have never been to the cops with a bloodied, bruised face. Love does not hit. Love does not bruise. Love does not disfigure.
Rihanna claims that her beau knows that he has no room for mistakes this time around. She says that if he does it again, she’ll walk away. He should have known not to beat the shit out of her in the first place. He should have cherished her and known not to mess up as he did. I hope she walks away from him before she has to call the cops again. If he hit her before, he will do it again. Statistics prove that domestic abusers repeat their behavior. If he hit her once, he’s going to do it again. He is already displaying belligerent behavior with his current feud with fellow musician Frank Ocean. This is just a predecessor to more violent behavior.
I do have to say, I admire the pop star for following her heart. It takes courage to be open about who you love. I would be more impressed if she never took Chris Brown back. If she ended her relationship with him for good, I would have been an admirer of her even though I don’t listen to her music. I am disappointed in her as a woman for taking him back. Women have come so far in the last hundred years, and I feel that when a public figure like Rihanna’s acts this way, it puts us back a few decades. Her decision to go back to her abuser makes us women as a whole look weak.
Terri Bulan is a Writing for Film and Television major (WTF for short) and a Psychology minor. She enjoys long walks on the beach (seriously), puppies, Nutella, & horror movies. Her writing inspiration comes from her intrinsic need to entertain people and thus tricking them into liking her and being her friends.
“Oh, no, sweetie. No, no,” Was the first thing that I thought when I heard that Rihanna was back with Chris Brown. I could not believe that she went back to him, even though it was four years since Brown paid the legal consequences for his actions. I remember seeing the photographs of Rihanna after being beat up by Brown. He beat the shit out of her. I vividly remember the cuts on her face and her back eye that was so swollen, she could not open it. I was ecstatic that she went to the police and pressed charges against her boyfriend for what he did. Behavior like that is completely unacceptable.
I thought she was going to be an example for battered women that do not take abuse at all. I thought she was going to press charges and never, ever reconcile with her abuser again. I was so disappointed that she did not set the good example that I wanted her to—that her fans needed her to.
What she did by bringing Brown back into her life was make domestic abuse seem acceptable, as long as he goes to court. Brown did plead guilty to assaulting his girlfriend, did community service, and is still on probation. He paid his dues to the law, but did he necessarily right his wrongs with Rihanna? Regardless of what he may have done to show how sorry he was to the victim, he does not deserve to be back in her life.
Brown was supposed to be in a loving, romantic relationship with Rihanna. If he loved her, he would never have hit her. End of story. It does not matter if he loves her now. If he loved her from the get go, he would have never hit her. If you say you love someone, you do not hurt them. If Brown is as loving as Rihanna claims, then she would have never been to the cops with a bloodied, bruised face. Love does not hit. Love does not bruise. Love does not disfigure.
Rihanna claims that her beau knows that he has no room for mistakes this time around. She says that if he does it again, she’ll walk away. He should have known not to beat the shit out of her in the first place. He should have cherished her and known not to mess up as he did. I hope she walks away from him before she has to call the cops again. If he hit her before, he will do it again. Statistics prove that domestic abusers repeat their behavior. If he hit her once, he’s going to do it again. He is already displaying belligerent behavior with his current feud with fellow musician Frank Ocean. This is just a predecessor to more violent behavior.
I do have to say, I admire the pop star for following her heart. It takes courage to be open about who you love. I would be more impressed if she never took Chris Brown back. If she ended her relationship with him for good, I would have been an admirer of her even though I don’t listen to her music. I am disappointed in her as a woman for taking him back. Women have come so far in the last hundred years, and I feel that when a public figure like Rihanna’s acts this way, it puts us back a few decades. Her decision to go back to her abuser makes us women as a whole look weak.
Terri Bulan is a Writing for Film and Television major (WTF for short) and a Psychology minor. She enjoys long walks on the beach (seriously), puppies, Nutella, & horror movies. Her writing inspiration comes from her intrinsic need to entertain people and thus tricking them into liking her and being her friends.