Chris Brown and Mob Psychology

As I drove into work this morning, I listened to the local pop radio station morning show. I'm not proud that I spend even the 13 minute drive to work wasting my time on this dribble, but they were discussing something I view as part of the big picture in our culture. By now, I would guess that most people have at least heard about the incident regarding singer Chris Brown and his singer-girlfriend Rihanna. Chris Brown has been charged with allegations of domestic abuse against a nameless female. Rihanna's officially pubically silent about the incident. Many are speculating at this point that Chris Brown physically assaulted Rihanna, making it impossible for the couple to attend and make their performance at the Grammy's, leading to a world-class scandal.

The thing that struck me this morning, was that this is being treated like a debatable issue. It seems to me there should be one response alone to this. First of all, since Chris Brown is a public figure and many of the details are hidden. Neither Chris Brown nor Rihanna have disclosed any sort of information regarding the type of domestic abuse, the events that transpired, and even whether Rihanna was the subject of abuse. So until there is concrete evidence, there's no reason to condemn the man. However, Brown has been quoted as saying, "Words cannot begin to express how sorry and saddened I am over what transpired." Also that, "Much of what has been speculated or reported on blogs and/or reported in the media is wrong," which I do not doubt; whether that pardons or condemns him, I do not know. The only response to have about this is that if he abused another human, whether it was Rihanna or another woman, we should be outraged, just as we should be for anyone else who would choose to hurt another human being in this twisted and abusive manner.

Still, there is something more deeply troubling to me about this issue. Our culture is so afraid talking about or debating something truly debatable. I mean, this Chris Brown debate the radio station was having this morning, talking about if he was getting "star treatment" or not in regards to being convicted of a crime and so forth, is not really talking about anything. The people getting heated about it are either overly sensitive V-Day-warrior types who want to call rape at the idea of a man looking at them, or the tween girls having dreams about marrying Chris Brown and therefore believing he could do no wrong.

Why can we not as a society speak about issues that are really important to us and the future of our families and our world? I sense that there is a pervading atmosphere of fear, as if American Culture is a powder keg waiting to bust. Let's not step on each other's toes, now. That would be confrontational. It always surprises me how many people I meet who are willing to admit they will do just about anything in a situation to avoid confrontation. However, I believe there is a world of difference in allowing others to knock your point of view in the name of "non-confrontation" and being a martyr for what you believe. A person of character should be prepared to do the latter.

I agree that entertainment is fun, just as much as the next person. I like following stars' career to a point, music, movies, media. I have had plenty of my own dreams of someday making a career in the music industry someday as a pop singer or whatever. But truly, is this what we have resorted to? Pretending like celebrities lives are worth debating and taking our precious moments outside of work and family to ponder it?

We, as a culture, need a complete reality check if this is at the top of our debatable topics list. Can we please just have a discussion about something that matters? Intelligently? No cowards or lack of evidence allowed.

Thank you.