(ThyBlackMan.com) A few days ago, Chris Brown was released from jail looking happy (and hefty,) while also relishing his first steps of freedom as a now 25 year old man. 25 is the age of the quarter, where young men and women now embrace adulthood and begin to prepare themselves for their middle years; getting married, establishing a career, raising children and enjoying the status of grown man/ womanhood. For Chris Brown, though, he’s fighting for his dignity, respect and livelihood. He’s also fighting for his career, which has declined hastily in terms of sales, music quality and being an in-demand artist.
Many would attribute a career decline to those factors pre-mentioned, which is normal in music. But for Brown, his case is unlike any other; we as a society have damned him from most popular R&B star to scum of the music earth. All because of one night in 2009. Not to undermine the
vicious details of the event, but have mercy, as a society we are fickle; we damn those unless we are in the position to be damned. And then ironically, we ask for the same mercy the celebrities ask from us.
We’ve forgotten that we are human just like he is, and we’ve made critical mistakes in our past, too. Whether we want to admit this or not, but my generation (In my opinion, I’d say those born from 1989 to those who were born in 1995,) value women differently as do women value themselves differently. It’s not an excuse, but you will find many who devalue women the way Chris Brown did at 19 on that unfortunate February night. But catch this; did you read his age at the time? He was 19 when his incident with Rihanna happened, and perhaps for the rest of his life, he will never live that down.
As a reader, be honest with yourself; at 19, were there things you did, or better yet things you’ve done in your life that you are not proud of or hold secret? The hell this young man has caught has been asinine, to the point where I truly sympathize with him. From a society standpoint, we treat celebrities better than what they should be treated. Sure, they may sing, dance or act better than the average man and has more idolaters, but they aren’t any different than that average man. We make mistakes we regret, and mistakes we hope our family, friends or the public never finds out. For some reason, this is pretty much how the world works; unless you’re average like us, your mistakes loom over you.
The curse of Rihanna has turned the former teen star into a magnet of controversy, unwise statements and actions. From my observation, this is the monster we create when celebrities go against the status quo; we love you when you do good, hate you when you do bad, and miss you to pieces when you’re no longer here. Chris Brown may never reach his creative potential with his Rihanna situation forever looming. It’s sad; he’s very gifted as an entertainer, but his gift maybe all we will get from Brown, as his days of recovering to be a skilled entertainer may have already passed him.
