I'm going to get down and dirty about this, so those of you who are tired of people loving on a domestic abuser stop reading. Warning given, let's proceed.
I don't know Chris Brown personally, but I'm not ashamed to say that I'm a fan of his music and GOD given ability to dance his socks off. So as a result of this, I am worried about him. It's something about a black man that you can see literally self destruct before your eyes that is hard to ignore. He went from, a sweet face, Pepsi selling, double mint gum chewing, dance fiend; to an angry tattoo clad adult. I have a young son, who's face is just as sweet and innocent as Chris' was; so as a mom, I'm anxiously awaiting his turn around, as if he was my own baby.
Too many occasions have sweet childhood stars turned into crazy people in the blink of an eye.
There's a long list of them, all of them were introduced to us as sweet smiley face stars who were so adorable, that we all thought we knew them. Until they changed on us. Then of course we loose faith in them as they continue to hit the panic button in life. Then we proceed to judge them. As if none of us have ever made mistakes in our late teens and early 20's. Let's pause and think about how we have squandered some of our own opportunities, and how we'd probably hate those blunders to be publicized every single day. Like we are the worst people in the UNIVERSE! We say things like,"Man, this person has all these opportunities and all this money, why are they messing it up?" THIS IS MOST LIKELY THE ONE OF THE REASONS. Maybe also because their parents raised them to be famous. Not to be complete people, manner-able people, drug free, or even happy people. They pushed them to super stardom like a lead foot on the accelerator with no breaks. What then happens? They crash. It's inevitable (Queue the Morpheus voice). So please let's all stop sitting up here, acting surprised like it hasn't happened to the majority of the child stars we've become accustomed to supporting or even ourselves for that matter.
Since Chris Brown has been released, I'd like my homegirl Iyanla Vanzant get on a plane and Fix His Life. Where is Michael Eric Dyson when you need him, T.D Jakes, or Russell Simmons? He needs help from some strong people who have witnessed the trails of life, and can appeal to his senses before it's really too late. No shade towards Chris Brown's parents but let's just be real, they've had plenty of time to get him together, and clearly now that he's an adult, with real grown man problems, there isn't really much they can do for him at this point. He's now 25 years old, and we're very aware of the vitality statistics for young black men; regardless to if he's rich or not. He's one of ours, someone should be reaching out to him before he completely goes insane. The sad news is, I'm not really sure if the people I mentioned even want to speak with him due to his often erratic behavior and how the domestic violence dispute transpired. I haven't seen any Chris Brown and Oprah interviews, but I've seen her give Lindsey Lohan an entire reality show, which will most likely only make her situation worse, and show her support as her "spiritual auntie". (And if you know me, you know I love me some Oprah, so definitely no shade there.) But what about C BREEZY? Are black men, in the midst of struggle not important as well?
I'm tired of people treating our young black men like they are court jesters out here for every one's amusement. As special as his talent is, his soul is just as important, and if he doesn't have a supportive team around him, he will fail. And through his failure, he wrongfully influence the new generation of kids with the thought that, as long as you have money you can get out of anything. But we all know better. So today, while you're working, make yourself a Chris Brown playlist, and rock out! After all, his music can make you happy, even if he isn't.
See my blog here Chris Brown
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