I really didn’t want to do this.  No really.  I actually like addressing real news, like the battle over Universal Health Care, the upcoming throw down with Judge Sotomayor’s confirmation hearing, the troop withdrawal in Iraq or foreign policy strategies with Iran and North Korea.  But after seeing how many seemingly educated people have been bitching about not seeing Chris Brown perform a Michael Jackson tribute at the Buffoonery Entertainment Television Awards this past Sunday, I have to speak out.  Now, first things first.  I understand that humans have infinitesimally short memories.  I understand that I’m in the minority of people that avoids making emotionally rash decisions 99.9% of the time.  However, I think it’s completely inexcusable that so many people are seemingly brushing off the fact that Chris Brown beat a woman, plead guilty and is now a felon.  I’m going to break down some of the arguments people are using to downplay what this idiot did because I think in reading back their arguments and how stupid I make them seem, it’ll finally sink in:

“He’s been punished by the courts.  That’s good enough for me”
Wrong.  Chris Brown hasn’t yet been punished by the courts.  On Tuesday June 23, Chris Brown pleaded guilty to felony assault charges.  He accepted a plea deal of community labor, 5 years formal probation and the judge threw in Domestic violence counseling (amazingly that wasn’t part of the plea deal) and a stay away order.  He won’t be formally sentenced until August 5^th.  That means at the EARLIEST, he starts serving his debt to society on August 5^th.  The BET Awards was this past Sunday, June 28^th.  Its not even close to being logical to say that he’s paid his debt to society.  When you’re punished for a crime, the punishment should make you regret the crime.  Being able to perform in front of a bunch of screaming, brainwashed girls and your peers that do the same fucked up repugnant shit isn’t a punishment.  Not to mention, when you break society’s rules, not only does the court punish you but so does the public.  Chris Brown’s only getting a pass because he’s an entertain.  Joe Blow woman beater is looked at as a despicable human being yet Chris Brown is a “kid who made a mistake.”  GTFOH.

“Well, nobody says anything when [Name of some asshole that's done some fucked up repugnant shit that people now overlook] performs”
Hearing grown, intelligent folks use the “But he did it too” excuse rots my brain.  You either went to or are currently attending college, yet you’re using an argument from 2^nd grade to argue for a woman beater.  Just because people stupidly gave someone else a pass doesn’t mean we need to keep the cycle going.  Using that logic, next time someone beats a woman and wants to perform we’d then say “But we let Chris Brown perform.”  At some point you have to say, enough is enough.  Refusing to change behavior is why companies fail, Civil Rights get ignored and why we as a people have such a hard time moving forward.  Stop contributing to that behavior.  I’ll say it.  No, Don Cornelius shouldn’t have been at the BET Awards either.

“No one else could do a proper Michael Jackson tribute.  I hate what he did but he’s the only option”
Is a Michael Jackson tribute for Michael, to give tribute to his life’s work and achievements in the realm of music, or is it for your own personal entertainment? I find it mentally lazy to say that the only way to give tribute to Michael would be to give a free pass to a man who beat a woman horribly and pleaded guilty not even a week before the awards show.  Sure, is Chris Brown the closest, big name dancer to Michael’s dancing abilities?  Probably.  Would he have done a great job?  No doubt.  Does that mean we should overlook the fact that he beat a woman?  HELL FUCKING NO.  Your own personal selfishness in wanting to see some form of entertainment shouldn’t be an excuse to overlook the fact that what Chris Brown did was horrible and that he shouldn’t be rewarded with giving a tribute to the World’s Greatest Entertainer.  It shouldn’t be mental exhausting to see how doing such a thing sends the message that what Chris Brown did was “okay”.  A classy musical tribute with a video montage would have been just as good.  The biggest problem with BET doing a Michael Tribute was that people with actual talent, that could have done him justice, already decided to say “Fuck you” to BET.  John Legend and Stevie Wonder would have been excellent choices for doing a song or two to give tribute to MJ but they were at their own concert.  Usher was overseas and couldn’t make it back in time.  The problem wasn’t that Chris Brown couldn’t perform, it was that BET doesn’t have the pulling power to make sure that big name stars (with actual talent) are going to be at their awards show.  So when faced with putting together something last minute, they failed.  Even if Chris Brown did a tribute, the BET Awards would have still been coonish.  Not only that but then Brown would have been rewarded for his behavior and we would have sent yet another example of how easily we forgive people just because they have talent (See Mike Vick, T.I. and everyone else that committed a crime and we overlooked).

“He should still be allowed to work and perform because that’s his job”
If I commit a felony, not only will I lose my security clearance, but I’ll lose my job.  AFTER serving out my sentence, I’d probably have an extremely hard time getting back into my field.  Truth is, no company with a good reputation wants to hire a felon.  Period.  Maybe its wrong to make it hard for felons to get back to work, but it’s a pretty good deterrent that keeps me from committing a felony. “If you can’t do the time (and all the negative things that come with it) don’t do the motherfucking crime.”  Now I understand in the Entertainment industry a criminal record is like getting a good recommendation from a former boss.  That doesn’t mean we as a society should find that acceptable.  Hell, if a teacher is caught fucking one of their students…they can’t be a teacher again after they get out of jail can they?  Chris Brown didn’t just beat a woman, he beat a fellow entertainer.  So no, he shouldn’t be allowed to work again in the industry.  Other entertainers should band together and say “No, we don’t want to work with him.  We don’t work with woman beaters.”  But since we don’t hold anyone accountable…that’s not going to happen.

“Rihanna didn’t testify, we don’t know the whole story”/”The Punishment is too harsh”
He pleaded guilty.  Rihanna didn’t need to testify.  If there was any significant thing missing from the story, I think Chris Brown’s attorney’s would have said something.  You don’t just plead out to a felony.  And as far as it being too harsh.  Paris Hilton spent more time in jail for drunk driving than Chris Brown did for beating a woman.  And the funny thing is, when Paris went to jail, all the black folks were bitching about how light her sentence was.  SMH.

“He made a mistake in his personal life.”/” We can’t judge him. Only God can judge him”/ “I’m sure he’s learned his lesson.  We should all just move on.”
I’m holding back from telling anyone that’s ever said this or anything like it to go kill themselves.  First off, beating a woman ISN’T a mistake.  That’s a calculated act of violence.  Hell, beating ANYONE is a calculated act of violence.  I even said it in my Perez Hilton post that while the douchebag deserved to get his asswhooped, Will.I.Am’s manager was criminally wrong.  We’re human beings, not wild animals on the plains of Africa.  Sure, in the Animal Kingdom, random acts of violence are not only common place, its written into the bylaws of the Jungle Book.  However, in human society, that shit is wrong.  I think plenty of people need their asses whooped, but I don’t do that.  Why?  Because I know that with that comes a set of consequences.  Chris Brown not only beat Rihanna but threatened to KILL HER.  Again, that’s not a mistake.  A mistake is forgetting to put on the same color socks or leaving your coffee mug on the top of your car.  He only apologized and feels bad because he got caught and that shit threatened to affect his cash flow.  Secondly, that “We can’t judge him, only God can” line is bullshit.  We judge all the time.  There’s NO ONE out there that doesn’t judge.  We use that bullshit ass line from the Bible when we want to hand the responsibility off to someone else.  It’s easier to say “Only God can judge” than it is to say “I really like this guy’s dancing abilities and music, but I just can’t support him any more”.  But wait, in this case, we don’t have to.  Why?  Because we have a criminal justice system and Chris Brown pleaded guilty.  There’s no judging necessary.  He’s guilty.  Yes, maybe I’m harsh for saying that when you commit a felony, you shouldn’t be allowed to work in your field again.  But you know what?  Whose fault is that?  Chris Brown knew he was doing something wrong and he had a blatant disrespect for the laws of society.  Fuck him and anyone else who wants to excuse that behavior.  If Rihanna was your sister, you’re LYING to yourself if you say you wouldn’t feel bad if the man who beat your sister was back to doing concerts and selling records.  Like I said, this is just a way for you to avoid having to make the tough decision not to support someone any more.  There are ways to keep the music you like but not support the criminal that made it. Hell, I have R. Kelly on my IPod.  But I didn’t pay a dime for any of his music.  Stop being lazy and irresponsible.

I’ll end with this.  Domestic violence is real.  Most of us know someone who is either currently or in the past a victim of domestic violence.  It’s appalling that so many of us would turn our backs on that fact just because we think Chris Brown is a good dancer and entertainer.  They say if you don’t stand for anything, you fall for everything.  Right now we’re falling…hard.