Hold My Mule..

I'm mad as hell. Yes, I said it. Upset and totally perturbed. I've tried to hold my peace until enough factual information surfaced. But, I can't keep it to myself. So hold my mule while I vent.

Today, I had what started off as a brief conversation with a male friend. But, 2 incomplete thoughts turned the back and forth into a heated exchange that ended with me questioning our friendship. E sent a fake pic of Rihanna to me with facial bruises. Because I have been following this story closely, I had been warned previously of this free roaming, rumored picture. I commented to E how disturbed I was that Chris Breezy allegedly beat Rihanna like she was his ex step-father. The same step-father he claimed whipped up on his mother repeatedly. I went on to say if these allegations turn out to be true (which I strongly feel they are) and Chris goes unpunished, it would send a bad signal to our entire society...especially the youth. E replied with "he is young...he is still learning." ARE YOU SERIOUS??????

So, now I am pissed. A nerve is pricked that hasn't been touched in several years. E casually excuses Ri's alleged contusions, blackened eyes and short term unconscious state because Chris is 19? We are not talking about a 5 year old here. Even then, he would be considered unstable and extremely dangerous to himself and others. Yes, Chris needs help...serious,psychological help. I totally agree with that. But, there is no excuse for giving anyone a beating like that. There is no excuse for an open hand slap. There is no excuse for a push down on the ground. No excuse for a kick. No excuse for yelling, " I'm going to kill you." E quickly went from my friend to a black man who doesn't care about the welfare of black women.

I thought back to the Hip Hop vs. America series shown on BET late last year. There was an older free-spirited, beautiful, conscious sister with wild curly hair who spoke on the panel. She brought up the abandonment black women sometimes feel regarding our black men. At that moment I felt like Rihanna is feeling hurt, shame and deceit while E is a black man turning his back on her.

I recall asking E if he ever hit a woman before. Heat from my emotions caused sweat to wet my forehead. He was actually offended and said that I should know him better than that. HA! Apparently, I don't know you because you just abandoned Ri. You abandoned me. Your mother. Your sister. You abandoned all black women.

What hurt evens worse is an awful truth I discovered. If Rihanna were a white entertainer, say Taylor Swift or Carrie Underwood, who received that same beat down from a white male entertainer, all hell would have broken loose. The men of white America would demand the alleged abuser to be removed from all advertisements and radio playlists. They would make arrangements to shut down his official website, cancel future concerts, and remove all endorsements that would give him material wealth. White male America would stand up for this young girl as they would their own sisters and daughters.

But, what do black men do? Some may not agree with what Chris has allegedly done, but they remain silent. Some ask what did Rihanna do to provoke Chris. You know how black women pop off at the mouth, right? Wrong black man. Some brush it off because it's not their problem. Some support Chris simply because he is male. Thankfully, there are some who are mad as hell, too.

Who rescues Black women when we are threatened and we don't feel protected?

http://www.ndvh.org/
http://dahmw.org/
http://feminist.org/911/crisis.html