A Dreamer’s Perspective: Leave Chris Brown Alone!

So you tell me? How long should someone be punished for an a certain wrong doing? When is it the jurisdiction of others not directly involved in the situation to cast judgments upon an individual? When certain personal events happen, should that have anything to do with how we perceive a person’s talent and art? Today, I want to explore these questions.

I’m on this topic today because of some of the things I heard this past week about major stores not stocking or selling Chris Brown’s new album “Graffiti”. I was sort of bothered by this whole idea. It was a form of blackballing that I don’t find necessary. We all understand what happened, based on the “facts” presented. I still have my own theories on how the “situation” as it was noted (one-sided) is NOT what the absolute truth of the matter is, but that’s a whole different topic to explore. Sometimes it’s hard to explain my reasoning behind believing that the assault is virtually irrelevant to the support of an artist’s music without making it sound like I’m downplaying the severity of domestic violence. I’m not. I am strongly against domestic violence. My point is that domestic violence and the situation isn’t the matter of concern at hand; or at least it shouldn’t be.

Where do we draw the line when it comes to letting a person’s personal life influence how we receive their craft? Before I get into Chris Brown’s case, let’s talk about some other entertainers in this situation. Everybody’s Favorite Jerk: Kanye West. Every since he’s been in the game, he’s been outspoken and at times annoying (apparently to some…I actually like that aspect about Ye, but whatevs) and pompous to people, such as saying George Bush doesn’t like Black people, claiming that he should won awards, and of course crushing the dreams of America’s angel. But at the end of the day, do you think people shouldn’t buy his music anymore? Do his antics change the fact that he’s been one of the most talented and relevant artists of the decade in all of music? I think not. What about Michael Jackson. Now personally, I didn’t believe ANY of those child molestation allegations, but we all know that once an allegation is presented, people start speculating on if it’s true or not and it taints the person’s reputation. The first allegations rose in 1993. Did people stop selling and buying MJ albums because of it? I think not. The "HISTORY" album came out two years later and went on to sell over 40 million copies worldwide. Even at the peak of the R. Kelly “alleviation” allegations, he and Jay-Z’s collaboration album “Best Of Both Worlds” debuted on the Billboard charts at #2.

So what is making people treat Chris Brown this way? Is it because people think domestic violence is worse than any other crime? I personally feel that people should be given second chances. But even aside from that matter, on a level of just looking at music separate from personal life, I don’t think that people should try and shut down and interfere with someone’s ability to make money and provide for themselves through what they do. Granted, all these artists and entertainers who get involved in questionable cases lose their endorsements and things of that nature, but to strip them completely of what they do? What’s that about? Kobe Bryant cheats on his wife…do they keep him for playing basketball? Michael Vick makes dogs fight? After he does his jail time for the crime, should they keep him from playing football? NO! Those situations have nothing to do with what they do. Now, Marion Jones and Barry Bonds doing steroids? NOW THAT is something that would have correlation with their professional life and be means for some drastic action to stop them from benefiting for their personal gain.

I personally took a listen to Chris Brown’s album and it is GREAT! He’s still one of the most talented entertainers we have, and now that Michael Jackson's passed, I don’t think we should shun Chris, who has been widely alluded to as the second coming of Mike. If you’re a fan who doesn’t want to buy the album or be a fan anymore, that’s up to you. But I don’t believe stores should be refusing to sell the album. Let’s keep it real here. Most people have hearts, but we all know corporate America feeds off of money. Why would y’all wanna mess up your money like that? Be smart and get back to your old greedy ways and support a young, apologetic talented man.

You've heard "A Dreamer's Perspective. Now let me hear yours.

(Editor's Note: For another take on the divide between Chris Brown's personal and public life, check out Nathan Slavik's article here.)