A Happy Medium by Erin Murtaugh

Two weeks ago, I wrote about female empowerment and a commercial that was aired on the Super Bowl. Last week, I had to take a week off from writing due to some schoolwork. But this week, I’m back, and as promised, I’m going to talk about the Grammys and their taking a stand against domestic violence and abuse.

If you watched the Grammys, President Obama came on the air right in the middle of the broadcast. He delivered a speech about ending violence against women and girls. He said one in five females has experienced rape or attempted rape, and one in four women has experienced some form of domestic violence. Those are scary statistics and they need to change.

He continued his message saying that artists have a unique power to shape the minds of people, and he asked them to take a stand against domestic violence. I am so glad to see people taking action against domestic violence, but there’s one issue I have with this: Chris Brown.

Chris Brown is an R&B artist. He has appeared and performed on the Grammys in the past, actually after his incident with domestic abuse. He also has domestically abused his ex-girlfriend, Rihanna, who is also a music artist. So, my question for the people who put together the domestic abuse campaign for the Grammys is this: Why let a celebrity who has committed domestic abuse be a part of a celebration which is against it?

Sure, Chris Brown could win a Grammy. I won’t go all Kanye West on him and try to say someone else should have it. But, I don’t think celebrities with such backgrounds should be able to perform at events like this. It is contradictory and confusing to viewers.

Okay, now that my rant on that is over, we can go back to the important thing. Let’s all take a stand against domestic abuse and violence. The biggest way you can take action is to speak out about it. If you or someone you know has been a victim of domestic violence or abuse, say something. If you don’t start there, nothing will change.

 

Albert Lea High School graduate Erin Murtaugh is a first-year student at Rochester Community and Technical College. She can be reached at murtaugh.erin@gmail.com.