Wow.

There has been much lately in the way of commentary on Chris Brown's appearance at the Grammys. Much in the way of support and forgiveness forgetfulness of the events that transpired approximately 3 years ago between him and a well-known pop diva that I honestly don't need to mention because she has had her name strewn across one too many blogs and peeps er..tweets.

I've noticed especially that women have not only been blaming the survivor for the assault but also wishing it had been them because getting beaten is okay and desirable as long as it's by someone as good-looking and famous as Chris Brown..and holding puppies while making a duck face means that you are sensitive. (See: http://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/horrible-reactions-to-chris-brown-at-the-grammys) I would like to take this opportunity to remind those who know of the LaMichael James event that occurred approximately around the same time and has already been forgotten among all of his awards and football accomplishments. Here, let's take a little trip down memory lane:

Read this: http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/blog/dr_saturday/post/Another-Duck-in-cuffs-LaMichael-James-booked-fo?urn=ncaaf,220264

Quotey-quote:
"James’ girlfriend, according to the police report, said the running back grabbed her around the neck and pushed her to the ground. She complained of pain to her neck and of abrasions from being pushed down in a parking lot."


And now tell me exactly why he is an amazing person? I mean, Hitler was a great speech-writer and motivational speaker. Wagner was a proud anti-semite that wrote historically important music and changed the face of opera to how we know it today. Clearly: Great ability does not equate to great morality. Historically speaking it seems like it is easy for us, as a whole society, to gloss over horrible facts when the perpetrator/deed-doer is famous or popular (obviously NOT in the case of Hitler). It is easier to blame the survivor than believe that someone we admire is capable of committing such a terrible offense and that, if they did, it was obviously provoked and well-deserved on the part of the survivor. Having an ability does not make you a god or excuse you from the normal system of crime punishment that we are all subject to, especially in the case of domestic violence and sexual assault.

Not only the case of Chris Brown and LaMichael James, but also Nate Jaqua, the athlete that ("allegedly"..emphatic eye-rolling) raped one of our female soccer players. He was sued for raping a member of the UO women's soccer team in 2007 but his name magically appeared on one of our newest buildings for student-athletes. Hush money? Coincidence? (See: http://www.komonews.com/sports/49926737.html) The assault happened not 5 years ago but his name is up in lights and NOBODY I've talked to about this had ever even heard of the case.

Nate Jaqua is seen here sporting a Seattle Sounders Jersey

The John Jaqua Center is described here by KEZI News:

"The 40,000 square foot center has tutor rooms on the first floor, which will be available for general student use, as well as a coffee shop. The second and third floors are for student athletes only and provide students with state-of-the art facilities, including a computer lab, graphics lab, and 30 tutor rooms. "

So not only am I unable, as a fee-paying UO student, to use a large majority of the facilities, but I have to look at it every day and know who paid for it. My student funds run a building that stands for everything I don't believe in: elitism, misogyny, sexism, and separatism.

The kind of message this sends is that successful men can and are entitled to do whatever they want, especially to women. That if a woman is assaulted by one of these men then it is clearly her fault for provoking the attack. That if the survivor tries to seek justice from the system for the crimes committed against her (Yes. I am aware that men can also be survivors. Do I need to even mention the Joe Paterno deal?) then she will face a slew of opinions ranging from disbelief to hate from her perpetrator's fan base.

If logic is what we're going for here, then try a sip of this:
Rape and assault are crimes of power, not hyper-sexuality. I do not know of anyone who asks to be assaulted or would like millions of people to judge, degrade, misinterpret, and blame them for their experience. When someone chooses to tell or report their story they usually have to tell it multiple times to many different people. Why would someone lie about something so personal and traumatic only to be smeared throughout the public and traumatized even further? The false report rate for rape and sexual assault is actually the same as any misdemeanor (so, VERY UNCOMMON) so we can only deduce here that it is in our best interests and the interests of the survivor to believe her/him/ihr.

To the women who would like to be beaten by Chris Brown: getting beaten by him will feel the same as getting beaten by anyone else-- terrible. So quit looking at him like he pisses rainbows and sweats diamonds and be realistic about how men should treat women.

END.