Quote Of The Day

"[1] I just shake my head at the sadness of it all; [2] personally, I had never knowingly heard of or seen Chris Brown before this incident. I hope he fades away into irrelevance. I'm not going to castigate Rihanna (I love the chick!) for apparently taking him back; a man and a woman have to handle their business and I know that can be a very complicated thing. She's caught up in the relationship. I understand that. However, we (the outside parties) have a responsibility to attach severe shame to his behavior. I see that as our job, our role, in reinforcing what is and is not responsible behavior. What will and will not be tolerated. In my estimation, we do an incredibly poor job of this in the black community. Yes, we are all sinners and yes, personal responsibility mandates that I put myself number one on my own personal list of known sinners. I also know there's a long history of this in our overall community. But...has there ever been a time where a lesser-known male star has beaten up a bigger female star and survived the shame of such a punkish act?

Could the disparity between Barack and Michelle vs. Chris and Rihanna be any greater? Is there something of substance to discuss here or nothing more than a blip on the screen? Is all of this reducible to a mathematical certainty of a young couple getting in a fight and boyfriend beats up girlfriend? Separate and apart from politics, this Rihanna/Chris Brown situation presents an instance where the Barack/Michelle coupling has to be used to change the dysfunctional dynamic now prevalent in Black America's popular culture. We'll see if this possible discussion is embraced or buried." — J.B. White, black moderate-conservative Republican blogger