Somebody needs to call his people.

What the hell is Chris Brown thinking? Even if he has no goddamn sense (and he clearly hasn’t), what the hell are his publicists thinking?

Whether or not the image is of Rihanna is exactly irrelevant. Why is he tattooing any image of a battered woman on his body? Why would any person — man or woman — do such a thing?

This is truly sick behavior and it makes me physically ill. It is incumbent upon those who have defended him in the past — arguing that he has paid the price and apologized for abusing Rihanna — to loudly proclaim that this behavior is not okay. It is incumbent upon all of us to let men who abuse women that that behavior is not okay.

Far too often, people are uncomfortable about domestic violence and abuse. Folks don’t want to hear the truth. They want the women who have suffered at the hands of those who would physically and emotionally abuse them to stay silent. Usually it’s for some bullshit reason like, “his voice is important” or “I really like his music.” When do we stand up and say no? When do we stand up and say that the emotional abuse reflects badly on — and only on — the abuser? If we allow abuse to continue and we don’t say anything about it, then we’re guilty too. If we acknowledge that abuse has occurred, but then place the onus of that abuse on the victim by demanding that she (and in many cases he, but I’m going with “she” for obvious reasons) stay silent, or keep the matter private “where it belongs,” then we are guilty, too. Chris Brown has traveled the road that many abusers travel — they off-handedly apologize, while continuing to evince by their behavior that they aren’t sorry at all.

If you recall, when Rihanna had the guts to share her story with the public, and, more importantly, with the young women who admire her and might learn from her experience that violence against women is not okay, Chris responded as many do: Keep it private! –

“I maintain my position that all of the details should remain a private matter between us,” he said in the statement to MTV. “I do appreciate her support and wish her the best.”"

At the time, and in response, I wrote this:

Yeah, ladies. Next time your supposed loved one beats the shit out of you, for heaven’s sake, don’t talk about it! Just, you know, shut up like a good girl is supposed to and let the asshole make his inevitable apologies and promises to “never do it again.” Give me a break. Rihanna is a public figure; a young woman who is admired by many, including women who may be suffering at the hands of an abuser and who may be too afraid or embarrassed to talk about it. By speaking out, Rihanna may have helped women realize that it’s okay to speak out against your abusers. Abuse shouldn’t be a dirty little secret. Abuse should be openly discussed, and abusers should be outed and, in my opinion, tarred and feathered. The last thing a woman should do is remain silent when she is abused. And when a woman who has suffered at the hands of an abuser has an opportunity to share her story with others and wants to take that opportunity, then she should do it. Certainly it isn’t up to the asshole who hit her to demand her silence. Because of Rihanna’s courage in speaking out, somewhere a suffering woman may stop thinking that she should just shut up and take it. And maybe she’ll call a friend, relative, or a domestic violence hotline and get the help that she needs. It’s a brave thing to do–to bare one’s personal tragedy to the world. Rihanna did the right thing and she should be commended. And I want to punch Chris Brown in the crotch for suggesting otherwise.

Don’t be silent. Be loud. Because if we’re not loud, the Chris Browns of the world feel coddled by a public that refuses to loudly yell in their face: “What you are doing is not okay.” And if we’re not loud and don’t hold people accountable for their abusive behavior, then they have no chance of learning that what they are doing is not okay. And when they don’t learn, they end up tattooing the image of a bruised woman on their body.

Violence against women is not a joke. It comes in many forms. And if you don’t stand up to it, you’re part of the problem.

UPDATE: Apparently, some are saying that it is supposed to be an image of Osiris. If that’s the case, Chris Brown would have said so. Instead, Chris Brown said that it’s an image of a “random woman.” Try again.

[via Think Progress]

[cross-posted at Balloon Juice]