Spinning 'Round in Circles...in Circles...in Circles...

So I know I've mentioned him before, but for those who don't know, I'm an avid fan of Philip DeFranco. His sarcasm, cynicism, intelligence and brutal honesty are refreshing and, to be honest, remind me of myself.  Plus I think he's sexy...
But moving on. Philip DeFranco is known fairly well among his fanbase for adamantly disliking Chris Brown. Now, for those of you who do not know, here is a little back story. Chris Brown is a musician (as I say that word, by the way, part of me cringes) who,  circa 2009, was in a relationship with the musician Rihanna. The two were dating seriously, had recorded and performed together. February 28, 2009 these pictures of Rihanna flooded news stations, internet and tabloids:

These pictures are not the works of a man. They are the work of a monster. Chris Brown beat Rihanna so badly that she was hospitalized.  The reasons behind the argument that accelerated into this are still unclear, though its been highly speculated that in involves Rihanna's confrontation of Brown over his all-too-friendly relationship with singer Leona Lewis.
The reasoning, however, I don't find to be very important. What I find far more important here is that, according to both Brown and Rihanna, she never raised a hand to him. He flew into a blind rage that "is a blue" to him and beat her profusely and slammed her face into the window of his automobile. Rihanna was noted to have lacerations on her face, temples, her lips were split nearly to gum/bone and her hands, where she tried to defend herself by pushing Brown away, were marred with bite marks. Bite marks from a grown man. Are you kidding me?
Regardless, after being arrested and charged with domestic assault and criminal threats, Chris Brown had the balls to plead not guilty. Finally, on advice from his lawyer, he took a plea deal and ended up with 5 years probation, 6 months of community service and on year of domestic violence counseling.
For those who don't know, domestic assault is a FELONY. It isn't supposed to be solved with a slap on the wrist. This spineless animal should have been in prison getting pounded on by men much larger than him, but instead picked up garbage for a few weeks along the highway.
Regardless, I am getting off topic. The punishment for Chris Brown was far too light and set a terrible example for people. His fans are loyal supporters who scream "Leave Chris Brown alone!" and say he's served his time, but has he? Two years after the event, he was set to be on in an interview with Good Morning America, but the second the issues with Rihanna and what had happened were mentioned, he stormed off to his dressing room, ripped his shirt off, started screaming and throwing things, one of which broke a window over Times Square in New York City. Oh yeah. Sounds like he's all better to me!
And most recently, and coming full circle now to my point, he was scene out publicly and is supposedly recording new music with Rihanna.
Is that a joke? Did I read that right? Oh. Wow. I did. WTF, over?!
Philip DeFranco and his fellow comrades over at SourceFed  have a pretty clear opinion on Chris Brown and his disrespect and irreverence for women. The light tone of their videos still make it very clear how they feel about what he has done and the fact that he was in no way properly punished for what he did. And my disappointment with him, his fans and Rihanna was made fairly clear in my comment on PhillyD's Facebook post about it:

"You are being more than fair to Chris Brown. (Who beats women, btw.) The fact is, he never had to truly be sorry for what he did. He's still making millions off the morons who support him and believe he is changed, but his childish tantrums on television or on his twitter just further justify the beliefs of those of us who feel he's in no way reformed. And I am digusted by Rihanna spending time or making music with him again because all it does is reinforce cyclical relationships and the cycle of abuse and show women that its ok to go back to their abusers. I am disgusted by both and plan to no longer support Rihanna's career by purchasing her music either."

Domestic Violence is a serious issue. Abuse of any kind is to be taken seriously, however, because an abuser is rarely one type of abuser. As time goes on, without help, the abuse becomes more severe,  not less. Lenore Walker, during the 1970's, created a diagram to demonstrate the "cycle of abuse." Though not always the same with each relationship, this cycle is predominantly accurate and with each revolution in the cycle, the incidents tend to grow worse. Breaking the cycle is not easy, especially because it first requires that the victim admit that they are just that: A victim.

It is very hard for anyone to admit and come to terms with the fact that they are being abused, especially when admitting that means admitting the person we care about is the person who is hurting us. If you feel you may be a victim or domestic abuse, whether violent or otherwise, The Hotline is an amazing website to help you. They even have a page to help you ask yourself "Am I being abused?"
Please do not let yourself become a part of a cycle that can have detrimental effects on your life, your health and your emotional well-being. If you need help, do not be afraid to seek it.
In closing: If you ever had any thoughts of playing Chris Brown's music in my car, I recommend against it. I find that they make lovely highway reflectors, so I throw them out the window. Maybe he picked up a few of them while he was "serving his time?"