Too Tired to Title - Updates

So, the fundraiser on OSCAR NIGHT went well. We had a bigger turn out than last year, which is great since we have completely changed up the event. Next year I predict an even better night... especially since I will be certain to consult the Award Season Schedule before confirming a date! The Burlesque ladies & gentlemen were just lovely (and flaming pasties were involved!). My dear friend Twig was the very definition of "gender queer" in his performance (according to our Board members in attendance). And a few Wealthy Gays of My City even made it out for the first part of the evening!

I met on Wednesday, per usual, with my mentoree young woman (5th grade). She brought along her friend. They were wrapping up Black History Month with a special play that afternoon, and my mentoree had mentioned how much she loves the "I Have A Dream" speech, so I brought a recording in for her. We all ate our corn-dogs or french toast sticks ("breakfast for lunch is weird, but corn-dogs are nasty," as I was told) and listened to the short clip. After the clip, the young women were talking about "respect" and how important it is to respect people. They ended up on the topic of violence, and I brought up Rihanna/Chris Brown. Immediately both girls jumped in telling me that "Chris Brown just got tired of Rihanna hitting him all the time, and he HAD to defend himself, he had NO choice." I was a little taken aback.

I asked them how they thought Martin Luther King, Jr. would have responded to the situation. They told me that, "of course," MLK would make the two people sit down and talk to work out their problems, that MLK believe in "non-violence and would never hit anybody who tried to put him down." In the same breath, they told me that Chris Brown "loves Rhianna with all his heart [little girl hands crossed over the heart] and would DIE For her if he had to, but he HAD to defend himself." I didn't know what to say. I'm not sure I know what to say going into lunch this week.

Lady Friend suggested quoting Ghandi, "An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind," and asking the young women at what point the hitting has to stop. This may be the best strategy.

I understand that my white-middle-class-feminist lives in an entirely different world than these girls. As Sister-Friend reminded me, these young women do live in a world where defending black men against assaults by the press and popular opinion of white-folks has a long (and necessary) tradition. At the same time, it made my heart hurt a little to know they think that it is defensiable for anyone, male or female, to beat their intimate partner so severly. I guess that as I watched this entire situation unfold in the press, I assumed that all kinds of young women would jump to the defense of Rihanna... I guess I'm wrong about that assumption. I look forward to hearing more about the world from these young women.