Any sixteen year old with a double platinum debut album, scheduled television appearances and movie roles, is expected to drop out of high school, forgo higher education, and galvanize their adolescent fanbase with quips like, “[...] you can't drive, so you steal a car or something." While our young people take their cues from entertainers, our young entertainers are professionally handled to ensure a profitable return on their ability to dance or shuck, and sing or jive; and manage the occasional crisis, beating women for example, as insidiously covered by Fox News with apology in tow. Per the celebrity Brown surname tradition, Chris Brown’s illustrious forebears fared well after their domestic dispute convictions; as exhibited by Bobby Brown, James Brown, and even Ike Turner notoriously stayed out of jail until his cocaine possession charge. I propose we include the concept of sadomasochism into the discussion, and weigh whether Chris Brown simply needed a stronger safe word than ‘STOP.’

Having swept his recent Grammy Awards nominations, and issued his reclamation of love in a hopeless place, let me remind you to love the children we raise, to temper your expectations of the person behind the microphone, and recognize their diligent preservation of fame. Go forth Chris Brown, and entertain us with your professional and personal life, before we lose interest, and ignore you like we do with these serious issues about ourselves.