Domestic violence has become rampant in several homes in America today. No matter the situation, violence of any form should not occur, because every problem has a solution. Most time when violence occurs in a relationship, people tend to get behind the male even if he was at fault, most especially if he is white. The world has shown that color and sex determines the fate of people in domestic violence. If you are white and male, there is a high tendency that you will not be scolded, whereas, being black, you must face the music. In every aspect of life, white and male privilege occurs. It may be that color and sex determines who faces scrutiny in domestic violence.
A typical example is Mr. Charlie Sheen, the Hollywood sitcom actor who has an unpleasant image for being violent towards women he has relationships with. Though he claimed to hold women in high esteem, he showed his dark side by physically and emotionally assaulting them. Though the women were mostly porn stars and prostitutes who people considered low-class, does not give him the right to be disrespectful towards them.
However, with all that he did, he was never cautioned by the public. Everybody acted as if it was normal. Mr. Sheen made more money and fame from his controversial behavior. He saw it as fun and part of his act. Because of his color and sex, people did not feel he was doing anything at all. They were celebrating mediocrity and wanted more from him, and indeed, he gave them more. He never looked back. One would only wonder if it will be the same if he was to be black or female. According to the article, “The Disposable Woman”, Mr. Sheen earned the right to be disrespectful and violent towards women, because of his color. His color gave him the right to do whatever he felt like, because he knows he would be celebrated more and more. I believe it would be impossible for him to stop because he is covered by his color. No matter what he does, people will still hail him. Also in the disposable woman, the host of the Television show in which Mr. Sheen appeared on, failed to press on with the issue of his violence against women, which Sheen is obviously guilty of, because of his color. This shows the gain of white privilege, not being redressed for you wrong-doings.
Another celebrity, Chris Brown, was also guilty of domestic violence. He got into a fierce fight with his then girlfriend, Rihanna, and the outcome was messy. He ended up assaulting her mercilessly and she sustained major injuries. For what he did, he got a lot of backlash from the public, album sales dropped and he got a lawsuit. Mr. Brown’s predicament was nothing compared to Mr. Sheen’s, because of Brown being black. On every Television and Radio station, people condemn him and sometimes insult him. This was where being black did not count.
But male privilege helped him. In spite of the backlash, people still backed him, saying Rihanna might have provoked him into lashing out at her. He gradually got support and people soon forgot about what he did. According to the conversation in the Article, “How Chris Brown is effing up my sex life”, the author’s friend was given the same excuse of Rihanna being indirectly responsible for what happened to her, provoking him Today, all the brouhaha surrounding his actions is all dead and buried, and everything is back to normal. If it were a black woman, she probably would not have recovered due to negative publicity and lack of support.
No matter what happens, violence of any nature should never occur at all. The parties involved should try to control themselves so as not to regret their actions. The Fact that you were provoked, does not still give you the right to be violent. It is a pity that we live in a world where male and white privilege prevails. Judging by color and sex is never the right thing to do. We all know what is right. Stiff judgments should be meted out equally to people guilty of domestic violence. Color or sex should not be the determinant. Being white and male helped Charlie Sheen while male privilege helped Chris Brown. The world will be a better place if equal treatment is being meted out and everyone is treated equally.
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