Celebrity worship is tiresome if largely benign. Celebrity justice, by contrast, is corrosive on any number of levels. Sadly, the case of R&B singer/woman beater Chris Brown increasingly looks like a nasty example of the latter.
Sure, Brown got a few years probation and six months community service. But if this Larry King interview set to air Wednesday is any indication, Brown doesn't need some alone time picking up trash on the freeway; he needs hard-core psychotherapy and a giant "Warning" label slapped across his forehead.
Going on and on about what a nice, nonviolent soul he is, Brown (looking oh-so-tender in his baby blue sweater and bowtie) tells Larry he has no memory of brutalizing then-amour Rihanna. The singer also notes that, when he was growing up, his mother's husband was abusive and so no one was ever around to teach young Chris the basics of managing his emotions.
Sad? Of course. But, if true, what we have here is a guy who never learned the basics of self control and who has experienced at least one rage-induced blackout. And since two previous instances of domestic violence between Brown and Rihanna are known to the public (how many others are not?), the crime in question, while more extreme than prior episodes, isn't as out of character as Brown would have us--or himself--believe.
I don't care how cute and famous this kid is; he is a menace to himself and to any woman who comes within 50 yards of his contrite-puppy self-delusions. I suppose one could argue that Brown doesn't serve to serve any time for beating the bejesus out of his girlfriend and threatening to kill her. But returning him to society without even attempting to address his scary rage issues is itself a crime.