Boston Teens to Chris Brown: Apology Not Enough!
August 25, 2009
by Casey Corcoran
|The following piece was contributed by Casey Corcoran of the Boston Public Health Commission. Casey is the Director of Start Strong Initiative, a Peer Leadership Group of Boston teenagers. Casey is also the author of the shocking Boston Public Health Commission survey published in The Boston Globe , referred to in Amy Siskind’s MORE article, which revealed that almost half of Boston teens surveyed felt Rihanna was at fault for Chris Brown’s assault on her.
Just recently, Chris Brown released an apology video taking accountability for his actions that night. This apology video has received almost 2.5 million views on YouTube alone. The teen peer leaders in the Start Strong program saw this apology video and decided that as fans of Chris Brown and as young people concerned about the issue of dating violence that Chris Brown needed to do more. They felt that he did not adequately address the issue of dating violence and that over 2.5 million viewers did not get the information they deserve.
These teens from Boston, teens that the national and international media shined a spotlight on because of the survey, have decided to speak to Chris Brown directly and ask him to be the role model he has said he wants to be. They have created a video response to Chris Brown’s apology video and posted it on YouTube.
They also created an online petition via Facebook titled “A Message to Chris Brown”. The petition reads as follows:
This group is a youth inspired online petition and open letter to Chris Brown. In your recent apology video, you said that you want to be a role model that people can be proud of. Chris, as fans and people who care about the issue of dating violence, we are asking you to become the role model you aspire to be. By joining this group, we are challenging you to step up. We are asking that the next video you put out not be a music video, commercial, or another apology. Right now we don’t need another music video. We are asking that the next video you put out be a public service announcement speaking out against dating violence.
These teens are not finger waving adults telling Chris to apologize. These are his fans who are asking him to step up and be a leader around the issue of dating violence. Being a role-model is more than apologizing; it is helping make sure that the issue of dating violence doesn’t get swept under the rug. A public service announcement is a great start in helping Chris become the role-model he strives to become.
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I think people are being impatient. When legal issues are involved, things take time. Look at the case itself, there were so many delays. Look at the time it took for Chris to create that video, he had to wait six months to finally speak his piece. Chris and Rihanna will address the issue of dating violence. They have no choice anyway, since the media is not going to let them promote their upcoming albums in peace until they do so. But anyway, I have a feeling that Chris has big plans in terms of addressing the issue. He stated in the video that he wanted to prove himself as a role model, and he’s going to do just that.
Welcome Casey!
Such great work by these young men and women. Keep up the great work Start Strong!
Excellent! I’ll be waiting for the public service announcement. And, anyone can do the right thing any time they want. No excuses…
[...] people concerned about the issue of teen dating violence. Check out the response video below, or click here to view the full story. These teens have also created an online petition via Facebook, titled: “A [...]
Thanks for all the support. We work with a special group of young people who are very committed to preventing teen dating violence!
Thanks for supporting our Boston youth! I agree with RealChange that people can choose to do what is right at any point in time. Most often people do what is expedient or in their best interest. The teens are not saying that Chris should be punished forever they simply want to make sure he knows that they are holding him accountable to his words.
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