By JOSHUA THOMAS

C-S-E Editor

Who was it that found it acceptable to give Chris Brown money to perform at the Grammy Awards Sunday? And not once, but twice. And I use the word “perform” loosely in this instance.

I know that a big part of show business is earning money, and creating buzz at any cost, but who would, in their right mind, support (and even promote) such a negligible human being? He’s had years to prove that he’s not the terrible person he made himself out to be in 2009, and he’s spat in the face of every opportunity.

Here’s some background for those who are lucky enough to have avoided Chris Brown until now. The evening before the Grammy awards in 2009, the budding R&B singer beat up his then-girlfriend Rihanna. He beat her senseless, pounding her face and arms, biting her ear, trying to push her from a moving vehicle, throwing her cell phone out the window and threatening to murder her.

He was ordered by a court to undergo anger management, community service, etc. The judge praised him repeatedly for his compliance. I must stop for just a moment to say that I believe in forgiveness. I think people can do terrible things, and they can feel remorse and they can change as a result, but I don’t even think Chris Brown is trying to convince people that he’s changed.

Since his involvement in this incident, which would’ve likely ended any normal person’s career, he’s gone on to smash a window in a television studio after being asked about Rihanna, repeatedly started physical fights with people whether in clubs, streets, or other public places, and has used homophobic, racist slurs numerous times on camera.

And he’s also gone on to sell a massive amount of albums, apparently. All this negative behavior aside, I don’t understand what people find interesting about his music. I couldn’t sing even one of his songs right now, and his performances consist of very little in the way of actual singing or performing.

And in the wake of Chris Brown’s obnoxious double performance at the Grammy Awards, something even more upsetting occurred. Hundreds of women who watched him perform tweeted disgusting comments about how they’d let Chris Brown beat them anytime. I personally don’t even think this is something people should joke about, and I’m sad to think a lot of these girls were serious.

It’s become a “thing” on the internet, with sites and blogs popping up dedicated to documenting these comments. Most of them obviously think it’s horrible to see girls disrespecting themselves in such a vulgar fashion, but it still worries me. While it’s positive to put his actions into perspective as monstrous, and let these commenters know that no man is worth suffering abuse, the whole thing just weirds me out and makes me feel queasy, because I almost think it’s exactly what the producers of the Grammy Awards hoped for when they gave Chris Brown a platform.

It’s all just easy promotion — just another record sold.