Live Blog from the Anchor Desk 3/10/09
[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/01/02/liveblogfinal.copy.jpg]
Tonight on AC360°, there are reports that singers Chris Brown and Rihanna are in a recording studio working on a duet. That's even though Brown is accused of brutally beating Rihanna, punching her repeatedly in the face until she was bloody. He also allegedly threatened to kill her. Oprah Winfrey warns Rihanna he will hit her again. Tonight, we look at the question: Why do battered women go back to the men who attack them? Let's keep this live blog going on this topic. We'd love to hear your thoughts. Sound off below.
Want to know what else we're covering tonight? Read EVENING BUZZ
Keep in mind, you have a better chance of having your comment get past our moderators if you follow our rules.
Here are some of them:
1) Keep it short (we don't have time to read a "book")
2) Don't write in ALL CAPS (there's no need to yell)
3) Use your real name (first name only is fine)
4) No links
5) Watch your language (keep it G-rated; PG at worst - and that includes $#&*)
About this Show:
Anderson Cooper goes beyond the headlines to tell stories from many points of view, so you can make up your own mind about the news. Tune in weeknights at 8 and 10 ET on CNN.
Questions or comments? Send an email
Want to know more? Go behind the scenes with AC361°
Subscribe to the podcast
On Twitter
Search the AC360 blog
@ Kira..I think for a male singer it probably doesn't..its the truth...you hear all these rappers that have convictions and are still popular...some rappers even have reality shows as they area counting down their last days as free men...I'm sure somebody is gonna try to spin the story a certain way..before you know it, he's gonna be popular among the young teens. I can't tell you, though, I vow to stop downloading/buying his music
Re Rihanna, we teach girls that they have no value except in reference to men. They are valued for beauty and sexuality but not for brains. They pretend to be dumb so guys will like them. Look at Rihanna's whole act. It's largely sexuality. So now in her private life, she is doing what society says which is hide in the shadow of a guy no matter how terrible he treats you. Girls are taught that getting married is more important than being treated well and being respected for who you are.
Merit pay is laughable. There are too many factors that the teacher cannot control for outside of the classroom that affect what happens in the classroom. Also, who determines what is "good" or "bad" teaching? Is it theory du jour? Do politics and favoritism play into it? What if the principal is incompetent?
We need to work on our public schools! It could actually help with the war on gang crime.
@Glen..."Reform" and "Prison" became mutually exclusive terms decades ago, even though they are supposed to exist hand-in-hand. An unfortunate reality.
Re: the education problem: you can't pay teachers/administrators/ parents/ students TO CARE and that is what you need to have: people who care.
Going back to abuse is like breaking through alcoholism. You know it's bad for you, but it's all you know. You find a way to pretend and make excuses for it because it seems impossible to leave. You want so badly to believe that the jerk you're with will change. Fear of the unknown (leaving) is brutal. You never leave until the fear of staying is worse than the fear of leaving.
Please get out. Dont look back. Move on. It will not change.Please, please get out.
I have been an educator for 38 years, and there has been a decline in education. What we have done, however is that we do not stay focus long enough. We switch our thoughts on education every few years. Presently, we are into extrinsic rewards for everything the child does in the classroom We need to realize that there are three things very important in education a teacher who believes in teaching and that they make a difference in the life of a child, discipline, and using our time wisely in the classroom. Lots of wasted time. By the way, merit pay will never work. Too much cronyism in education. Teachers are usually hired and remain in systems, because of favoritism, and that is the direction that merit pay will go.
I grew up in the armed forces. from 1958-1961 lived in England. during that time i attended an Air Force base school (an American school).
When i returned to the USA, i was 2 yrs AHEAD of my classmates (in PA)...needless to say i agree with Pres. Obama, we need to educate our children better and earlier!
As far as my teacher experience, i was blessed. And i worked very hard to make sure my child had an excellent education (by research of school districts and being very involved with her education).
i dun agree with pres. obama when he says that teachers should be held responsible to the full extent, he is saying that if your kids dun do gd then the teachers get fired, then u will have teachers giving random grades. i had a teacher that gave everyone an A and would help us even on our exams...so he will stay, nt the honest teacher who marks a bit harder
Which of the panel members have spent a year in the classroom?
At my college we have to evaluate our professors at the end of the semester. Students should not be the ones evaluating anyone! Of course the students who get bad grades, will give the instructor a bad "review". The professors lose their jobs over bad student evaluations. That is wrong and needs to be changed.
Way to go President Obama for focusing on education!!!! We would be a far better society with a more educated populace.
Why aren't PRINCIPALS evaluated and held accountable? As the CEO of the school, they have a huge influence on whether or not the teachers in that school are successful. Take it from a teacher.
@ Kira..in this day and age I really don't think anything affects an artists no matter what he does. People are just too willing to overlook their bad behavior because they are famous and have money!
Cindy..Ga.
Thank God Obama is finally giving significant focus on education. I sincerely believe education is the guiding light to health, wealth, and hapiness, and freedom in the U.S.
Education must be our foundation!
Lots of guns here in the South. Unfortunately, almost everyone is a hunter and most people really believe in our right to bear arms. I don't think for a minute that stricter gun control will really drop the violence. But I do wish it would happen. Even with all the illegal guns, it might still help to make it more difficult to obtain firearms
If we want to get better in education, we need to go back to a traditional school system, not the one that was created for use in labor industries. At my school we don't have classes such as geometry or trig. We have these stupid math courses called core, which are based on group work. Sorry, but you don't rely on people all the time to do work! I'm a senior in highschool and I feel as though my education has been cheated upon with the WASL and other tests that are useless. I feel like we need to make the school system better, so children don't have to wait until highschool to actually learn math.
Poor education in America has been a problem, not "becoming" a problem. That's a significant distinction. We've seen this coming for a long time. We can't be siphoning tax dollars away to pay "credits" for private school. We must put more money into this public trust that is our education system.
The F B I should be looking in Israel to find all those billions he stole Where else can one hide such a huge amount of money without anyone finding the thruth
Rikki in Fargo, ND... I agree with you. The No Child Left Behind did not help our children at all.
Anderson,
Will you ask Mary what suggestions would she give the president to make this work?
@ KIRA KLEAVELAND AC360°
I kind of put it in the same compartment as I did with Michael Jackson. They can be very talented but also have major issues. Does being a batter make less talented. No
I guess the choice whether to continue to listen to his music is a personal view
Rihanna expects Brown to move on quickly to another woman, possibly the woman who sent the text that started the "fight". She(Rihanna) would rather sustain repeated physical abuse than surrender Brown to another woman.
@ Megan Dresslar – Shoreline
Me too… I hope they throw the book at him!
Maddoff = Made off (with their money) Interesting correlation in his name
@Dodie,
Thanks for agree with me!!!! 🙂
Im glad that Obama finally spoke up and said that parents need to step up and be responsible and help with their kids education as well as the teachers. Its not just the teachers that are there to teach the kids, parents are just as responsible.
Oh, Dr. Perry, what a gift to education! He was on a CNN summit and remarkable leader. He picks up kids for school each day.
Merit pay will lead teachers to want the easier and more favored classes, the better classes. Challenging teachers are often not appreciated until years later.
I am not sure what to think of the shootings in Alabama. I really think that we need to find out more about the culprit and what happened.
Anderson,
President Obama is on the right track with respect to education.
I think women stay in abusive relationships in the beginning because they really believe it won't happen again and the abuser is really sorry. As time goes on things get more complicated and the verbal abuse gets worse. After a while women start to believe they deserve what they are getting and in spite of the abuse, when kids are involved it get even harder. Thinking becomes distorted and reasoning is no longer reasonable and they justify it by telling themselves it isn't that bad.
I love that POTUS is focusing on Education. The longer school day won't effect me since i'm in college, but when I was in High School, I always felt that 50min for each class was too short. What could you learn in 50min?
Lori–remember, Elizabeth Smart didn't want to leave her captors at first. Stockholm Syndrome and Battered Women's Syndrome are genuine things and rather than judging Rhianna, it's time to use this as an opportunity to educate people about them. In my opinion, she has a problem and is not in control of her actions.
Hi everyone.Domestic violence is an epidemic and until we all address it together it will stay.It will take everyone from the top to the bottom to start pushing back to stop this violence.Everyone needs to get involved and look at it straight in the eye and say no more.Thanks for listening.We must do somthing now
Rhianna needs to get away from Chris Brown. It will only be a matter of time before it happens again. Brown is a selfish immature man who can't control himself.
As a survivor, you feel like you need to fix something, that maybe you did something wrong and this is how our abusers makes us feel. I am one of the lucky one's I can say I am a survivor, there are so many that can not say they are survivors.
There is a light at the end of the tunnel, I still have nightmares but....I am free and I am still here to move forward.
My prayers are to all victims and all survivors of Domestic Violence.
God bless.
I was a battered wife & I left because I knew he would hit again.
With the proper contacts, not to worry.
The president is wrong that the most important thing is the teacher. The most important thing is the parent, sorry, but true. A teacher can make a difference at the margins but bad parenting is hard to overcome.
I'm kind of in agreement that Madoff should be given life in prison without parole, considering the amount of money he swindled off others. Question is... what happens should he actually reform while in jail, and how can his "reform" be measured?
someone please tell me chris and rihana are NOT doing a remake of I got u babe.....
Obama is right we need to step up our education for this nation. Many other country's like Japan and Singapore are out performing us. Me as a High School student agree with Obama 100% and including more schools day through out the year. This will help us student not drop out and go on to college and become something in life.
When someone is the victim of domestic violence (which is another term I don't like, it sounds far too rosey), the victims often develop PTSD, much like soldiers, and the batterer also takes so much from the victim that goes unnoticed by most. You lose your identity as a woman (I sure did, but I'm back!), and your sense of safety and fairness is shattered. I did not crawl back to the pig, only because I knew that it would get worse, and I wanted to live. I only hope that Rihanna has this same epiphany soon.
Patick Chicago:
I couldn't agree more! It's sad, but true.
President Obama is exactly right on education!
Mr. Canada is a very interesting man– I'm glad he's here as a guest.
Rihanna is back with Chris for one reason only: She thinks he is the only person who will ever love her.
No one will be able to convince her to leave the situation. She will have to come to those terms herself and in her own time.
I have been in those same shoes. It took me 7 years to leave my abusive husband. I didn't think I could do better. No one could get me to leave. I had to be completely ready to walk away on my own.
I pray that she can gain the internal strength to leave as quickly as possible.
Do you think the fact that this is an abuse allegation makes it harder to separate the artist from the art? Do domestic abuse allegations affect an artist's career more than say drug or weapons charges?
A combination of love and / or low self-esteem...
The schools which once had a full curriculm, with arts and social studies, and competative sports – even recess – did way better than the crowded teach-to-the-test, No Child Left Behind nonses we live with now.
Criminals are human beings with free will, who have chosen to commit the act. Guns are not the cause of crime. Personal responsibility seems to be something that our society is lacking these days.