Interesting point. I did note that in the initial aftermath of this incident, I was struck by a commentary written by a white woman who was physically abused by her husband on CNN. She found a commonality with Rihanna.

If you compare to the reactions to this case in the black and white communities, there does seem to be a suggestion that violence, on some level, is perceived as an acceptable form of expression/reaction by certain members of the black community, both male and female (not to say that there aren’t plenty of abusive men of all races). I also thought this may serve as a larger example of how violence against black women is regarded — do some of us, on some level, think sisters somehow deserve to be mistreated, or are incapable of being victims?