The White House press secretary released a statement late Monday evening expressing the president’s Rice revulsion: “President Obama is the father of two daughters. And like any American, he believes that domestic violence is contemptible and unacceptable in a civilized society. Hitting a woman is not something a real man does, and that’s true whether or not an act of violence happens in the public eye, or, far too often, behind closed doors. Stopping domestic violence is something that’s bigger than football – and all of us have a responsibility to put a stop to it.”
“Hitting a woman is not something a real man does.” That sentence stayed with me. Not because it is cliche. We hear about what “real men” do and don’t do every time a man does something horrible that far too many men do. What I found myself wondering was what does this “real man” look like? Yes, I know plenty of men who would never hit a woman. But in our visual society, what does a “real man” do when he’s involved in a heated situation with a woman? You need look no further than to Jay Z.
Jay Z PHYSICALLY ATTACKED by Beyonce’s Sister Solange
Back in May, everyone was talking about Solange Knowles’s elevator set-to with her brother-in-law Jay Z. The music mogul, his wife, Beyonce, and Knowles were leaving a party at a New York hotel when Knowles attacked Jay Z on the small elevator. She pushed him. She kicked him. She slapped him. She hit him with her purse several times. Other than raising his hands to block her blows or keep her away from him, Jay Z did nothing violent to Knowles.
Contrast that gentlemanly behavior to the viciousness of Rice.
Ray Rice — ELEVATOR KNOCKOUT … Fiancee Takes Crushing Punch [Video]
Thanks to TMZ, which was somehow able to get something the National Football League says it was unsuccessful getting, we were able to see how depraved the former pro-football player was. As a result of the video’s release, Rice was dumped by the Baltimore Ravens and suspended indefinitely by the NFL on Monday. Breaking her silence on the matter, Palmer blamed the media for her husband’s travails and the trouble it has caused their family. “To make us relive a moment in our lives that we regret every day is a horrible thing,” she wrote. “To take something away from the man I love that he has worked his ass [off] for all his life just to gain ratings is horrific.”
The man she loves brought his current misfortune on himself. A “real man” wouldn’t be in this predicament in the first place.
Follow Jonathan on Twitter: @Capehartj