By Yemisi Adegoke
It was the silent elevator footage that shocked the world.
A three minute video of singer Solange Knowles physically attacking her brother in law, rapper Jay Z, while her sister Beyonce stood aside impassively.
The video quickly went viral with all and sundry commenting on what on earth could have caused Solange to lash out so violently and why Beyonce seemed so detached from what was happening.
Blogs and thinkpiece’s have swirlled around the internet, dissecting the social media feeds of the sisters ( Solange deleted all but one picture of her sister on her Instagram account, while Beyonce uploaded several images of the two sisters over the years), speculating over the Carter’s marriage and whether Solange is about to write a tell-all book.
What hasn’t really been commented on is the violence depicted in the video.
Solange repeatedly attacks Jay Z, throwing several punches and kicks even after being physically restrained by a bodyguard. Jay Z does not retailiate, he simply tries to shield himself from the onslaught of blows.
I can’t help but wonder what would have happened if he had responded physically. It’s given that he would have been made to apologise profusely, his career would likely have taken a big hit, sponsors may have abandoned him, depending on the severity of his response he may have been arrested, he would have made a statement about seeking spiritual counsel or maybe even go to rehab. He would make a donation to a violence related charity and beg for the forgiveness of his family and fans, while repeatedly denouncing his act of violence as a random moment of madness.
Solange has done none of the above.
It’s sad that violence perpretrated by women towards men is glossed over in such a fashion. That the consequences for such behaviour are memes and jokes as opposed to apologies and donations.
In the joint family statement, the Carter-Knowles said both parties ‘assumed their share of responsibility,’ but only one person in the video uses violence. To act as though such behaviour is more acceptable because Solange is a woman downplays the fact that violence, regardless of the situation is wrong.
As the Carter-Knowles acknowledged, families have problems, but whatever the problems are violence, perpetrated by a man or a woman is never the answer.
Image Source: nydailynews.com