The problem isn't Chris Brown the problem is our celebrity obsessed culture that conflates the artist with the art. I'm not remotely suggesting there was anything acceptable about what he did and knowing our culture he probably got a fraction of the punishment he deserved. If there is handwringing to be done it shouldn't be over enjoying a piece of art(the song in question) it should be over to what extent you contribute to a celebrity culture that allows celebrity criminals to get off easy for their crimes. Artists are ordinary people some are good some are bad some do bad things sometimes some do really horrible things. All of them are capable of creating art that is good on it's own merits. The only reason this article was written is because it's a contemporary artist who's failings are big news. If you wander a museum will you see footnotes that this artist has had a complete background check and nothing morally uncomfortable was found? The art and the artist are 2 separate things that stand or fall on their own merits. If you want to(reasonably) avoid financially supporting Chris Brown because of what he did fine, ban him from your Pandora stations, never request his songs on broadcast radio, only buy his music second hand. But to feel guilty about or refuse to enjoy good art because it was done by a bad person is a misdirection resulting from celebrity culture. You'll do more good refusing to take an interest in the personal lives of any artist than feeling guilty about enjoying a song by one you don't like personally.

good post, but jesus, spare our old eyes and give us some paragraphs!