Older women have been warning their younger counterparts for years that if a man will hit you once, he’ll do it again.  This is not something they made up.  The advice is given for good reasons.  According to Healthy Place (www.healthyplace.com) young women between the ages of 16 to 24 experience the highest rates of relationship violence, and both jealousy and punching are listed as controlling behavior, a symptom associated with abuse.  Yet, over and over again, women not only forgive the men who abuse them, they return to them as well.  It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that the long-term effects will be devistating.

I want to believe that what happened between Chris Brown and Rihanna was an issolated act of immaturity which they have both learned from and wish them the best as they move forward.  I would caution them, however, to consider the consequences for their safety and their futures if, in fact, there is even the slightest possibility that it might not be.  Life changing events should be proceeded in with caution and, usually, take more than a week or two to decide.