After Chris Brown’s inventively profane online spat with comedian Jenny Johnson and his subsequent departure from Twitter, the public is left to wonder once again just how Brown’s actions fit into the ways our society views race, gender, and abuse.

Luckily, Rumpus essays editor Roxane Gay has written a Tumblr post breaking it all down for us:

“Chris Brown continues to face backlash because he continues to remind us that he is an asshole.