“There
will be mistakes, there will be flaws in the way I communicate.
Because we're human beings, we're flawed. I'm not media trained. I'm
not studied in that. I'm not trying to say the right thing. I'm just
trying to say exactly what I feel out of love.”
Which
is why you should stop it. This is the fourth time I've written about
Kanye West. (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3) West has been on a very
public downward spiral for years now which has seemed to amplify in
recent weeks. I started this off with a quote from him stating that
he is not media trained because he is using it as an excuse for his
behavior. Everything he says is covered by an excuse, or if you wanna
be politically correct, a reason. It is because of drug use. It is
because of stress. It is because he was scared. It is because his
mother died. It is because of you, the public.
For
every good thing Kanye has planned for his future projects and the
future of Chicago he has two more ideas that make people question his
mental health. Recently he posted a conversation between him and Dr.
Jan Adams. If you are not familiar with his name he is the doctor
that was tried in the death of Kanye's mother, Donda West after
liposuction. Kanye blamed himself and where he moved his mother for
her death saying that if he had not moved her to California she would
still be alive. Adams in his response to Kanye which is the nicest way
of saying “Nah, I'm good, bruh. But thanks” said “I am
impressed that you want to 'forgive and stop hating'. That's
impressive. More of us need to adopt that philosophy...I don't
want to seem ungrateful. I just think that if in fact this conversion
to love is genuine on your part then it's inappropriate to drag the
negativity of the past with it.”
Speaking
of the past, one of the things that got this whole ball rolling was
Kanye posting a picture wearing a Make America Great Again hat. In a
new “song” he rapped “Make America Great Again
had a negative perception/I took it, wore it, rocked it, gave it a
new direction” and “See, that's the problem with this damn
nation/All blacks gotta be Democrats, man/We ain't made it off the
plantation.” You talk about politics and I roll my eyes so hard
that they can see into the past and I try to figure out how I ended
up in this discussion. Many people do not like the president for a
multitude of reasons and some do for whatever reason. I don't like
politics, politicians, or talking about either even though sometimes
I have to. If you say you are a fan of him and refer to him as a
brother of yours, particularly if you're Black, people are gonna be
baffled, angry, and disappointed. On TMZ he said:
“When
you hear about slavery for 400 years - for 400 years?! That sounds
like a choice. Like, you was there for 400 years and it's all of
y'all? It's like we're mentally in prison.” I'm not sure if he
knows how slavery worked. I mean, I wasn't there but I have a pretty
good idea of how it went down. I've said in the past that I have way
too much bitch in me to have been a slave. My survival instinct isn't
a percentage of what my ancestors had. You aim a whip at me and I'll
do what you want. You hit me with it I'll do something to get my ass
killed because fuck that life. I am shocked by how many managed to
survive even after slavery was abolished. But to say that slavery was
a choice is one of the most ignorant things I've ever heard someone
say and I've heard some ignorant shit in my life. I've also written
some of it. He makes it sound like each slave was a slave for 400
years. And it was actually closer to 250 years, not 400. So let's
stop putting that false information out there.
The
actual CHOICE or Option A. when it came to slavery and being a slave
was being strong enough to survive and endure that shit and having
faith that one day it'd be over. Option B. was straight up killing
yourself. If people had not been strong enough to take whippings,
beatings, rapes, torture, and all the humiliation that came with it I
would not be here today. Children bought and sold the same way people
adopt pets these days, except those pets get better treatment. I
think people somehow got tired of hearing Black people talk about
slavery when in fact I am shocked by how little it is talked about.
We have an idea of what slavery was. Tales. Drawings. Some photos
including terrible ones of scarred bodies. But when you really think
about when it technically ended that shit was not that long ago. 250
is a few lives. My great grandfather was born into slavery and owned
by his father. Not my great-great-great-great-great grandfather in
another country. He was born here after his mother was raped by the
guy that owned her. He had my grandmother, she had my mother. That is
how recent the shit is so you'll have to pardon people that are still
a tad bit upset about statements like Kanye's.
Someone
else that was upset by Kanye's words was Van Lathan of TMZ. And by
the look on Kanye's face you could tell that 1. He does not talk to
normal people. And 2. People do not talk to him like this. “I
actually don't think you're thinking anything. I think what you're
doing right now is actually the absence of thought. And the reason
why I feel like that is because, Kanye, you're entitled to your
opinion. You're entitled to believe whatever you want. But there is
fact, and real-world, real-life consequence behind everything that
you just said. And while you are making music and being an artist and
living the life that you've earned by being a genius, the rest of us
in society have to deal with these threats to our lives. We have to
deal with the marginalization that has come from the 400 years of
slavery that you said, for our people, was a choice. Frankly, I'm
disappointed, I'm appalled and, brother, I am unbelievably hurt by
the fact that you have morphed into something, to me, that's not
real.”
Trevor
Noah of The Daily Show, who is biracial from actual Africa, commented
“Going blond is a choice. Both are terrible but one is easier to
undo. Although when I think about it, slavery was a choice- for white
people. White people were like, 'Hey, should we keep doing things
ourselves or make other people do it for us? Hmm...yeah, other
people. That sounds good.” He continued. “Normally, I would care
what Kanye West says about slavery or black history. But what does
suck is that now every member of the tiki torch club out there is
going to use Kanye's words to justify their hate. Basically, the way
Kanye samples old-school soul music is how racists are going to
sample him now. Kanye may think he's just being a free thinker but
the truth is, there's nothing good coming out of this. Except maybe
an idea for a new movie.”
On
TMZ Kanye also brought up the fact that he got liposuction.
Surprising after what happened to his mother. “I had plastic
surgery because I was trying to look good for y'all. I got
liposuction because I didn't want you to call me fat like you called
Rob (Kardashian) at the wedding and made him fly home before me and
Kim got married.” He also got addicted to opioids during this time
and is currently taking multiple medications when he feels like it.
So he risked having the same surgery that led to his mother's death
and say he got it because he didn't want to be made fun of. For as
much shit talking as he does he for sure has some terrible self
esteem issues. It is something men don't like to admit to having
physically.
Not
even counting all the confidence issues I've had regarding my ability
to talk to others, be around them, or work with them I've had issues
with myself in terms of my height, weight, skin condition, teeth,
hair, and my voice. What helped me was talking to others and not
saying “Oh, I feel better because they got it worse than me!” but
knowing that everyone, no matter how perfect you think they are, have
an issue with something. It can be physical, mental, spiritual, or
all three. For the past few months I've been exercising almost every
day not to attract someone or to get someone else but because my
family has a shitty health history. Even if I could get surgery to
help I wouldn't because doing shit yourself feels better. If you do
something for someone else that is all you're doing. The problem with
Kanye is that he is doing things for others while saying he is doing
it for himself to help others...for himself.
Whether
you want to admit or or not Kanye has an influence on millions of
people. Be it through music, fashion, business, or inspiration. So
when he says some silly shit there is likely a huge percentage that
thinks he is making perfect sense. And that is dangerous. You can
think that words don't hurt but anyone over the age of 2 knows that
is not true. Most words can sting more than actions. I'm tired of
telling this dude to stop it.
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