Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, is back to his game of displaying public blasphemy again.
We remember his rather recent clowning for Trump, or ‘playin the coon fool for the bleach-blonde political insurrectionist.’ This column talked about that issue just prior to the November, 2020 elections, as Mr. West allowed himself to be pimped by the Trump forces and had his name registered as an alternate presidential candidate in several states, intending to depress the Black VOTE. It didn’t work. He only accumulated approximately 60,000-some votes nationwide (in the 12 states in which his name appeared on the ballot).
Now comes again a living example of how too much access to money does not make one a better or even a decent person, Black or White.
For the person who made headlines a few years ago by saying that the long history of slavery in America made plain the “fact” that most slaves actually chose to be slaves (how else could one explain, he reasoned, how long it lasted and in so many areas?), Mr. West has lately added more non-deductive thinking to his resume in stating that he cannot be accused of being antisemitic (for public comments he made recently saying he was about to go Def Con 3 on all Jews) because historically Black people are really Jews, thus so is he.
Notably, there are a few authors who have made this spurious claim before, but Mr. West’s comments are noticeably absent any historical references.
And why should Mr. West be taken seriously on this or any other political-social matter? This column argues that he should not be.
Granted, he has lately been lauded for having achieved billionaire status from his recording and clothing careers. Does the attainment of such wealth grant one higher intellectual status? In other words, because you are rich, are you also smarter or are you just luckier?
If Mr. West is the case to be analyzed, then let’s get to it. Mr. West, for the first time, was invited for a personal interview on Tucker Carlson’s Fox “News” show a few days ago. Carlson characterized West as a brilliant young entrepreneur who could and should have a tremendous influence on the opinions and behaviors of America’s Black youth. Carlson strongly praised Mr. West for repeatedly sporting a “White Lives Matter” jacket, along with anti-Black commentator Candace Owens in a matching outfit, at the recent annual fashion show in Paris, France, at which Mr. West had a moment onstage.
Mr. Carlson thought Mr. West’s behavior in just wearing the attire was brilliant and extremely influential. To many other people, however, the behavior seemed to be another recent example of Mr. West’s continuing “mental illness” (he does still suffer from bipolar disease, repeatedly saying the manic stage of the condition is when he is most creative).
Carlson also heaped much praise on Mr. West for being an outstanding current supporter of Donald Trump and conservative values. Mr. West accepted the praise, saying that wearing the WLM jacket was like standing in front of the tanks in China’s Tiananmen Square.
Did Mr. West then or at any time in the recent past, say or do anything that seemed aimed at offering Black youth positive reinforcement for struggling for equal rights in the U.S.? No, he did not and has not. So, what advice does Mr. West offer Black youth? Practice Hanukkah and not Kwanza, as he encourages his own children to do, he said. And simply get rich. That’s the real answer to any Black problem.
Umph.Umph.Umph. Lord, hab mercy!
Professor David L. Horne is founder and executive director of PAPPEI, the Pan African Public Policy and Ethical Institute, which is a new 501(c)(3) pending community-based organization or non-governmental organization (NGO). It is the stepparent organization for the California Black Think Tank which still operates and which meets every fourth Friday.
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