strip: Kanye West and Shrek
Hey, real quick, the fellas at DigitalStrips podcast did a strip about me… see in this post here. Also they have an interview with Gabe and Tycho from Penny Arcade this week. Tune in!
On friday, Kanye west made “controversial” statements about the Hurricane relief effort, and President Bush. While we’re no fans of Bush here, we do now think Kanye West is retarded for derailing a national telethon. Over the weekend, “Kanye West” became the most searched topic on blogs according to Technorati, I predicted as much while drawing this strip. That is a goddamn shame.
Let’s focus some donations to the Salvation Army today. You can also do so at your local Walmart. Come on, there’s one of those every 15 miles now! It says on their site:
The Salvation Army is currently providing services to storm victims and first responders in the Gulf Coast states.
A $100 donation to The Salvation Army will feed a family of four for two days, provide two cases of drinking water and one household clean-up kit, containing brooms, mops, buckets, and cleaning supplies
I like that they show you what exactly your money will be going for. That right there can REALLY help out a family in need for a few days.
My wife and I have had urges to just go to Houston to help out the Salvation Army or Red Cross there…. but we’ll have to do what we can from here right now. You know, yesterday, I saw a story about a guy who was sort of a modern day Robin Hood, he only looted grocery stores for baby supplies, (formula, diapers, juice, baby food, etc.) He then took this big full cart around the city looking for people with infants and getting them the help they needed. His name was “Neil”. — I’d like to say a big “RIGHT FUCKING ON!” to Neil. A giant cyber high five to him for taking action and being a real man, unlike those punks causing trouble.
I’m sorry… I’m rambling. I probably shouldn’t let people know I have a heart… it’ll ruin that whole internet tough guy persona thing. 
September 5th, 2005 at 6:44 am
Man, that moment was great. Kanye West is totally awesome.
September 5th, 2005 at 7:16 am
DJ, I think you blew your cover LOOOOONG ago. Sorry fella!
September 5th, 2005 at 7:56 am
YIRMUMAH DOESN’T CARE ABOUT BLACK PEOPLE!
I just laughed aloud when I saw that on TV and it is funny here too.
Kanye West should replace the recetnly Rehnquist as the chief justice.
September 5th, 2005 at 8:09 am
I am half a world away from this and so the shock isn’t as immediate but I have to say - HELL YEAH! “Neil” had the right idea. Instead of being a complete fuck he took a stand and helped the helpless. We need more “Neils” and fewer self-serving celebrities who won’t be around helping this time next week.
September 5th, 2005 at 8:29 am
Mixed feelings about this one. On the one hand, you’re right– donations are the thing, and this is a time when we should be putting aside our differences and going shoulder-to-shoulder.
On the other, give West the benefit of the doubt for a second. Was he making a self-serving statement– or was he honestly disgusted with other people’s self-serving statements? Republicans have a long, long, long track record of saying one thing and doing another where race is concerned. I don’t think Bush and his amazing friends actively hate black people. But to say they don’t care about black people, specifically–? Yeah, I can buy that. To say that their not caring led to thousands of people dying, most of them black?
Well, it was this administration that cut funding to the levees by 44.2 percent. And they have the gall to say that “no one could have anticipated this” when countless studies could, and did. If you have a major city below sea level near the ocean in hurricane territory, it’s A Problem. Meanwhile, Bush talks about the disaster in terms of the damage to Trent Lott’s house. Yeah, Dubya, Trent Lott’s place is gonna get fixed up nice. My Aunt Mary Bet’s probably isn’t. And they’re both in MISSISSIPPI, not NEW ORLEANS, you big jerk.
We’ve made huge strides, but there is still a race problem in this country, and Bush seems to just close his eyes and hope it’ll go away. If I were West, I’d be pissed. And if I had the chance to tell everyone in America about it–
I’d be tempted. I shouldn’t do it. Shoulder-to-shoulder. But I’d be really, really tempted.
September 5th, 2005 at 8:52 am
Zach Miller,
Listen up, you worthless piece of maggot meat, you should be ashamed of yourself. You and Kanye West can both fuck yourself.
He’s a black piece of shit….literally.
You’re a piece of shit as well, I tell it like it is. People like you make this country look bad. Fuck off and die.
Fuck the people with mixed feeling, you can all go to HELL.
We should help each other out, especially when a disaster like this happens. Fuck politics, I’m talking about helpless people, who no food or water. These people need all the help they could get.
September 5th, 2005 at 8:53 am
who=with, I cant type…stone me!
September 5th, 2005 at 11:25 am
I’ll stick with the Red Cross…I have fundamental problems with how the Salvation Army runs its organization.
b
September 5th, 2005 at 11:32 am
like i said before i before i cant donate much but after meeting alot of hurricane victims who have found shelter here while switching buses to get to work everymorning i have decided to help prepare a smaller shelter here in town. Their stories are very heart beaking.If you think the govt has done to littlte get off your lazy asses it is time to put your money (or time) where your mouth is.
September 5th, 2005 at 11:36 am
Wow– Cracka Keith is cranky this morning! hahaha
September 5th, 2005 at 1:20 pm
TCampbell,
Whered you get that number, 44.2%? Ive never heard that. Can you please post a link so that I can read it.
I am a fucking news TROLL here and people keep posting things that Ive never heard. Maybe I need some new sites or something. Some controversial underground liberalies with hookups all over who post online only at 1:30am and immediatly remove the controversial material after 100 hits. Then I can be the one posting stuff on forums that no one has ever heard of and be applauded for it.
Please people! More links with your crazy information!
September 5th, 2005 at 1:25 pm
How could it be this administration who had anything to do with the levees? Wouldn’t that be a state and local government issue??? I saw last night on NBC news that there was a guy from the university there who warned them for YEARS, giving them scientific facts… but they ignored him. A 10 billion dollar project now turns into something crazy like 200 billion….
This is what happens when you rely on your governments to protect you. That’s FOR SURE.
September 5th, 2005 at 1:34 pm
THIS IS THE END RESULT OF THE FAILURE OF THE BLACK COMMUNITY TO ORGANIZE ITSELF!
NOW IT’S WHITEY’S FAULT.
SHOULD ANYTHING EVER BE TRAGIC IN THE BLACK COMMUNITY, IT IS ALWAYS WHITEY.
GRANTED, YOU HAVE ALL MADE ALOT OF STRIDES, HELL, SCHOLARSHIPS ARE ALMOST GUARANTEED, SO IS JOB PLACEMENT!
NOW, ACKNOWLEDGE THE FACT THAT THE BLACK COMMUNITY NEEDS TO LEARN HOW TO MANAGE ITSELF IN A TIME OF CRISIS AND QUIT TRYING TO PASS THE BLAME ON THE ONES THAT YOUR PEOPLE HAVE LET YOURSELVES RELY ON.
THIS IS AMERICA, HELP YOURSELF!
WHY DID A WHITE GENERAL HAVE TO COME DOWN AND TAKE CONTROL!
IM SORRY…THIS IS A COPLETE FAILURE OF THE BLACK COMMUNITY.
YOU WANT EVERYTHING HANDED TO YOU, THEN WHEN IT IS, YOU BLAME WHITEY WHEN IT ALL GOES TO SHIT.
NOW, AFTER SAYING THAT, WE ARE ALL DOING WHAT WE CAN AS AMERICANS.
BUT! IT SHOULD HAVE NEVER GOT TO THIS POINT.
IT IS NOT ENTIRELY WHITEY’S FAULT.
WHY DIDN’T ALL THOSE PEOPLE PROTEST TO HAVE THE LEVEES FIXED, WHY WASN’T THERE AN ESCAPE ROUTE PLANNED.
FAILURE.
FAILURE
FAILURE.
NOW DEAL WITH IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
September 5th, 2005 at 1:38 pm
Well, I dont know about that. But back to the 44.2% thing.
This link: http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4200/is_20050207/ai_n10176537
will send you to an article that will clear up what Tcampbell was saying. The 44.2% funding cut has nothing to do with the levees alone. It has to do with a broad range of construction all over New Orleans. There are no specifics on what amount of funding went to the levees or otherwise.
I welcome anyone to post something better on the subject of funding for the levees. But, I think this clears up that issue a little bit.
September 5th, 2005 at 2:01 pm
Cracka Kieth, boo-hoo.
Go soak your socks.
September 5th, 2005 at 2:17 pm
WHAT IS THERE NOT TO KNOW ABOUT!
THE MAYOR OF THE BIG EASY SHOULD HAVE GOT THOSE PEOPLE OUT LAST SATURDAY! OR AT LEAST HAD AN EVACUATION PLAN FOR WHEN THE LEVEE BROKE.
IT SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN AN OPTION.
TAKE THE BLAME FOR SOMETHING…I AM SICK OF HEARING THIS GARBAGE ABOUT HOW BAD IT IS FOR AFRICAN AMERICANS.
RIGHT NOW, IN WAVELAND AND A NUMBER OF OTHER SMALL CITIES…THEY HAVE NOTHING!
WHITEY MADE KATRINA?
BLACK COMMUNITY LACKED ORGANIZATIONAL SKILLS IN THIS SITUATION.
END OF DISCUSSION.
IT’S ALL ABOUT GETTING A FREE HAND OUT AND THEN TURNING AROUND AND SAYING MORE, NOW!
IT IS THE FAILURE OF THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM AS WELL.
WHY IS SOMEONE CARRYING A T.V., WHEN THEY DON’T EVEN HAVE ELECTRICITY TO RUN IT.
AND THAT IS LOOTING!
GETTING A GALLON OF WATER AND SOME FOOD IS CALLED SURVIVAL.
TAKING WATCHES, ELECTRONICS AND DESIGNER GOODS IS LOOTING.
ALOT OF AMERICANS NEED HELP RIGHT NOW, NOT JUST “BLACK PEOPLE!”
ALOT OF CITIES HAD NOTHING BUT DEBRIS LEFT. AT LEAST NEW ORLEANS DIDN’T GET ERASED!
FAILURE.
September 5th, 2005 at 2:24 pm
Zach Miller,
Fuck you.
September 5th, 2005 at 2:34 pm
Kayne West is an ATTENTION WHORE!
September 5th, 2005 at 2:43 pm
Despite the caps, American Psycho probably has made the most sense here.
September 5th, 2005 at 3:04 pm
Actually, just google up “levee funding cut” and you’ll find lots of information about the budgetary constraints imposed on LA by the feds. Here, just from the first link ( http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1001051313 )alone…
“The 2004 hurricane season was the worst in decades. In spite of that, the federal government came back this spring with the steepest reduction in hurricane and flood-control funding for New Orleans in history. Because of the proposed cuts, the Corps office there imposed a hiring freeze. Officials said that money targeted for the SELA project — $10.4 million, down from $36.5 million — was not enough to start any new jobs.”
The jobs referred to aren’t positions for people to fill, they’re projects that were meant to be started and/or continued on levee maintenance.
Start clicking through the various news stories from the last week, and you’ll find more of the same.
Fact is, funding something as massive as this isn’t a local issue, it’s a national one that the federal government’s been taking care of for years. Yes, they’ve actually needed to increase spending and expand their projects for decades, but the funding was never increased for that. However, every administration from Nixon to Reagan to Clinton at least realized the importance of at least maintaining the integrity of the existing system, so the funding was never cut. Until G.W. got into office and started slashing it year after year, despite constant reports that this was rolling the dice.
September 5th, 2005 at 4:12 pm
thanks for the link, steve.
September 5th, 2005 at 4:22 pm
From what I saw in the actual tape it wasn’t so much him being an attention whore so much as him temporarily going batshit crazy.
Now Cracka Keith, that guy is an attention whore. Well not as bad as an attention whore…maybe a attention male escort or an attention lapdancer.
September 5th, 2005 at 4:35 pm
A TV would be looting, but that’s not what was in the picture I saw. Not that I saw it published first hand - this website could be lying:
http://www.wonkette.com/politics/ap/index.php#finding-versus-looting-123124
It seems pretty stupid though, but that’s rasism for you.
September 5th, 2005 at 6:37 pm
kill whitey!
September 5th, 2005 at 6:55 pm
RAY NAGIN HATES WHITE PEOPLE!!!
September 5th, 2005 at 7:54 pm
Actually, RGE, the photo captions are less a matter of racism and more a matter of what was actually seen by the photographer. The pictures were taken by two different photographers and supplied to the AP by two different sources, and it’s unfortunate that they happened to be published side by side.
However, in the instance of the black gentleman the photographer actually saw the man enter a store and take the items, which by AP definition is termed ‘looting’. In the case of the white couple, the photographer could not legally use the term ‘looting’ as he only saw them pulling the items out of the water.
September 5th, 2005 at 9:25 pm
THANK YOU!! One big-ass brick of silence for Kayne…there are plenty more oppourtunities for him to vent his self-righteous opinions…like his really shitty CD.
Neil..this dude needs to be put on the news for his actions. If he got put in jail for that, his bail needs to be paid for.
September 5th, 2005 at 10:39 pm
Umm, between West and Meyers, West actually appeared to actually mean what he was saying — he was off-script, Meyers was still just reading. I’d rather a celeb who actually appears to give a shit about something to one who’s boringly reading a script.
If there’s some fucker out there that is letting Kanye West’s comments prevent them from donating money to the worst U.S. disaster in a hundred years, that is really on the fucker in question, not KW. Doubly so since West was saying what half the country was thinking anyways.
“Oh my goodness, dearest, the NEGROS (gasp) are pissed at a social structure that leaves a hundred thousand poor people to fend for themselves in a hurricane and subsequent flood, and then doesn’t do shit to help them for a week, and only sends in troops when there are looters to shoot. And, ‘they’ even Criticized The President (gasp) for cracking jokes when they were drowning!”
“Heavens, my dear, next thing you know ‘they’ will start wanting the rich, ivy-league, fratboy, wannabe-cowboy Bush to give a shit about ‘them’. And then it’s Communism!”
Idiots.
September 5th, 2005 at 10:41 pm
George Bush doesn’t care about poor people. Rich black people are okay.
September 5th, 2005 at 10:57 pm
I AM SICK OF HEARING THIS GARBAGE ABOUT HOW BAD IT IS FOR AFRICAN AMERICANS.
It’s bad for poor people — black, white or purple. The bad news is, if you’re born poor you’re likely to spend your entire life poor.
Who’s Poor? (2001 edition)
9.9 percent of whites
10.2 percent of Asians and Pacific Islanders
21.4 percent of Hispanics
22.7 percent of blacks
If you’re born African-American you’re more than twice as likely to have a craptastic, poor life than if you were born white.
September 5th, 2005 at 11:43 pm
SO WHAT IF REPUBLICANS DO THIS, AND DEMOCRATS DO THAT, AND SO ON AND SO FORTH? Does ANY person in their right fucking mind actually think and believe for a SECOND that ANY person in Louisiana actually gives two shits about what republicans do and say, and what democrats do and say? I definitely agree that people need help in that part of the country, BOTTOM LINE, fuck all the political crap, and all the other meaningless and stupid bullshit, because it just doesn’t matter anymore, and it NEVER really mattered to begin with. Let’s face it, George W. Bush is a human being, and therefore, he is prone to making mistakes, as we ALL are, and the same exact freakin’ thing would apply to ANY person who, if they were president, just happened to be a “democrat”. WHO GIVES A FUCK ABOUT THIS WHOLE STUPID ASS RACIAL SHIT ANYWAY? Is any of this stuff REALLY even worth bickering over, and worth any persons’ time? Kanye West is a fuckwad, who just wanted the freakin’ attention and publicity. How is what he said ANY different than what John Rocker said, when what John Rocker said was ACTUALLY TRUE? I don’t see John Rocker’s statement NEAR as racial as Kanye West’s, simply because New York IS overrun with a SHITLOAD of people who don’t speak english, and that IS the freakin’ truth, plain and simple. Not saying that it’s a bad thing, and I bet that John Rocker didn’t mean it to be a bad statement, BUT that’s how people took it in this country, because we all have to pander to everyone elses’ lack of wanting to learn english in this ENGLISH SPEAKING COUNTRY. As far as what Kanye West said, YES THAT WAS A VERY RACIAL AND WRONG THING TO SAY, because how the fuck does he know that that George W. Bush doesn’t care about black people? Maybe George W. Bush doesn’t care about LAZY black people who just want to live off the government, but then again, there’s also plenty of hispanic, white, and other nationalities of people in this country that are lazy too, that do that very same fucking thing. JEEZ, when will we get over this stupid assed “black thing” in this country? Racism exists ONLY because black people WANT it to exist on some part, so that they can have a reason for others to feel fucking sorry for them, and for others to “feel their pain”. I’m not saying that black people want for the KKK to come beating their doors down, because that’s not the truth at all, BUT what I am saying is, HOW MANY CHAPTERS OF THE KKK ARE THERE ANYWAY THAT ARE STILL IN OPERATION NOWADAYS? Does Kanye NOT realize that his people were NOT the only ones who were slaves? What about the American Indians who had their land stolen from them, and in place of that, we get the holiday of “Thanksgiving”, or what about back in the bible days when Jews were made into slaves by Pharaoh, and were FORCED to build what Pharaoh wanted them to build, and we now look at those things, and talk about how great they are, and all that stuff? That stuff was built on the backs of slaves, plain and simple, by a man who was so prideful and arrogant that he wouldn’t even acknowledge that there was even a God who was more powerful than he THOUGHT he was? GIVE IT THE FUCK UP ALREADY, KANYE. NOONE gives two flying fucks about you or your “music”, and I bet you anything that what you said is not gonna help your “career” at all either. What a fucking dumbass.
September 5th, 2005 at 11:51 pm
Steve is correct; I misread a report. Will do my best not to make that mistake again. Those links are good stuff.
I’m sure that more detailed studies are on their way. There will be a reckoning.
But no matter who started this, it’s up to all of us to finish it.
September 6th, 2005 at 12:40 am
I heard someone repeat West’s quote, but I didn’t know who had said it and didn’t bother to look it up or anything. (Too busy reading about Rice shopping for shoes, I suppose.)
Before this strip, I had honestly not heard of Kayne West.
And, you know, I consider that a good thing. Pop culture sucks.
September 6th, 2005 at 2:51 am
T -
What’s sad is that the actual numbers are even more disgraceful than what you’d originally posted. 10 million down from 36? That’s about a 70% cut just last year alone. Ponderous, man….
September 6th, 2005 at 9:26 am
I wonder if any of the commenters saying “no such thing as racism”, “black people are whiners”, “who the hell is Kanye West? - his music sucks” — I wonder if they’re white?
September 6th, 2005 at 10:12 am
I elect Stuart to be the Adam West of Yirmumah for figuring that one out.
September 6th, 2005 at 10:21 am
seconded
September 6th, 2005 at 10:29 am
Hahahaha
September 6th, 2005 at 10:46 am
Hey!
Kill whitey!
September 6th, 2005 at 10:49 am
I don’t know who he is behind that mask of his, but I do know when we need him… and we need him now!
September 6th, 2005 at 2:51 pm
Face it guys - race and class should be right up there with life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness as the values on which our country is built. (I could put gender in there as well but that is another discussion.) So seriously - STFU. Being black and female in a majority white male dominated environment means I’ve heard every variation on that argument that any of you could ever, ever think of.
Not saying Kanye was right. Not saying any of this is right - in how it’s been handled, portrayed, broadcast, or lived. And not saying I’m a huge fan of Kanye - actually I think many of his other political/social statements are exceedingly hypocritical. But look at who Kanye West is, and you see why he is pissed. Let me enlighten a few of you. Kanye West grew up dirt poor, on Chicago’s South Side. He’s talented, with a mother who did everything she could to see him survive, and he got lucky. His upbringing and his life prior to becoming famous have been themes that crop up everywhere throughout his music - both performed and produced.
So if you were him, and you had a captive audience of millions, and you were pissed off at seeing people like you (and that easily could have been you if the cards had been dealt differently) not even getting shafted in the ordinary ways that are a part of not being a part of the “In” crowd, but being left to die in the streets - what the fuck would you have done?
If it had been me, I probably would have done the same thing. Except I would have written my remarks down ahead of time, substituted “anyone who isn’t white, male, and in the top %3 as far as wealth” for “black people”, and said fuck. A lot.
September 6th, 2005 at 2:59 pm
Oh - and Chris Tucker is pissed.
*giggle*
September 6th, 2005 at 5:01 pm
It doesn’t matter how Kanye grew up, he obviously grew up to be a giant assface. I was checking out some blog news and mentions about him on technorati, and he was at a club in Toronto and announced he wouldnt be back because in the half hour he was there, none of his music was played……. he also complains when he doesn’t win awards— His being mad, comes off being completely dumb to me. He made no valid points…
Sure there should be criticism, but directed maybe at the right places… Kanye just came off like a bumbling fool.
September 6th, 2005 at 6:26 pm
I never heard of Kaye West before this, and, yes, I am white.
So… what does that mean then?
September 6th, 2005 at 8:11 pm
But you know what major fallacy there is with what you said about Kanye, Laya? He’s not the ONLY FUCKING PERSON TO EVER HAVE GROWN UP POOR. There was a time in my life when my mother was BARELY able to feed me AND my then baby brother, and she ALSO had to pay the rent, utilities, and STILL buy us both school clothes, as well as be a good mother to us both. But she did it, plain and simple, and she didn’t allow those seemingly impossible situations to stop her, but rather, she kept on in the faith that she had that God WILL provide in ALL areas, plain and simple. All I can say is, WAAAH FUCKING WAAAAH, KANYE. When will you realize that it’s not about race, because black people are treated the way that they are because they already make up in their own minds that that is how they will be treated. And these thoughts and attitudes are reinforced DAILY by other black people all the time. Who says that black people have to stay in that psychological and spiritual rut of always being the ones who get screwed over all the time? Who was Kanye trying to impress with his stupidity? I seem to recall that he came out with a song called, “Jesus Walks”, and I heard him say on TV one time, “Jesus walks with the drug addicts, etc., etc.”, and he had a point. BUT Jesus ALSO walks with ANY person who is willing to just DO and HELP those who are in dire need of help. I don’t see Kanye doing ANY helping at all, all I see him doing is talking shit, and acting like a major ass. That’s how he is portraying himself to not only me, a grown ass white man, but to the whole fucking world as well. Good job, Kanye, I salute your stupidity. Keep up the good fucking work.
September 7th, 2005 at 1:35 am
Racism still exists, but not in the ways that most people see it. It has been beaten down in most areas of the country to where the only places that it still truely exists are some of the hardcore racist areas. Where I think the true segrigation is coming from in this country is class. Rich and Poor the Haves and the Have Nots. We are slowly dismantaling the middle class in this country to where the poor out number the rich in a very high ratio.
How does this pertain to Katrina? Well in those states most of your poor are black, but what if it had hit here in Arizona? (yeah like that would happen)
Then most of the poor people would have been hispanic. Would the argument still be waged? Every part of the country, heck WORLD has a different race as its lowest class in the poor majority.
We need to realize that it isn’t about Profit Margins, its about People Margins.
September 7th, 2005 at 10:59 am
*rubs hands together* Let’s take these one at a time…
DJ: Don’t get me wrong - I agree that Kanye can be the most gigantic assface on the face of the planet. He’s arrogant and selfish - being called the savior of hip hop has gone to his head. He is by no means the perfect spokesperson. However, he still gets props from me no matter how idotic he sounded, because if I had been in his shoes I would have done the exact same thing, and probably to just as horrible results. What he did was an outburst born of anger and frustration, and those are rarely coherent. I was just happy that someone said something, and I pumped my fist with just about everyone else (black) that I know - online and off.
morley: That just means you don’t watch TV or listen to “black music” or “hit music” radio stations. Meh - nothing wrong with that - and the crappiness of both mediums is a whole other subject.
GraphicArtist2K5: Did I ever say he was the only person to grow up poor? How do you think I grew up? My point was that was why he was angry - not that he is the only one.
Saying that any oppressed group chooses its own means of oppression is myopic. Black people are by no means the only ones getting screwed here (or anywhere, and everywhere). Kanye West says “black people” because he is black, and that is what is closest to him and his experiences. But you could just as easily substitute “women”, “gays”, “Hispanics”, “poor people”, “rural people”, “poor whites”, or any other subset of people into that sentence and it will still be true. That is what is truly fucked up about this. (I guess this goes to purplepenguin to…agreement, even.)
purplepenguin: Unfortunately, racism still exists everywhere - not just in pockets. It may not be lynchings or slurs or forcing someone to get off the sidewalk, but personally I see it everywhere, among every race and ethnic group toward everyone else.
And yes - I think the argument would still be raised, but it might have been George Lopez instead of Kanye West.
—
What kills me about all of this is that everyone looks at how he said it, but no one looks at what he said. What I said above is true - you have substituted any marginalized group in America in for what he said and it would still be true. And no one *ever* talks about that. That was why I was happy, and Kanye was my hero for a day - he voiced exactly what a lot of people feel, in exactly the way they would have done it. Simple as that. And if it starts some discussion, or gets some people to think about how far our country has supposedly progressed - then good. In the short term we need money, donations, and volunteers. Hell - we’ll need those things for a very, very long time. But at the same time you have to recognize that the way this has all been handled is fucked up, and that the government’s focus has been on all the wrong places and all the wrong things.
Fuck Trent Lott’s house!
September 7th, 2005 at 12:41 pm
laya: that’s good, because I thought something else might be implied with that whole “I wonder if any of the commenters saying… ‘who the hell is Kanye West?’ … I wonder if they’re white?” bit.
Maybe I’m just being overly sensitive though.
September 8th, 2005 at 1:56 pm
EXACTLY, laya, it applies to EVERY person, not just black people, but for him to say that the president doesn’t care about black people is just stupid, because unless he has ACTUALLY sat down with, and had a real conversation with the president, HOW DOES HE KNOW? And for him to talk about the police shooting ONLY black people is stupid too, considering that Louisiana’s population is 70-75 percent black. Pop quiz: If you saw someone coming at you with some sort of implement that you KNEW that they were gonna use as a weapon, would you a. let them stab/ hit/ shoot you with it OR b. take them out before they got the chance to do that to you? Again, this isn’t about race, and yes, I do understand that he said that because he feels like black people are the closest to him, like they are all “kindred spirits” to him or something. But like I said, THIS IS NOT ABOUT RACE. People need help, fuck racial and religious bullshit. If I saw a black baby floating around in the water, I would most definitely pick that baby up, and hold him/ her in my arms, and comfort him/ her, and if I couldn’t find their family anywhere, I would take care of him/ her, because that would be the RIGHT THING TO DO. To me, black people are PEOPLE, plain and simple, forget about the color of their skin vs. the color of everyone elses’ skin, and realize that to be true, that’s all that people really have to do. Sure black people are hurting from all that they see on TV all the time, as well as all the shit that they’ve gone through in their own lives, as well as the lives of their relatives, and that is completely understandable. BUT why stay in that rut of pain and misery, when black people don’t have to? Sure, their ancestors WERE slaves, but they’re not slaves. Maybe what alot of black people need to do is, GIVE UP THEIR SLAVERY MENTALITIES and move the fuck on with life. I’ve known PLENTY of black people that lived their lives free from that mentality, and they enjoyed all kinds of wonderful things, and their lives were not full of pain and misery, simply because they CHOSE to give up on that slavery shit, they chose to FORGIVE any white person that in their minds may have been racial in any way, shape, or form. That’s the power of forgiveness. If you don’t forgive someone of whatever it is that they did to you, then how can you truly live free from that thing that they did to you? Think about that one for awhile, and let it soak into your heart, because it is the truth. If you don’t forgive someone of their trespasses against you, then you will most definitely end up carrying them with you, because you chose to not forgive, and the person who did those things to you will continue living their lives, not even thinking about you at all, because you never mattered to them anyway. Think on these things, because these are some serious things to ponder.
January 11th, 2006 at 12:01 pm
I feel that Kanye West was only exercising his right as an American according to the constitution. His freedom of speech is his right and what he said is only what many African Americans felt inside at such a tragic time. So I applaud Kanye for standing up.
January 11th, 2006 at 12:21 pm
Nothing wrong with free speech…. free speech can still be unintelligent speech. Andi Guess people are free to say that Kanye West is a moron too. He should stick to making music and not trying to think too politically, because when he opens his mouth about politics, DUMBNESS comes out.
And thats coming from someone who doesn’t like Bush too.