Posted by TheloniusMonk:
it's as simple as this joec: Kanye West is not the president. He doesn't have the entire free world at his helm. What Kanye says or does is an ARTIST'S VIEW. What Bush does should be waaaaaayyyyyyyyyy more calculated because he is the PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
That's like me comparing Nine Inch Nails to congress.
A citizen has a right to his or her opinion. They alsi have the right to express it openly. In Kanye's case, his words represent how millions of black people feel. I went to a benefit concert the other night at the Knitting Factor and Kanye West was a hero. Whenever his name was said the people would shout out in support. And the funny thing is the place was only about 50% black. White people joined in as well.
But to hold a VIEW of a citizen next to the OPERATIONS OF WHITE HOUSE? There's the flawed thinking right there.
Also, to say 'Bush dealt with this in his in a way you didn't like...big deal'. That's a ridiculous statement. We're talking life and death with the way Bush 'dealt with this'. Ask even his republican buddies who came down on him. So to say big deal in a situation where the president of the most powerful nation in the world is being negligent and people are suffering and dying from 8 to 80 is the most ridiculous statement that has been made here thus far.
Kanye does have a right to free speech as I have a right to be disgusted with his hypocritical attitude...trust me, I do not like defending Bush anymore than you would, and as I have said before, the way this was dealt with, I can not have an opinion on because I do not know all the facts.
I CAN have an opinion on Kanye's statements, which in my mind were ludicrious. The fact is it could be true. I will not go and say there is no way it didn't happen that way. But there was a better way to handle this type of situation and I do not approve of Kanye's methods. Simple as that.
Now regarding my statement, of "Bush dealt with this in his in a way you didn't like...big deal", you have taken it out of context. I equated it to what Killa said...
And for all of you who are so upset with Kanye, what he did was say something you guys didn't like. Big freaking deal.
. It is not my opinion it is the flip side to a stement in an argument that has been debated for a while now.
Call me a pessimist, call me theorist, call me whatever you want, but as I said before, Kanye does not and will not get a free pass from me because he is supposedly ( I say this because it was your generalization, not mine) voicing the opinions of a whole race. I am sorry but too many ENTERTAINERS use their exposure to voice their own view on politics and I am honestly tired of it. Especially VERY incidiary comments like Kanye West made. Comments like his, coming from a star of his magnitude can cause Huge civil problems, whatever they may be.
I myself tend to form my opinions, and in this day and age it seems that ANY comment that is bashing any type of civil institution such as the president, or Congress, or whoever is ALWAYS accepted with open arms if for no other reason they are anti-establishment.
All this talk of anti-black sentiment, and no mention that the WHITE director of FEMA was fired over his crappy response.
Like I said, I am not a Bush supporter, I am arguing over the principle of the whole issue. To lay the blame flatly on Bush and to TOTALLY ignore the local and state governments (mayor of NO Ray Nagin is black...where is his blame for not acting fast enough?) and their ineptitudes in this matter should not be overlooked.
[Edited by - joec32033 on 09-11-2005 12:27 AM]
9/13/2005 4:07 PM