We Miss the Old Kanye

So a couple weeks ago Kanye West said some pretty outrageous things. 

Now he’s released music and if one more person tells me “he’s still a great artist and has a great point, just listen to it,” I’m going to lose my mind. I refuse to celebrate, promote, commemorate or otherwise support an artist who posits publicly that “slavery was a choice.” That’s just like citing that Harriet Tubman quote about how she saved so many and could have saved so many more except they did not know they were slaves. Because by the way, does that even sound like something H. Tub would say? No? Exactly. Because it wasn’t. She didn’t. 

Attempting to break a hold over your mind is arguably harder than breaking someone’s physical hold on you. Not to mention children. With the dissolution of the trans Atlantic slave trade in 1807, the only way to reproduce slaves was internally. White masters had no problem impregnating their workforce to create and enlarge said workforce. With the condition of the mother being passed down to the child, they could rape and father children they later sold off with impunity. Yes, it’s that disgusting. Slavery was psychological as much as physical. The fact that you love children you have unconditionally even if you did not willingly bring them into the world, ie. being raped by your master for his financial gain, was used against you. White masters knew slaves who had family ties or children of any sort on the plantation with them they would be less likely to run unless everyone ran. And you try running with a 1-yr old baby on your hip. It is not for the weak-willed. Not only family, but some people weren’t able for physical reasons to run. Some weren’t able to because they’d been so brainwashed they literally knew no better. Some were fearful because going North when knowing no one could be almost as dangerous as staying in the South. The North has always carried such a glowing memory of anti-slavery protests but in taking a deeper look, you can learn that the motives behind some of those activists you so loved weren’t as pure and equalizing as they seemed at face value. Even Lincoln, did he believe in emancipation? Yes. Did he believe in equality? Nope. Not even a little. In the mind of some slaves, the devil they knew was simply easier to deal with than the devil they didn’t. 

The idea that your “fave” could say such a thing and you willingly still support him, not to mention his other shenanigans, political in leaning or not, makes me uncomfortable at best and agitated at worst. The fact that Chrisette Michele was canceled quicker than you can boil an egg but Kanye has said and done far worse and is still enjoying wild popularity shows that sexism is alive and well, even when people are problematic. 

Kanye needs help. Therapy. Someone other than his famous-for-no-reason wife to check him because he didn’t listen to her anyway. It’s clear he’s going through something but barely anyone is seeing this as a cry for help. Instead it’s either seen as “authentic Kanye,” “fame-mongering Kanye” or “hotep woke Kanye.” Let’s not give the man excuses. He’s speaking nonsense and the issues are deeper but no one seems to notice or care which is why mental health is so important. Having someone who is willing to both check on and check you is necessary. If you don’t have anyone, get a therapist. Not possible? Go to a clinic. There are hotlines and centers available to you free of charge. There are people who want to help, let them. 

I say all that to say, Kanye West has been cancelled for me and I don’t foresee a change in that. It's not necessarily that we want the "old Kanye" back, because I've liked some of "new Kanye's" music. It's that we want a healthy Kanye. So please, let’s not get into an argument, do yourself a favor and don’t recommend I listen to his album. I’m not interested.

xx

Kanye West at MSG for his Saint Pablo Tour, 2016