Kanye West Comment

[John Galt]

He's a dumb*ss. The point of the event was to bring everybody together so money could be raised. Divisive comments, no matter how true they may be, distract from that purpose.

Great point, Hitler.

[Keyser]

I'm getting really tired of the complaints that anyone who would *dare* speculate as to those who are either directly or indirectly responsible for this tragedy are merely voicing divisive and unproductive opinions at an "inopportune" time.

Whether Kanye West railed against Bush during a so-called "fund raiser", or whether its two weeks into the near future at some totally unrelated media event, it doesn't change the fact that Kanye is very likely RIGHT about the fact that the Bush administration (as well as most Republicans) have made it very clear that they couldn't give two shits about the black community in this country.

Hell, I don't even LIKE Kanye West, but I certainly agree with THAT particular statement.

And I'm getting really tired of people saying racist sh*t like that...

Racist sh!t like what, exactly?

Like claiming Bush, and most republicans, hate black people. That's just inflammatory bullsh*t that only makes things worse.

[John Galt]

Noone said Bush hates black people. People only said Bush doesn't care about Black people, which, if actions are any indication, he doesn't.

[dividebyzero]

At what point did I say "hate"?

No, hate would presume an intentional neglect and ignorance...I would hardly accuse Republicans of being so myopic.

I merely said "couldn't give two shits about the black community", and that's a fact that's not necessarily the result of some deep-seated hatred. More than likely, it's the simple result of pure electoral demographics...Most blacks voted for Democrats, therefore, we won't give a *&^% about them.

BTW, the observation that the GOP hasn't exactly been the friendliest of parties to the black community has nothing to do with Katrina...the hurricane only made the years of cumulative effects painfully obvious.

[ThePerfectSoldier]

I'm getting really tired of the complaints that anyone who would *dare* speculate as to those who are either directly or indirectly responsible for this tragedy are merely voicing divisive and unproductive opinions at an "inopportune" time.

Whether Kanye West railed against Bush during a so-called "fund raiser", or whether its two weeks into the near future at some totally unrelated media event, it doesn't change the fact that Kanye is very likely RIGHT about the fact that the Bush administration (as well as most Republicans) have made it very clear that they couldn't give two shits about the black community in this country.

Hell, I don't even LIKE Kanye West, but I certainly agree with THAT particular statement.

And I'm getting really tired of people saying racist sh*t like that...

Racist sh!t like what, exactly?

Like claiming Bush, and most republicans, hate black people. That's just inflammatory bullsh*t that only makes things worse.

Guess what?  Kanye NEVER MENTIONED Republicans.  He never even said the word racism - most of the time he used both 'black' and 'poor'.  You extrapolated his meaning to those things yourself.  Shut the hell up - I'm sick of people who pull out the counter-racism card every time racism is mentioned.  President Bush is not a race.  The system is not a race.  Even if he had said Republicans, Republicans are not a race.  The First Amendment is far too generous.

[Keyser]

I'm getting really tired of the complaints that anyone who would *dare* speculate as to those who are either directly or indirectly responsible for this tragedy are merely voicing divisive and unproductive opinions at an "inopportune" time.

Whether Kanye West railed against Bush during a so-called "fund raiser", or whether its two weeks into the near future at some totally unrelated media event, it doesn't change the fact that Kanye is very likely RIGHT about the fact that the Bush administration (as well as most Republicans) have made it very clear that they couldn't give two shits about the black community in this country.

Hell, I don't even LIKE Kanye West, but I certainly agree with THAT particular statement.

And I'm getting really tired of people saying racist sh*t like that...

Racist sh!t like what, exactly?

Like claiming Bush, and most republicans, hate black people. That's just inflammatory bullsh*t that only makes things worse.

Guess what?  Kanye NEVER MENTIONED Republicans.  You extrapolated his meaning to that himself.  Shut the hell up - I'm sick of people who pull out the counter-racism card every time racism is mentioned.  President Bush is not a race.  The system is not a race.  Even if he had said Republicans, Republicans are not a race.  The First Amendment is far too generous.

Not Kanye genius, diviebyzero. And he said "does not care about" not hate. I overstated.

[ThePerfectSoldier]

I'm getting really tired of the complaints that anyone who would *dare* speculate as to those who are either directly or indirectly responsible for this tragedy are merely voicing divisive and unproductive opinions at an "inopportune" time.

Whether Kanye West railed against Bush during a so-called "fund raiser", or whether its two weeks into the near future at some totally unrelated media event, it doesn't change the fact that Kanye is very likely RIGHT about the fact that the Bush administration (as well as most Republicans) have made it very clear that they couldn't give two shits about the black community in this country.

Hell, I don't even LIKE Kanye West, but I certainly agree with THAT particular statement.

And I'm getting really tired of people saying racist sh*t like that...

Racist sh!t like what, exactly?

Like claiming Bush, and most republicans, hate black people. That's just inflammatory bullsh*t that only makes things worse.

Guess what?  Kanye NEVER MENTIONED Republicans.  You extrapolated his meaning to that himself.  Shut the hell up - I'm sick of people who pull out the counter-racism card every time racism is mentioned.  President Bush is not a race.  The system is not a race.  Even if he had said Republicans, Republicans are not a race.  The First Amendment is far too generous.

Not Kanye genius, diviebyzero. And he said "does not care about" not hate. I overstated.

You're right.  Dividebyzero made jack *&^% in the way of racial generalizations, so we're back where we were, aren't we?

[dividebyzero]

The First Amendment is far too generous.

Wow, I'll have to keep that in mind, next time someone says something that upsets me...oh wait, THAT'S ENTIRE REASON IT EXISTS IN THE FIRST PLACE!

Kanye never mentioned "Republicans"...well, in that case, I guess that when he makes comments about the REPRESENTATIVE of their party, that I shouldn't take it at face value at all because he wasn't so painfully specific as to make it obvious to both total idiots and those who would play the semantics game (like yourself).

Saying that "Kanye never mentioned 'Republicans', therefore he didn't mean 'Republicans'" would be asserting that Bush is somehow his own seperate party without a legislature to back him up, and would therefore mean he's somehow omnipotent in the eyes of the government.

Please...I'll send Mr. West an email and beg him to make sure that the next time he goes on T.V. to make sure that he specifically mentions names, parties, family associations, lobbying interests, diplomatic ties...

Besides, I'm not even trying to say that "N.O. is screwed because of the GOP." nor am I saying "The black community is screwed *solely* because of the GOP". But don't go pretending that the party has been a "friend" all along.

[Keyser]

I'm getting really tired of the complaints that anyone who would *dare* speculate as to those who are either directly or indirectly responsible for this tragedy are merely voicing divisive and unproductive opinions at an "inopportune" time.

Whether Kanye West railed against Bush during a so-called "fund raiser", or whether its two weeks into the near future at some totally unrelated media event, it doesn't change the fact that Kanye is very likely RIGHT about the fact that the Bush administration (as well as most Republicans) have made it very clear that they couldn't give two shits about the black community in this country.

Hell, I don't even LIKE Kanye West, but I certainly agree with THAT particular statement.

And I'm getting really tired of people saying racist sh*t like that...

Racist sh!t like what, exactly?

Like claiming Bush, and most republicans, hate black people. That's just inflammatory bullsh*t that only makes things worse.

Guess what?  Kanye NEVER MENTIONED Republicans.  You extrapolated his meaning to that himself.  Shut the hell up - I'm sick of people who pull out the counter-racism card every time racism is mentioned.  President Bush is not a race.  The system is not a race.  Even if he had said Republicans, Republicans are not a race.  The First Amendment is far too generous.

Not Kanye genius, diviebyzero. And he said "does not care about" not hate. I overstated.

You're right.  You have even less of an argument now, because dividebyzero made jack sh*t in the way of racial generalizations.

No, he made quite a generalization. He claimed, "most republicans don't care about black people". Maybe racism was a poor word choice on my part, but that does not make his comment any less wrong.

[ThePerfectSoldier]

The First Amendment is far too generous.

Wow, I'll have to keep that in mind, next time someone says something that upsets me...oh wait, THAT'S ENTIRE REASON IT EXISTS IN THE FIRST PLACE!

Kanye never mentioned "Republicans"...well, in that case, I guess that when he makes comments about the REPRESENTATIVE of their party, that I shouldn't take it at face value at all because he wasn't so painfully specific as to make it obvious to both total idiots and those who would play the semantics game (like yourself).

Saying that "Kanye never mentioned 'Republicans', therefore he didn't mean 'Republicans'" would be asserting that Bush is somehow his own seperate party without a legislature to back him up, and would therefore mean he's somehow omnipotent in the eyes of the government.

Please...I'll send Mr. West an email and beg him to make sure that the next time he goes on T.V. to make sure that he specifically mentions names, parties, family associations, lobbying interests, diplomatic ties...

Besides, I'm not even trying to say that "N.O. is screwed because of the GOP." nor am I saying "The black community is screwed *solely* because of the GOP". But don't go pretending that the party has been a "friend" all along.

Because obviously that statement was not completely serious, and I hate free speech.  My argument in that post was that Kanye West was not at all racist - and I bet that when he said George Bush, he meant the Bush administration period.  Yes, George is representing the Republicans - so what?  What logic is that?  If someone were referencing Nixon's Watergate scandal, would they be addressing his party, or him and his administration?  It's not an issue of semantics, its an issue of fact versus fiction.  Fact - Kanye West said George Bush SPECIFICALLY.  What he meants is very debatable, but its semantics it is not.


No, he made quite a generalization. He claimed, "most republicans don't care about black people". Maybe racism was a poor word choice on my part, but that does not make his comment any less wrong.

Maybe he did.  And I appreciate that you can admit things.  But let's be serious here - politics is much different from race or culture.  Politics is completely by choice - no, more than that, its a collection of people with SIMILAR VIEWS.  So, in that sense, it is VERY fair to say that MANY(not all) of a group of people with the same general beliefs have the same thoughts on an issue.  Whether this is savory or not is irelevant.