Hurricane Kanye: Who Will He Damage the Most?
By Aaron Goldstein (09/03/05)
I’ve got to hand it to rapper Kanye West. Last night, during the “Concert for Hurricane Relief” that aired on NBC and other networks, West managed to divert attention from the victims and survivors of Hurricane Katrina towards himself.
While doing a segment with comedian Mike Myers, West went off script and began to rant. He began by stating, “I hate the way they portray us in the media. If you see a black family, it says they’re looting. See a white family, it says they’re looking for food.” He also claimed that America is set up “to help the poor, the black people, the less well off as slow as possible.” Furthermore, he declared that the federal government had given the National Guard “permission to go down and shoot us.”
West yielded the floor to Myers who stuck to the script. From there Myers handed it back to West who delivered the money shot.
“George Bush doesn’t care about black people.”
Myers, who is skilled in the art of improvisation, was visibly taken aback and at a loss for words.
West’s statements, of course, do not stand up to scrutiny. But why would West be concerned with facts? Why would West be concerned with the victims of Katrina? After all, West has a CD to sell.
West burst on the music scene last year with his Grammy winning debut CD College Dropout. West’s highly anticipated second CD Late Registration was released on August 30th. He is currently on the cover of Time Magazine billed oddly enough as “Hip-Hop’s Class Act.” On September 8th, West is scheduled both to appear on Oprah and be amongst the performers at NFL Kickoff Live 2005 at the Los Angeles Coliseum.
What better way to sell his CD, promote his national talk show appearance, plug his concert performance on national television and enhance his street credibility in one fell swoop by dissing President Bush? Everyone will be talking about him (myself included) for days to come. Whoever had never heard of Kanye West prior to yesterday has sure heard of him now. I am sure Kanye West will be laughing all the way to the bank.
I am saddened and angered that I must dignify West’s comments with this response. One might then ask why I am giving West more attention than he possibly deserves? Like it or not, West has a following and when he speaks, people listen. Particularly amongst young black males. If any given young black male who idolizes West hears him berate Bush it therefore must be true. This is not to say that this given young black male necessarily lacks the ability to critically think. It is possible that he might buy West’s CD and not give his comments any thought at all. But if West’s comments reinforce what this given young black male has heard from other authority figures be they parents, teachers, church leaders or self appointed civil rights crusaders then this young black male is not getting the full story.
West does a disservice to the people of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama by insinuating racism on the part of President Bush. This is, after all, the Louisiana that rejected David Duke at the ballot box in 1991. Mississippi is a long way from Emmett Till. Alabama is far removed from George Wallace preventing school integration. If Bush is the man West purports him to be he would have never appointed Condoleeza Rice first as his National Security Adviser and then his Secretary of State. If President Bush did not care about black people he certainly would have never committed $15 billion to combat AIDS in Africa. If President Bush did not care about black people he certainly would not have taken the time to comfort Bronwynne Bassier and her sister Kim while surveying the damage in Biloxi, Mississippi yesterday.
To even the entertain the idea that Bush sat around the Cabinet table and said, “Let ‘em sweat it out” is disgraceful. Certainly, one can criticize the response of the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) as well as that of state and local officials. That’s fair game. It is clear that there was a lack of preparation, a lack of coordination and no one stepping up to say in a reassuring manner, “We’ve been hit but we’ll get through it.” The problems the authorities faced in getting aid down to the victims of Katrina has nothing do with race. Saying so diverts attention away from the logistical problems of an emergency on such a massive scale and our ability to address them.
As for shooting people, what exactly are the authorities supposed to do if they are being fired upon? Usually when one comes to the aid of another one does not generally expect to be thanked by way of bullets. Besides, in an environment where people are being raped and robbed the authorities must be prepared for anything and everything.
Although West’s affect appeared emotional and volatile I believe that he knew exactly what he was doing. West knows his audience and their preconceived notions of President Bush. He also knew that he was addressing an audience comprised of people that he would normally not reach. I am sure that Late Registration will be on the Christmas list of many a Moveon.org member. I am also sure that Late Registration will also be spoken of in less affectionate terms on conservative talk radio.
But apart from promoting Kanye West how do his comments help in any way? How do his comments alleviate the suffering of those who have lost family and friends? How do his statements ease the anxiety of those who are looking for family and friends whose whereabouts have not yet been accounted? How does telling the world that George Bush doesn’t care about black people help them to rebuild their homes and lives?
Kanye West’s comments may have been directed to George W. Bush. But in the end they served only Kanye West. With the help of prudent and responsible leadership that leads by example hopefully all Americans will ride out the storm of ignorance caused by Hurricane Kanye.
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