Kanye I’ma Let You Finish…
Why Can’t Kanye See That He’s Being Used by Trump?
West then said, “Let’s stop worrying about the future, all we really have is today.”
When you’re a celebrity in the music world, people will want to hear your opinion about music, art, and other performers. However, today’s climate is increasingly political and its hard for entertainers to avoid the political scene and feel that they must come down on a side. Most in the entertainment industry trend to the Left but there are those that trend to the Right.
It’s a known fact that many Black people tend to heavily vote Democratic despite our conservative attitudes on social issues, issues that the Republican Party hasn’t figured a way to exploit. Black people tend to be extremely conservative on issues like abortion and gay marriage but since Blacks are also very sophisticated with the voting process, it’s clear that we are not “one issue voters”. We vote for our economic interest and don’t say much when characters on Will and Grace kiss on national television.
It is my personal opinion that Black people need to work with the Democratic Party instead of just complaining about how they “take us for granted all the time.”
But there is a saying…
“The Democratic Party may take us for granted but the Republican Party takes us for fools.”
What ails the black community today?
Police brutality, gentrification, racism, education, economic issues, healthcare, environmental issues, and more. (Note: These issues are not ranked by matter of importance.)
Kanye West was born in Atlanta but raised in Chicago, Illinois to middle class parents on the historic South Side of the city. For those that personally knew Kanye as he grew up here, they tell a story of being born to educated parents who gave him a life of privilege. He wasn’t rich by the $250 Million dollars that he’s worth, but he had parents that valued education and raised in a stable home. These are things that many children on the South Side will never see.
Topics of discussion, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement, “will include manufacturing resurgence in America, prison reform, how to prevent gang violence and what can be done to reduce violence in Chicago.”
West hopes to discuss two key issues during his visit at the White House: job opportunities for ex-convicts and ways to increase manufacturing jobs in and around his hometown of Chicago.
I feel as if I’m living in the Twilight Zone. The self-proclaimed college dropout is going to the White House to speak with the President about very important issues facing the Black community and the economy.
I’m sorry, did I miss something?
When I think of excellent Black scholars, I think of Michelle Alexander who wrote an entire book about prison reform and how this has affected the black community. I think of Dr. Cornell West and Michael Eric Dyson Ph.D. There are many people out there that would be better qualified and prepared to speak on these issues that tend to plague our communities.
Not someone who made the statement that slavery “sounds like a choice”. I don’t believe that Kanye can eloquently speak on economics, racism, or manufacturing jobs when he doesn’t have a background in any of those issues. It’s not classist to wonder if someone who grew up in a middle- class household can speak to the violence that takes place in the socioeconomic deprived areas of the city. Areas that he didn’t actually live in. The section of the city that Kanye lived in is in a middle-class Black neighborhood where most of the people are working class. Kanye didn’t grow up amongst gangs, drugs, and violence, even though those things completely exist in nearly every neighborhood.
Kanye and I grew up in some of the same areas. Despite the fact that my father died at the age 50, and I was raised by a single mother, I was still insulated from most of the issues that plagued the Black community. I was insulated from violence, gang activity, and drugs for the most part. I hadn’t ever seen a drug in my life and yes, I grew up on the “notorious” South Side. There are many neighborhoods on that side of Chicago that are livable. You can raise a family without too much detriment if you can get your kids through the terrible public school system or at least send your kids to a private institution.
So, I’m supposed to believe that out of all the qualified people that President Trump can talk to, he wants to talk to a rapper? A man that spends most of his time either on the East or West Coast with his family.
He’s no Chance the Rapper with his philanthropy nor does he have Chance’s down to earth demeanor. Kanye has very little connection to the areas in need of the most help. Very little connection at all. Chance the Rapper has a very different background and set of ethics.
“He’s been a terrific guy,” Trump told reporters of West Tuesday afternoon on the White House South Lawn before departing for Iowa. “You know, he loves what we’re doing for African-American jobs, for so many different things. Median income, as you see, at an all-time high. Poverty level at the best rate — meaning the lowest rate so far. And Kanye is a smart guy. And he sees that.”
Cue President Trump….
“He might not expect to have a crazy motherf***r like Kanye West support him,” West told those in the Oval Office.
He believed that his last meeting with Kanye caused his approval rating with African Americans to shoot up to nearly 36%, depending on who you speak to. This is ignorance. Trump’s approval rating amongst African Americans in this country is around 9%. To believe that Kanye West, a rapper and producer, has more influence with the Black community than say Barack Obama? Or some other learned and revered figure? Are Black people, young and old, just all hip-hop heads that don’t read books nor follow politics so the moment we see him hobnobbing with Kanye, we want to advance him some sort of street credibility? Are Black people, like my mother, and others of the Baby Boomer generation suddenly followers of the words of Kanye?
You need your head examined if you believe this nonsense.
Kanye’s credibility in the Black community is strained already and he has his association with Trump to thank for that.
Does Trump think he can appear in a couple of rap videos and the lyrics of a song and believe that’s all it takes to impress the Black community? This is why the Republican Party has not been able to make any headway in our community. They are completely out of touch and they don’t know much about us. However, they have fools like Kanye West and Candace Owens to do their dirty work for them. Thanks to their black skin, these individuals can say the things they’ve always wanted to say to and about Black people.
They repeat nonsense about Russian inspired campaigns to #walkaway and most egregiously, speak about how Black people are still on a Plantation. A plantation of the Democratic Party’s making designed to keep us voting for the Democrats because we don’t have minds of our own. The Republican Party never thought to realize that perhaps they don’t have a plan for Black people in the GOP.
It’s okay for the GOP to speak to their White voters about economic anxiety and how it’s the fault of illegal immigrants but the reason Black voters can’t get ahead is because they’re black and don’t try hard enough. This is the non-message the GOP has been offering to us since Nixon and they wonder why we’ve left the party in droves.
What happened today?
A rambling, incoherent, and troubling rant from Kanye caused Trump and reporters to sit in stunned silence as he went on and on and on. Niger Innis was on television today speaking in a debate with former Rep. Nina Turner (Ohio) and stated that Kanye was able to “speak on a variety of issues”.
None cogently and coherently.
Simply mentioning this issues does not give them the gravitas and seriousness that they deserve. What did Kanye think he was doing for our community? A solid favor? Did he think that black people were going to start tweeting him, thanking him for finally speaking up about our issues? Especially when all he did was talk about himself?
This is the final straw. I don’t blame Kanye. I blame the President. Trump doesn’t care about us because if he did, he would have treated this lunch more seriously than he did. The Press should not have been invited. There should have been some serious PhDs and other experts present that can speak to many of these issues with some intelligence and coherence that they deserve. This was not the time for Trump to sit across from one of his “fans” while someone gave him the verbal version of a blow job. That’s what the Golden President did. Sat there with his arms folded across his chest, listened intently to someone who sounded like they had ingested too much caffeine.
Trump doesn’t care about Black people.
That’s a line that should be familiar to him. He’s already accused one President of this same offense but somehow, he can’t see that in this President. This is 2018 and the President of the most powerful country in the world is going to sit down and have a serious discussion with a rapper?
Wake up, Kanye. The President is using you. He doesn’t care about you or the issues that face Chicago. He’s into his second year in his term and hasn’t addressed the issue yet. Remember, Trump said that he could fix the violence issue in Chicago all by himself. What is he waiting for? His poll numbers to go up in our community? Flint, Michigan is watching and waiting.
He’s using you YE. He’s hoping his “Kanye meeting” will translate into votes from African Americans. He doesn’t do much outreach to us. You’ll never see Trump in Gary, Indiana as he goes around on his Victory Tour two years AFTER winning the Presidency. He’s still doing campaign rallies in areas that supported him by wide margins. He simply doesn’t care about the parts of the country that didn’t vote for him but need him and yet, we’re supposed to give this man a chance? He goes on and on about the jobs he’s helped to create but he can’t articulate to Kanye or anyone else just WHAT he’s done to create more jobs nor can he articulate what bills he’s passed to increase jobs. He can’t tell you how he did it. He can just tell you that he did it and we’re supposed to go with that.
Not me.
But Kanye have at it. I’m sure you think in your mind that you’re the right man for the job. I’m sure you believe that just because you were raised here, you’re the one to handle this. But let me tell you something that no one around you has the guts to tell you. I’m from the South Side. I know the people you used to hang out with before you became big. I know the things that they’ve told me. I talked to one of your good friends today and he was very disappointed in you. Chicago is embarrassed. You should be embarrassed. Sure, I blame Trump for using you too but I also will throw some blame your way as well. I don’t believe that you’re totally helpless here. I believe that you think you’re so huge that you can’t see that you simply aren’t qualified to take on every problem in the world just because a hat makes you feel like Superman.
Someone needs to tell you the truth. The people that “love” you need to sit you down and tell you that you’re not Superman. You are not qualified to fix very complex issues that don’t just affect you. These are real issues and they deserve all the seriousness in the world than a simple lunch at the White House.
It’s just a shame that you can’t see that. I just wish Taylor Swift was in the building to get some payback….
