Kanye West is an american hero...

[funkowitz]

I don't know if anyone else saw this, but Kanye West was on this fund-raiser for the hurricane victims, and he really ripped into the racist, racist reponse to this whole crisis. It really struck me, because sometimes it seems like few people still have that kind of courage, especially those who have a lot of power to use their courage. Anyway,

Comments

[lilymer]

I saw that. If it turns away potential funders, that was pretty short-sighted. There were other forums where he could've said the same thing, but he was on the program trying to raise money for relief.
As for the rest, I agree.

[funkowitz]

I see your point, but I didn't see it as a political move. You could tell he was nervous, upset, and emotional, and I think it came from the heart. As a white person, i was disgusted and brought to tears by the sight of black people dying in New Orleans while white people got ferried out to safety, and so if I were black, i know it would be a thousand times worse. We live in a society where black people are still seen as less, despite the progress we have made, and this is such a grim, awful reminder of that that i'm surprised more people aren't speaking up.

[lilymer]

Oh definitely, when I watched the video I was surprised by how upset he seemed. I get the feeling he didn't plan it, at least maybe not until the last minute. The problem is that New Orleans/Biloxi/etc really need all the funding they can get, even if it means steering away from controversy for a little while. There'll be plenty of time soon to discuss the racism/classism that led to so many black/poor people being stranded, not to mention that it took, you know, five days for the coast guard to get its ass down there. But right now the people who need to be helped are more important than the issues.

[lilymer]

Rereading that, 'funding' seemed like really odd word choice. But, you know.

[maxor]

That was pretty intense. I can't believe the end of it. That took more courage than I can ever imagine.

[anonymous]

The comedian DL Hughley performed at my school last night, and he pretty much went off of his standup to say something similar to what Kanye said.

[aust1n]

That was me, Austin, by the way. I have no idea why that was anonymous.