Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Uh-uh, you can't tell me nothing


I know y’all have been checking my blog daily, waiting, waiting for the day when I will finally weigh in on the Kanye v. 50 controversy.

Well, I’m throwing my weight behind Kanye. And not just because his new album is pretty freakin’ rad. Although it is.

I know, I know, Kanye’s an asshole. I get it. I watch the award shows, I’m aware that he seems to have made a hobby out of throwing very public fits over the industry’s not-quite-sufficient appreciation of his genius.

How can I truck with such a self-absorbed young man? Well, to get the answer to that question, you have to check out this self-deprecating and hilarious song from his new album. It’s called Can’t Tell Me Nothing. And except for the part about buying lots of jewelry, I soooo identify with this song. I’m a know-it-all. It’s a fault of mine. I admit it freely. And Kanye gets me, yo.

But more than that, I love Kanye because during a fundraiser for victims of Katrina, he chastised himself on camera for going shopping before he made his own donation. And most of all, I love him for blurting out, during that same segment, “George Bush doesn’t care about black people.”

Because he doesn’t. Otherwise, why would W turn his back on blacks drowning in their attics while he was off on the Redneck Riviera assuring wealthy crackers that they would get their vacation homes rebuilt?

Why would he oppose minorities receiving admission points on college applications, while remaining a happy recipient of the “my daddy” form of affirmative action, as in “my daddy went to Yale so I get to, too.”

Why else would his election campaign coordinate with Republican officials in Florida in 2000 to intimidate black voters or simply scrub them from voter lists entirely, rather than attempt to win their votes in a legitimate manner? Why else ensure the continuation of ill will by directing the Department of Justice to side with those who sought to keep blacks from voting in Ohio in 2004?

Why systematically dismantle the Civil Rights Division of the DoJ, and install so many partisan operatives that his administration actually pursued more cases claiming discrimination against whites than against blacks?

So it’s no surprise that W, when asked to comment about the racially-motivated intimidation, and unequal treatment of black youths by law enforcement, in Jena, Louisiana, responded that the events there “saddened him,” and that he could “understand the emotions.”

What. The. Fuck.

What the hell kind of response was that?

Unfortunately, I know the answer to that question. It was a response carefully worded so as to avoid taking sides.

Because George W. Bush does not want to offend racists. Hey, who do you think those 25% of Americans are that still support that clown?

It’s not like I expect W to, for once, act like he is president of ALL of the people in this country, but given the white supremacist backlash in Jena in the wake of the showings of support for the black students, W had better get the fuck off the redneck fence and show some fucking support for people who are on the side of EQUALITY. Because if he doesn’t, and if he doesn’t send someone down there to tell all those honkies to simmer down, then he’ll be responsible for whatever bad shit happens.

C’mon W, this week it’s been exactly 50 years since a Republican president last stood up for black people, and given the current crop of contenders, it’ll likely be 50 more.

10 comments:

Joe said...

Great f*cking post.

Both times I was in N.O., days after the levees broke and then again 7 months later to help clean up, I would sometimes see people taking pictures, and sometimes just standing and staring at what was around them. Every time I heard them say things like "I want to make sure I never forget this". They wanted to make sure the enormity of it stayed with them when they went back to their "normal" lives.

You're doing a similar service in a post like this, reminding us all of the ugly reality and mistreatment of the unfortunate that is Bush's presidency. It's all out there, and you wouldn't think we'd need to re-state the obvious, but in 2007 America we need to keep repeating these things over and over.

Thanks

Johnny Yen said...

If it makes you feel better, I'm pretty sure he doesn't care about most white people either, primarily in the upper-middle income brackets on down.

Moderator said...

I never thought it was much of a contest. Fiddy is very 2005 to me.

SkylersDad said...

Who are these two young afro-american gentlemen?

Larry Jones said...

They used to try to hide their racism, but lately it seems they are actually flaunting it. Maybe it shows their desperation as their "permanent majority" swirls down the the drain, but as I wrote last Friday, they seem to be showing a truly nasty side lately.

vikkitikkitavi said...

Asparagus P: Wow, I haven't seen you comment in a while. Haven't you been lurking there all this while, just waiting on a hip-hop-related post? Bless your little heart.

Bubs: Thanks, Bubs. I would hardly compare this post to actually going to NOLA and doing something useful, but thanks for pretending for me.

Grant: Saying "Fiddy" is so last year, baby.

SkyDad: Oh, SkyDad, you funny oldster! They're musicians. You know, like Paul Anka or Pat Boone, only a tad angrier.

Johnny & Larry: There's no doubt in my mind that they're definitely racists. It's not the only thing they are, but they are that. It's just a matter of belief following greed, which, I find, is usually the way things go.

kiki said...

i don't like what he does to Daft Punk

we're still talking about Kanye right?

Dr. Monkey Von Monkerstein said...

Holy crap I'm glad you're back. That post rocked the mic yo.

dguzman said...

What a way to represent. Word.

Man, those of us who are not so pale as the Bush Dynasty are pretty much fucked, considering the way this country's going. Wonder what'll happen to Condi when he no longer needs her token-self?

Anonymous said...

Maybe he can send Bill O'Reilly down to Jena to mediate the situation, what with his newfound appreciation for how "normal" African-Americans are.