http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-43970903
Recently, Kanye West has come out of what appears a battle with drug addiction and himself and has taken his thoughts to twitter. His tweets began receiving a magnitude of backlash; however, many people used this to talk about how “free thought” is not allowed anymore and a particular group tries to maintain control over ones thoughts. This has led to many artists and friends of Kanye to openly debate topics that are controversial in a sensible manner.
This article exams his thoughts on slavery and his take on politics. Kanye West said “When you hear about slavery for 400 years … for 400 years? That sounds like a choice”. He then tweets a quote from Harriet Tubman that says “I freed a thousand slaves I could have freed a thousand more if only they knew they were slaves.” – Harriet Tubman. Personally, I’m shocked at what Kanye West is saying, and wanted to know people thoughts on his recent twitter rampage and thoughts ranging from philosophy to politics.
I agree with what you are saying here. Kanye is saying a very radical statement about slavery. Many of the slaves were brought over against there will to do manual labor for no pay. They were treated like property and given no rights at all. What Kanye is saying is that slaves had a choice to be slaves for as long as they did. I think Kanye is wrong with this statement because how could they have a choice to leave slavery when they were forced against there will to be slaves. Now I can see what he could be saying is that many slaves realized that they were slaves and fought for there rights earlier than rather be slaves for hundreds of years. But I think that they could do anything at the time and had to wait it out until the time was right for them to fight back. I am glad that you brought this issue to light.
Kanye’s comments about him supporting Donald Trump are highly concerning and should not be excused because of Kanye’s personal struggles or his “dragon energy.” This is not a question of free thought, but rather a matter of principles. It’s fine to respect the energy and enthusiasm with which a person conducts themself, but to condone the actions of a person who is openly xenophobic, sexist, and classist is to excuse Trump’s morally reprehensible beliefs and actions. Under the Trump presidency, the US has lost international credibility as a pillar of democracy as Trump pulls out of international treaties.
Who has benefited from Trump? Does Kanye believe that all Mexicans are “bad hombres” and that women should be grabbed by the pussy? If I was unsure of Kanye’s political beliefs before this fiasco, the only clarification that I have is that he isn’t standing in solidarity with marginalized groups in America, which makes me lose the little respect for him that I had.
I agree with tour stance here. I do not know what Kanye is thinking when talking about slavery. Saying that these slaves had a choice just seems crazy. It is disgraceful to those who suffered from slavery by saying they basically chose it. I don’t think anyone would choose to be shipped across seas forced to work in harsh conditions for no pay and to be treated like property and sold. I believe Kanye is wrong slaves did not have a choice they were forced and if tried to leave or rebel would be punished.
Kanye’s comments regarding slavery are appalling and contradictory. The term slavery implies no choice, like Conar mentioned I don’t believe that people would have voluntarily signed up to be treated as less than human, forced to work in harsh conditions, and live in constant fear of having their life taken at any moment for any reason. I believe that people should be able to hold what ever political beliefs they desire but the tweeting and rapping about the oppression of other human beings and calling it a choice is not a good look for Kanye.