News/Commentary

Kanye West’s inflammatory rant gets him suspended, sparks divisive Twitter storm

October 10, 2022 | | Print Article

If there’s one thing Kanye “Ye” West is really, really good at, it’s stirring up controversy. But his recent multi-platform rant about Jews has not only resulted in his Twitter account being locked, it’s fueled full-on chaos, as people on both sides of the aisle question what it means to be antisemitic and the hypocrisy that comes with pulling the race card.

As BizPac Review reported, after being booted from Instagram over a heated fallout with Sean “Diddy” Combs, Ye slid over to Twitter where, for reasons that are nearly impossible to discern, he declared he would be going “death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE.”

“The funny thing is I actually can’t be Anti Semitic because black people are actually Jew also,” Ye stated in the now-deleted tweet. “You guys have toyed with me and tried to black ball anyone whoever opposes your agenda.”

Later, he suggested that it is Jews who are responsible for creating the “cancel culture.”

https://twitter.com/kanyewest/status/1578964763220271105?s=20&t=fKdW9XUS2zLx02LkvJHuvg

That comment, and the tweet preceding it, got his account suspended, just hours after Elon Musk welcomed him back.

Predictably — and, if we’re honest, not without reason — users on Twitter rushed to tell Ye just how wrong he is.

“Kanye West’s death threat against Jewish people cannot be ignored,” tweeted author/filmmaker Steven Beschloss. “As much as you don’t want to amplify his anti-Semitic hate, it’s the duty of everyone with a platform, especially elected politicians, to speak out against this. There is no such thing as an innocent bystander.”

“That anti-Semitic tweet and death threat from Kanye West should’ve been enough for Twitter to suspend him permanently,” stated Christopher Bouzy. “It’s so bad I don’t even want to share a screenshot.”

“Kanye West: if you see yourself at war with Jewish people, then you are, by definition, Antisemitic,” said NY Congressman Ritchie Torres. “Shame on you and your enablers like Tucker Carlson.”

As flawed as the “guilty by association” logic of Torres may be, it does illustrate the problem either side faces when they cling to anyone who says something that conforms to their political narrative. Choose a voice that is unpredictable to elevate, and you could find yourself lumped in with whatever insane view they may express next.

But, while many on the left are gleefully slamming conservatives for the words of a rapper, many on the right are doubling down on their support for Ye in a dangerous game of “whataboutism” that will could come back to bite some of them as midterm elections approach.

“Kanye West and Dave Chappelle, is there a pattern?” asked Jason Whitlock. “The industry wants both of them cancelled. Black rappers and comedians are free to denigrate black people and white men a million different ways. But there’s a line they better not cross. And everybody knows it.”

“Amazing how they’ll call @KanyeWest an antisemite but won’t discuss how Rashida Tlaib says thinking about the Holocaust makes her feel calm and fuzzy,” tweeted Lavern Spicer.

In a separate tweet, Spicer included a screenshot of a tweet from Ilhan Omar in which she said, “Israel has hypnotized the world, may Allah awaken the people and help them see the evil doings of Israel.”

“Let’s talk about REAL antisemitism and not what @KanyeWest said,” Spicer said.

“Kanye West can trash Black people, use the N-word, repeat white supremacist tropes, talk about being the bullied kid that is coming back to ‘shoot the school up’——Nothing happens,” tweeted Bishop Talbert Swan. “As soon as Kanye offends Jews, Instagram restricts his account.”

https://twitter.com/lavern_spicer/status/1579214424576884736?s=20&t=fKdW9XUS2zLx02LkvJHuvg

https://twitter.com/lavern_spicer/status/1579420414039986177?s=20&t=fKdW9XUS2zLx02LkvJHuvg

And while arguments can be made in support of and against all of the reactions to West’s rant, with America already so divided, the bigger story needs to be the destruction political tribalism is doing to our society as a whole.

No, Liberal Twitter, Tucker Carlson and Elon Musk are not Jew-hating Nazis simply because they know or have interviewed Kanye West.

And, no, Conservative Twitter, the fact that there are antisemitic socialists in Congress does not equate to a pass for Ye, just because he donned a MAGA hat.

The sooner we stop trying to paint everything with a red or blue stroke, the sooner we can all get back to saving our country before inflation, energy shortages, or nuclear catastrophes do us all in.

 

Melissa Fine
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