Kanye West ripped into George Bush at a charity fundraiser for hurricane Katrina on NBC. Instead of reading the mild and well-spun script, he claimed George Bush is a racist, that he doesn’t care about black people caught in the hurricane, and that the media and the Government are portraying blacks as looters while portraying whites as victims trying to flee for their lives.
Is Kanye West right?
Some right-leaning pundits are already claiming Kanye West is a racist. Is that appropriate? Why should conservative representatives of the elite, whites in this country berate a black man for speaking his mind?
Isn’t this the pot calling the kettle black in the worst way?
It would be like Hitler calling the President of Israel a “Jew killer”, it would be like Jeff Dahmer calling Mother Theresa a “cannibal”. It just does not fly. The “reverse-race baiters”, who call black men speaking their mind “racists”, are invariably the most racist elements of our society.
Lets examine West’s statements more closely. Is George Bush a racist?
He wants to abolish affirmative action, a program that clearly has not run its course to reverse de jure discrimination. We see proof of that in the pictures of the aftermath of the Katrina disaster itself. How many of the victims in dire straits were white? Affirmative action clearly has not helped enough black people yet and you see it by the makeup of the people who did not have the resources to get out of New Orleans. The white citizens, by and large, had less of a problem finding transportation, gas, or other resources to get away.
George Bush, who uses race-baiting tactics, like “quotas” to turn public opinion against affirmative action, clearly doesn’t realize or doesn’t care that now is not the time to remove affirmative action. Does that make him a racist? Not necessarily, but he is certainly biased against the black community in that regard.
Look more closely. George Bush refused to meet with the NAACP, the most important and oldest civil rights organization in America --the first President not to do so in a generation. The poor masses have grown larger under his watch, while the rich got richer, even though it was obvious by the makeup of his “tax cut” that this would happen. The largely white, wealthy parents of schoolchildren used Bush's voucher-program to get away from African-American dominated schools, while blacks were left to rot in inadequate schools in the ghetto, (with no escape), just like in Katrina.
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - Marc
You're so full of it your eyes are brown!
Consider these quotes balletshooz.
" "They say evacuate, but they don't say how I'm supposed to do that," Latonya Hill, 57, said at the time. "If I can't walk it or get there on the bus, I don't go. I don't got a car. My daughter don't either."
Advocates for the poor were indignant.
"If the government asks people to evacuate, the government has some responsibility to provide an option for those people who can't evacuate and are at the whim of Mother Nature," said Joe Cook of the New Orleans ACLU."
"It's always been a problem, but the situation is worse now that the Red Cross has stopped providing shelters in New Orleans for hurricanes rated above Category 2. Stronger hurricanes are too dangerous, and XXXXXXX was a much more powerful Category 4."
Katrina 2005?
NO Ivan. Quotes are from a local report on September 19, 2004 stating what happened when Ivan a cat 4 storm narrowly missed NO and averted disaster.
What did the local officials learn? NOTHING.
You want to race bait balletshooz? Go ahead while your at it pull you head out of your ass and ask yourself why the WHITE gov and the BLACK Mayor screwed up then, didn't learn shit and made the same stupid mistakes again.!!!
And the most vulnerable got caught in the cross hairs again.
2 - dee
kanye west has been full of himself since he came out and didn't win people's choice award-there's a reason!! his comment about racism-please,he just likes to hear himself talk. most of new orleans is made up of minorities,and how can you get help there,when the whole freakin town is flooded?i didn't see him go there on a private plane of his and help anybody.if he's so pissed,then get yourself down there and see what's really going on and help out with the millions you have,that i'm sure some of the townspeople there provoded to you by buying your albums.help out or shut up!!
3 - Hal Pawluk
Kanye was right but incomplete - George Bush doesn't like white people, either.
What he likes is business people because they made him rich (in spite of his failures) and contribute to his campaigns.
It’s time that the country realized that what we have is not Abe Lincoln’s government " instead, we have government of business, by business, for business.
Sure, there are some exceptions, but most Congressional representatives represent their own interests and those of other rich elite, rather than those of their constituents.
And that means plenty of Democrats, too (egregious e.g, the DLC).
4 - Natalie Davis
Mr. Pawluk, I agree. I think with Shrubbie it's a disregard -- I won't say hate or animosity -- for the poor. We simply are not part of his mindset, his thought processes.
5 - MY TWO SENSE KATRINA
Kayne West was right to get his voice heard but did it in an unprofessional way, he could of thought it through, seems like to me he wanted to get his ideas out real quick... Bush does not like poverty no matter what color poverty is... What we really need to do is get drugs off these streets and help the ones that need help the most
6 - billy
katrina, how should he got his point out. tell it to a room full of threre people or in the most prominent way?
next time bush wants to tell a big lie, will he do it in his bedroom at a national news conference?
whats the point of speaking out if you arent heard?
7 - Hal Pawluk
Well, Bush at least "doesn't like poverty" for himself and his business colleagues, Katrina.
8 - WTF
The worst wheel on the wagon makes the most noise.
9 - Hal Pawluk
Very astute, WTF. Bush does go on an inordinate number of speaking tours, doesn't he?
Even in the midst of crises he should be handling.
10 - billy
the worst thing i have seen is some people saying they wont give because of what kanye west says. just because you dont agree with this black man who thinks bush is a racist, you will not help the victims? this is morally reprehensible. the man has every right to speak his mind. it doesnt make a black man a racist to think gwb is a racist?
11 - Liberal
Race is no longer THE issue in America. There is racism in America, of course, but it is no longer institutionalized as it once was. Just look at recent Cabinet and Judicial appointments.
The issue is economic condition. It happens, because of our odd history, that the poorest in America tend to be people of color. You could call this a form of indirect racism, but it is no longer the case that "you can't (whatever) because you're black." It's "you can't (whatever) because you can't afford it.
It's time to stop dropping the race card.
12 - Anthony Grande
The democRATS are the ones to blame for the majority of blacks living in poverty. They have been voting for democRATS for the last 40 years and they are still uneducated and still living in poverty. The democRATS have brainwashed them into believing that the Republicans haven't done nothing for them, but my question is "What have the democRATS and Jesse Jackson done to help them?"
Don't you see the DemocRATS need to keep the poor minorities poor and uneducated so they will continue to vote for them.
The majority of the offices held in New Orleans and Louisana is held by democRATS. They are continuoslly elected to office by the poor minorities who will always be poor if the keep electing them.
Louisiana has a DemocRat governor and New Orleans has a DemocRat mayor, but the people there are STILL living in poverty. What has the democRatic Governor done to help them? What has the democRatic mayor done for them? Keep them in poverty is what they have done for them. Republicans are not the ones responsible here.
Jesse Jackson is a great leader. His people continue to live in poverty. If they got out of poverty then Jesse wouldn't be important anymore, so Jesse likes to see them stay poor and uneducated.
Anyone who says Bush is a rascist should get slapped by Condelezza, Colin, and Clarence.
If I was black I would follow someone like Condy instead of scum like Jackson and the DemocRatic party.
P.S. Where the hell is Jesse Jackson??? There are thousands of poor blacks stranded in N.O. and Jesse is no where is sight.
Oh yeah, he is in Venezuela being entertained by a fascist dictator.
13 - WTF
[edited]
14 - Michael
Greetings from Down-Under
Kanye spoke from the heart ... something we all should try & do more often. It may not have come out all that he wanted it too, but he just couldn't contain his feelings any longer & something gave. Sometimes your feelings can't be put into words, but hey, I know how he felt. Im feelin' him now! If only the world leaders spoke so freely instead of the lies they're spreading for their greater greed.
"Wake Up! The U.S needs a fucking shake-up!"
15 - Natalie Davis
Amen, mate.
16 - Dimitri
What Mr. Grande said is the most ignorant thing I have ever seen. Its the democrats fault that they at least aim some of their programs towards helping poor blacks? Well lets see maybe the republicans that want those same offices will just increase the poverty in the area by creating more programs for the richer areas of the city. Do not even get me started on Condoleeza Rice because she represents those black people in New Orleans about as much as George Bush represents the black people in Washington DC. You say that Democrats are the reason for poverty in blacks in New Orleans also? Hmm I do not see any republicans coming up with programs to help solve these deficiencies either. Jesse Jackson is a champion for deficiencies in America if the man is a little biased himself than whos to blame him for being human?
17 - billy
its no surprise the gop is lost when it comes to getting black votes. the man kanye west speaks from the heart and thinks bush is a racist. that doesnt mean kanye hates white people. you jump on the bandwagon to call blacks "racists" and it sounds absurd.
18 - Aaron
I give kanye the respect of a man who spoke out and said what he wanted to say. not the scripted b*llsh*t on the news saying only what they want us to hear. I agree that bush is a racist but he could care less about race in this matter its all about money and if he could have starved that entire city to save a buck to put more towards the war and taking away social security he would have done it in a heartbeat. thank god for the liberals and understanding conservatives out there. Most of these people had no chance of getting out at all. what an example of money and greed destroying this country
19 - billy
you are right aaron, it isnt black and white, its rich and poor, the poor includes white workers, bush likes serfs and hates peasants and thats the society he wants to build. kanye west is a threat to that vision.
20 - Derek
I have
seen with my own eyes, the DISGUSTING way the media
has portrayed this tragedy. This is why I feel so
deeply for Kanye's words of truth. Despite how the
media may SPIN this...and oh how hypycritical..The
NERVE of them upset over a blatently, democratic,
judicated response from a higly impressionable figure
for the youth. I myself am a white male, 21 from Long
Island..and even I, unbiased, have seen...Bill
Oreily..LOL...yes. Good Ol Bill, amongst most
others...Present 2 african americans, one middle aged,
clearly uneducated black woman, and ASTONDISHLY a
senior citizen, DURING A CRISIS, around the time of
10-11pm..when for what I believe..his "republican"
viewers are home in their beds after a long day on the
trading floor...watching Bill selectivly timing the,
possibly depictable "ignorance", a stigma, of the
black nation, for what I can only imagine as being a
political sovereignty in favor of his republican
party. I do not believe, DIRECTLY, that as a nation,
we are delibrately discounting the sufferage of the
lower-class-african-americans..BUT...we ALLOW our
media representation...the news coverage to CLEARLY
discredit the sufferage and desparity of a BLACK
community in crisis. And while they bash the
statements of West, they subliminaly sell ad's for
LIFE INSURANCE. HAHAHA.
21 - Anthony Grande
"Its the democrats fault that they at least aim some of their programs towards helping poor blacks?"
Yeah to keep them in poverty. Have you ever seen a democrat or a black leader starting a program that makes sure young blacks go to college, stick with and graduate???
"Do not even get me started on Condoleeza Rice because she represents those black people in New Orleans"
No, because she represents the ones that came from poverty like herself and made something of themeselves.
"Hmm I do not see any republicans coming up with programs to help solve these deficiencies either."
Hmm I do not see any republicans even elected in these areas. DemocRats are always elected in these areas, but poverty continues to increase even with all the so called "programs".
"Jesse Jackson is a champion for deficiencies in America"
Where is your champion right now during this crisis??? Oh yeah, in Venezuela talking to a fascist dictator about how much America sucks.
YOU PEOPLE ARE SOOOO F*****G WAY OFF!!!
22 - IgnatiusReilly
"Have you ever seen a democrat or a black leader starting a program that makes sure young blacks go to college, stick with and graduate???"
It's called the United Negro College Fund. Their motto is "A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Waste", which seems apropos to you, AG.
"she represents the ones that came from poverty like herself"
Incorrect yet again. She did not come from poverty. Please site where you got that information, or do you assume all black folks are poor like your assumption that all black folks are too dumb to vote in their best interest?
23 - sam
if you read your history books you will learn that before the civil war republicans were against slavery. only the democrats continued to fight for it. i wonder if mr west is aware of how many people are still homeless in florida or how long it took for them to receive aid?there are many poor whites and blacks in fla yet we didnt loot or attack each other the very day after the hurricane and the mississippi and ohio rivers flood periodicly with desperate people on rooftops that do not take rescue boats at gunpoint. i belive if you are white and simply stumble into the wrong part of town in america you may just find that rich or poor you are the cause of all ills and the excuse for violent reactions. no matter how enlightened or caring or understanding you may be.
24 - 1Potato
Is the United Negro College fund a Democratic organization? I thought it was non-partisan but I could be wrong.
25 - Anthony Camillo Gaetano Grande
Here
Is a site that talks about how Rice grew up in segregated Alabama and how her parents taught her to never settle for the bottom. It tells of Rice's personal encounters with the KKK.
Rice could probabally testify that before Martin Luther King Jr the blacks were held down by the Democrats who owned elections in the South at that time. Hence her Conservativness
Another good bottom to top story is that of Clarence Thomas. He grew up in poor segregated Georgia and was raised by his Grandmother. His grandmother always told him, "Democrats will get you no where just look around at where we are at now, you must be a Republican for success, never use your race as an excuse" look it up for more on his grandma.
The United Negro College Fund wasn't created by Democrats it was created by successful blacks who wanted something more for their race (better people than Jesse Jackson). FDR did verbally support it, but besides that it had nothing to do with democrats.
The democrats haven't been nothing since FDR and Truman.
Now would someone please tell me what the Democrats have done to end rascism and poverty. Believe it or not the majority of blacks are poor and uneducated and they still continue to support the dems.
How come the blacks are still where they are even though they Democrats give them "programs"???????????????
RICE FOR PRESIDENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!