Kanye West Has Officially Descended Into The Sunken Place

Kanye West Has Officially Descended Into The Sunken Place

Kanye West doesn't care about Black people!
Ashleigh Haughton
Ashleigh Haughton May 9, 2018
309
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Kanye "Sunken Place" West is yet again in the media cycle for another series of explosive comments. *eats a bite of cereal* It all started when...well, no one really knows when it started, to be honest. After almost a year away from social media, the blackest Kardashian returned to Twitter, sending out a rampage of tweets. His messages, cryptic and erratic (2024. I'm nobody's "client"), set off a Wakandan fire storm when he tweeted out support for Candace Owens and then the Cheeto-In-Chief, himself, Donald Trump.


There is a fine line between genius and insanity, and Mr. Kardashian has been walking along that piece of twine for a little while now. He goes from saying George Bush "doesn't like Black people" to expressing his feelings on racism "being an out-date concept"...and not in the context we would have hoped for.

I think Snoop said it best, "the evolution of Jay-Z and Kanye show you how influential your wife can be to your life." For some time now, the internet has been comparing Kanye to Daniel Kaluuya's character in Jordan Peele's documentary on contemporary Black life, Get Out. For those who haven't seen it, or those who are incredibly oblivious and really thought it was just a horror film...the re-occurring metaphor of the sunken place is the contra to being "WOKE." The sunken place is the perpetual place of dormancy, regarding systematic and idiosyncratic injustice and oppression in regards to race...A.K.A, The Kardashian-West compound, as well as other locations. And Kanye and his wife made it oh-so obvious that they hadn't seen the film when he tweeted out a pictures of his home, asking if it looked like the sunken place (it does, actually,) and she tweeted that Kanye was "actually out of the sunken place when he is being himself, " which directly translates to, "he had his senses before becoming a Kardashian and shoving his head up The Man's ass."

I mean, we all knew for sure that Kim Kardashian was a woman who went out of her way for Black dick and not Black people when she thought it appropriate to text during a Michael Brown moment of silence back in 2014, but I think we all thought since giving birth to Black babies, specifically a Black woman, that she might actually evolve into...never mind

But lets take a look at the devolution of Kanye Kardashian.

In February of 2004, Kanye released one of his most commercially successful albums, "The College Dropout." Kanye has stated that for years prior, every label he met with refused to sign him because he didn't produce the "gangsta persona" popular in the early 2000's (nor the background to fake it). Instead, his music was a stream of "woke" storytelling. "Fuck the police, that hows I treat 'em," was one of the most explosive lines in "All Falls Down," and in "Never Let Me Down," West raps about his grandfather taking his mother, then six-years-old, to an all white lunch counter and them subsequently being arrested. He also made references to police brutality and consumerism in the Black community.

"Late Registration" talked about Ronald Reagan and the crack epidemic, and called out the exploitation of Black communities. Later that year he called out then President George W. Bush for not doing enough to help the victims (mostly POC) of hurricane Katrina during a live telethon.

Then in 2011, West's joint album with Jay-Z, "Watch The Throne," reflected on racism as a whole, as well as sexism and Black consumerism.

Then something happened. Now, I don't want to place all the blame on his wife, but I'm sure she didn't help things much. Somehow she was able to convince Kanye, and only Kanye, that she was "down" with that deplorable excuse for a plate of soul food. At the very least, she could have not given him the burnt part of the sweet potatoes or called it a souffle. SMH.


But I digress. Yezzus then went on to say that racism didn't mean anything and insinuated that his wife was more influential than First Lady Michelle Obama, because Mrs. Obama didn't post naked photos in Instagram.

After attempting to lick Ben Carson's ass, Kanye made it clear the type of women he values most. The multiracial ones. In 2014, Mr. West released a casting call for his clothing line requesting "multiracial women only," meaning only mixed and light skinned women, and when dragged on social media, used the defense, "The 10,000 people that showed up didn’t have a problem with [the word 'multiracial']." In the same Vogue article he tried to backtrack staying that he the casting call was for "variations" of Black women, but was confused on how to request that. I believe simply asking for "Black women," would have done the trick as Black women already come in a variety of shades, but what do I know? I wasn't a college dropout.

His fashion show collaborations with artist Vanessa Beecroft also shed some light into West's state of mind. Beecroft herself attempted to adopt African orphans from the Sudan to use as subjects in her work and had to be physically taken down by a nun after attempting to strip naked African orphans for a photo. No, this really happened. She is also on record admitting that she doesn't like working with Black women...hmmm. And this Kanye's homegirl.

He then later told Black people to stop focusing on racism, because the world is racist and that just the way things go, and publicly admitted for the first time that if he would have voted, it would have been for Trump. Not because he didn't think that Black lives or women's lives mattered, but because Trump was the winner and you're cool when you vote for the people who win things.

After a two year hiatus, Yezzus lived. In April of 2018, he rose again in accordance to the scriptures. He appeared to witnesses before he ascended onto Twitter to sit at the right hand of Donald Trump.

Personally, I have never looked to Kanye West for thoughtful political analysis or philosophy. Whilst he may think he is some sort of second coming, the truth is, he is a man-baby suffering though a temper tantrum. He has endued the untimely death of his mother, and nearly lost the mother of his children in a burglary attempt all while under the scrutinizing spotlight. He has probably suffered enough pain for an entire lifetime, but his response is nothing more than a lashing out. He is not "all knowing." He is not a philosopher. He is not Jesus. He is a rich Black man who was probably ostracized by Black friends as a child, and in his adult life, feels he is owed something from the Black community. It takes a monumental amount of ignorance, self loathing and selfishness to stand there and say that 400 years of being stolen, beaten, raped, dismembered, and torn apart from your family was a damn choice.

This isn't about freedom of speech or creativity. This is about the fact that Kanye West has a platform and there is zero excuse for using that platform to piss on Black history. We stand on the shoulders of our ancestors.

Kanye is CANCELLED

We shine because they hate us, floss cause they degrade us
We trying to buy back our 40 acres
And for that paper, look how low we a'stoop
Even if you in a Benz, you still a nigga in a coupe - The Old Kanye West


Cover Image Credit: Seher Sikandar for rehes creative
Ashleigh Haughton
Ashleigh Haughton May 9, 2018
At Orlando, Florida

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I'm An Education Major Because I Know Firsthand That Teachers Can Make All The Difference In The World

"You're my teacher, but I need you to be so much more than that."

cpabel
cpabel Feb 20, 2019
2020
views

This is my third semester student teaching in an elementary school classroom.

It has been an absolute honor and joy to work with elementary age students. They are so full of excitement, energy, curiosity, and ambition. It's such a breath of fresh air to be around these children and help them learn, grow, and develop into who they will eventually become one day. Going into this experience, I knew that I was going to be making a difference.... but I didn't know how much of an impact I would make on some of my students.

Growing up, I was very fortunate, loved, and cared for. I never had to wonder where my next meal was coming from or when I would see my parents again.

Unfortunately, this is not the reality that a lot of my students live in. They live in my nightmare.

There have been several times that I have arrived to my school to see a child crying, absent from school, or secluding themselves. My first semester student teaching, I didn't think much of this. It's not abnormal for children to cry over spilled milk or to seclude themselves from their friends because they've had a fight.

These inferences were far from the truth. These children are living a life that I could not even begin to understand.

At the beginning of this semester, I had a student say to me: "You're my teacher, but I need you to be so much more than that." When this student said this to me, I said yes of course and that I'll do everything to help her. Little did I know, there was so much I didn't understand in that one sentence. After a few weeks, I learned that this little girl was being raised by her elderly grandmother because her father had committed suicide and her mother was so high on drugs that she couldn't even take care of herself and was in and out of jail.

Wow. No child deserves to start their life off this way or live this way. What can I do? How can I help? How can I make a difference?

Being a teacher is so much more than just teaching students how to add/subtract, read, or complete a science project. You're teaching children to someday become young, knowledgable, and responsible adults. But how can we do this if they don't even have responsible adult figures in their life at home? It's so important to be more than just this child's teacher. If you gain their respect and trust, you can make all the difference in their life.

This student and I had created a bond. For some reason unknown to me, she gravitated towards me as soon as I stepped in the classroom. The first few weeks we made small talk, but in recent weeks, she has told me that she feels alone. She feels unloved. She feels responsible for her dad's death and her mom's pain.

Talk about having your heart ripped out of your chest.

I hid my tears. I didn't dare cry in front of her. I stayed strong. I want to be a rock in her life. I want to remain stable and help her through her pain. I want to make school an enjoyable and safe environment for her. I want to see her succeed. I want to see her make meaningful and great friends. I want to see her blossom and overcome the struggles that she has endured in her short ten years of life. Being a teacher is such a wonderful experience, but it definitely is trying and hard. When you see a child, treat them like the beautiful souls that they are. You may not have a single clue in this world what they're going through at home.

They may be stronger and more mature than you are as an adult. Be kind. Love one another. Make a difference.


cpabel
cpabel Feb 20, 2019
At West Virginia University

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To The Generation That Might Not Care, A Green New Deal Is Crucial

Take care of our planet and our future.

Lauren Raiford
Lauren Raiford Feb 21, 2019
898
views

The reality of climate change and method to address the issue has been a source of contention in the United States for far too long. While Republicans trail behind Democrats a great deal in the percentage who believe long-term, irreversible climate change is a real problem, an equally if not more important gap to acknowledge is that between generations.

A universally taught science concept in elementary school is the difference between weather and climate. Weather is the day-to-day condition of the atmosphere — rainy, sunny, etc. Climate is the weather of a particular geographic location over a long period of time. The weather in an area may be snowy on a particular January day but might overall have a warm climate (Trump has yet to learn this concept).

The gap between generational support for not only believing in the reality of climate change but if the government should take steps to prevent further harm on our planet is apparent. A few reasons that older generations may not support aggressive climate change policies are that many are not going to see the lasting impact of their harmful actions, may not want to acknowledge that their way of life for a majority of their life was detrimental to the environment, or that they simply do not think it is the government's role to further regulate current practices and lifestyles in the name of the environment (an argument supported by many conservatives).

Data For Progress

The "Green New Deal," proposed earlier this month by Rep. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Edward Markey is mainly a list of ideas and goals rather than a carefully laid-out plan, though aims to eliminate greenhouse emissions through the creation of millions of jobs in the renewable energy industry, moving toward public ownership (a major source of disagreement among Republicans and Democrats), and much more. This plan is a comprehensive overview of many sources of environmental degradation that our nation has not addressed, despite the majority of the nation believing the climate change is a real issue.

There will undoubtedly be a major shift in the operations of many companies due to aggressive climate change policies, which could have been avoided at a drastic level if our nation had chosen to make climate change prevention a priority. Unfortunately, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, global temperatures will rise to an irreversible level in 12 years if the United States and other countries that greatly contribute to rising temperatures do not take action. A sense of urgency has been lacking for far too long is crucial.

Written into the recently proposed Green New Deal is a section detailing how it will attempt to remedy the inequality of those most directly impacted by climate change. Vulnerable communities, particularly communities of color, are not seeing an equitable distribution in disaster funding to prevent damage inflicted by the increasing frequency and intensity of natural disasters that have resulted as an increase in rising global temperatures — Which, regardless of your age, should be a glaring flaw in our current system.

I personally doubt that the entirety of the recently proposed Green New Deal will be enacted, however, I believe that anyone who values the quality of human life, clean air, clean water, food sources, for not just those in the United States, but around the world, should be supportive of a Green New Deal.

Lauren Raiford
Lauren Raiford Feb 21, 2019
At University of South Carolina

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