Kanye met with President Trump on October 11 to discuss a plethora of issues that he felt were pressing, which included working closely with the African-American community to continue to create low unemployment rates, education reform in cities like Chicago, workforce training, and prison reform. These central issues are not 'Kanye's issues', they are American issues. Whether you're Caucasian, African-American, Hispanic, or Asian, you are first and foremost American, and if any one of our communities is struggling we should be willing to work together to rectify the situation. That is what Making America Great Again is all about, and that is exactly why Kanye knew he had to go to President Trump. Whether you like him or not, President Trump is willing to talk with anyone about anything in order to Make America Great Again, and that includes talking to people he disagrees with.
And yet, suddenly the concerns raised by Kanye are not issues that need to be solved for the benefit of our communities, but rather symptoms of Kanye's rapidly declining mental health.
The Guardian published an op-ed piece entitled "Kanye West needs care, not being put in front of the cameras" by Barbara Ellen. Ellen writes that the "rapper's chaotic appearance with Trump reveals a human being who is mentally struggling" and that "if someone was behaving this way in the street, most of us would probably edge away and feel awful for doing so." In case you did not have the opportunity to watch the meeting, Kanye remained in his seat for the most part, except to hug the President. Not much to see here-nevertheless to 'edge away' from. Ellen's attempt to stigmatize Kanye's mental health issues as something that is scary and dangerous is cruel and unfair. People who suffer from any type of mental health issues is not scary, they are not dangerous, and they are certainly not someone to edge away from. Shame on you Barbara Ellen.
Chris Cuomo claimed that Kanye should not be taken seriously since he has previously acknowledged his struggles with mental illness.
"His personal history reads more as a rationale for keeping him from something like this, than indulging him. Multiple reports, his own statements, it all makes clear that he has struggled and admitted diagnoses for personal mental health issues. While he raised legit issues of jobs and inner-city concerns, when you hear the dissociative ramblings of a man one prized for his intellect and education, there's something wrong there."
How dare Cuomo try to diminish not only Kanye's genuine concerns but his opinion all because he has suffered from mental health.
THIS IS WHY THERE IS STIGMA SURROUNDING MENTAL HEALTH.
Kanye is doing what no other celebrity is willing to do. He wants to make a change, and if the only person that is going to listen and try to help is the President, then Kanye is willing to work. Just because he has had struggles with mental health does NOT nullify what he has the right to say.
Aside from harassing Kanye over his mental health struggles, commentators have called Kanye a "Negro", which I personally categorize as a racial slur.
To describe Kanye as a "negro" is derogatory.
The term 'negro' is reminiscent of the post-civil war era, but more importantly, the Jim Crow Laws. For instance, a law in Alabama from 1930 says "It shall be unlawful for a negro and white person to play together", or a 1911 Nebraska law states "Marriages are void when one party is a white person and the other is possessed of one-eighth or more negro." In both instances, the term 'negro' is meant to be deprecating. Thus, referring to Kanye as a negro is a sad attempt to belittle him and his opinion.
According to Bakari Sellers, Kanye is a "token negro of the Trump administration" and that this is "what happens when Negros don't read."
The left-wing's attack of Kanye is nothing short of disgusting. If being attacked for having a mental illness wasn't enough, suddenly Kanye's opinion is valid only until someone else determines him to be an ignorant 'negro' and therefore not worthy.
Kanye, your mental illness does not define you, and neither does the color of your skin.
