With Kanye West's recent release of two new albums, as well as his questionable public opinions as of late, you might not be as big of a fan of the man as you used to be. Personally, I was never a fan. As a socially aware millennial, I have opted out of supporting a man with such narrow-minded views and such... well, ignorance. Here are three reasons why I will never support Kanye and why you should reconsider if you do.
1. His views on politics and slavery.
If you're on social media, you've already seen this picture a thousand times, easily. Once Kanye announced his support for Donald Trump, there seemed to form a social divide among fellow celebrities - those who supported Kanye and those who unfollowed him on Twitter. Personally, I was shocked. As a man who describes himself as a "free thinker," I thought Kanye would have kept politics out of his reputation, or at least supported someone less racist, sexist, etc. However, he surprised me, unfortunately. He surprised us all.
While your political views are entirely up to you, it's important to remember why we support the people we do and what it says about our beliefs. While many people believe otherwise, supporting Trump does make you racist because you're actively upholding a person who views other humans as less than. I'm not even going to get into the names that Trump has thrown around.
And then there's Kanye's opinion on slavery. Unless you live under a rock, there's no way you haven't seen or at least heard about this video. In case you haven't heard his offensive claim with your own ears, in an interview with TMZ, Kanye said "When you hear about slavery for 400 years ... For 400 years? That sounds like a choice." I'm pretty sure this quote broke the Internet for a minute, but after the web recovered, many people went right back to supporting Kanye and his music. I question how people can be so passive and careless about those who Kanye obviously offended. How can you even listen to his music without thinking about the negative ways in which he's impacting young people's views of the world?
2. His perspective on male and female sexuality.
While Kanye's take on slavery is certainly inaccurate AND offensive, similar characteristics can be found in his music. In his song Violent Crimes, on his new album 'ye,' the lyrics are as following:
Don't do no yoga, don't do pilates
Just play piano and stick to karate
I pray your body's draped more like mine and not like your mommy's
Just bein' salty, but n***** is nuts
And I am a n****, I know what they want
I pray that you don't get it all at once
Curves under your dress, I know it's pervs all on the 'net
These lyrics are a reflection of Kanye's narrow-minded feelings about women as objects for men's desire. He perpetuates a culture where men are not held accountable for their actions and women are at fault for not keeping men in check. In other words, he is perpetuating rape culture. By demanding no yoga or pilates, Kanye is keeping the focus of rape culture on women's actions as opposed to men.
Earlier in the song, Kanye sings:
Father forgive me, I'm scared of the karma
'Cause now I see women as somethin' to nurture
Not somethin' to conquer
This lyric particularly upsets me because Kanye only changed his perspective on women when he had a daughter. I hate to break it to you (actually, I don't), but your daughters are not here to give you a new perspective on women. You should be respecting women from the start, not seeing them as something "to conquer." The very use of his word "something" instead of "someone" demonstrates a culture that is still very alive in our society; one that sees women as objects, yet sees women as guilty when men rape them.
I honestly don't know how you could support a man with such small minded views on women. If he was really a free thinker, I believe he would see things differently.
3. His influence as an artist.
The biggest issue with all of this mess that Kanye has been making is that he still has so many followers despite his actions. Because his music has hit top charts before, as well as other reasons for his fame, it looks like his career won't be going away anytime soon.
What's wrong with this? Some people agree with him. As long as he stands as an influencer in our society, he will always have supporters. And those supporters, who might choose to agree with him rather than forming their own opinions, will continue to support him. Many people might not like what he says, but choose to stream his music or buy his merch anyways.
Why? Because they're simply too passive to care.
The most interesting group of people are Kanye's die-hard fans. I personally know a few people who are borderline obsessed with him and who sacrifice their own values because of it. The hurtful things he says are often disregarded as "Oh he's a little bit crazy sometimes," or "It's a publicity stunt." How far have we come if we make excuses for supporting ignorance and oppression?
I think it's important to hold ourselves accountable for the people we support; we have to question our own values if we support someone whose own values are oppressive or offensive. If you support Kanye, what does that say about you and what you believe in?
That's why I choose not to support him. I never will. I know what I stand for and Kanye's opinions are toxic, something I can never stand for. Although many might read this and change nothing about the ways in which they support his career, I choose to be among those who refuse to compromise my values.
Obviously, the choice is yours. I'm not going to tell you what you can and can't do, but you know the right thing to do.
