For those who don't know, rapper Kanye West has been in and out of social media for a bit, especially on Twitter. And when Kanye starts tweeting, it's not just ONE simple tweet. I'm sure we all know this by now.
But recently, Kanye West logged on to Twitter and went on a full rant about fellow rapper Drake, particularly on how Drake threatened him and his family. West tweeted, "If anything happens to me or anyone from my family, you are the first suspect," which got Twitter talking.
West also made tweets about Drake's son and even attacked "Thank U, Next" singer, Ariana Grande. And it doesn't stop there. Kanye posted a series of Twitter rants about how he paved the way for other artists, how he is an idol, how the world needs to stop picking on his family, etc.
But what really set everyone off was that West kept mentioning his "mental illness" as an excuse for his tweets, saying, "You pick on people with mental health issues."
Yes, this is the same Kanye West who stated that "slavery was a choice" and who is openly supportive of President Donald Trump. I definitely see that he has a problem, but what bothers me the most?
Kanye West talking about his mental illness sends the WRONG message about other people who are suffering from mental illnesses.
As you all know, there are a lot of stigmas behind mental illness. People want to use the "crazy" card and the "psycho" card, or just say things that may be insensitive to people who are suffering from a mental illness.
Also, I've noticed that people will use the mental illness card A LOT when it comes to mass shootings, which have sadly been a regular thing in the U.S., I hate to admit. You know, when there's a mass shooting in the news and the suspect gets shown on TV and the media lists his/her entire background. The number one thing that always shows up is "he/she is suffering from a mental illness and that's what prompted them to murder 50 people."
No, you are totally wrong.
What people don't get is that not everyone who has a mental illness is violent. You can meet people who seem regular in person, and even when they have an episode, they're not looking for a gun to kill that many people.
I know so many people who are living with mental illnesses and not once do they blame it on their condition. I've been around people with bipolar disorder. I've had a hard time getting out of relationships because my exes would blame it on their mental illnesses, prompting me to stay and "deal" with them. Once I got out, I realized that I can't just stay with someone and tolerate their b******t because they have a mental illness.
What people don't get is that society and entertainment paint this image of people with mental illnesses as violent, unstable and crazy people.
This is definitely not true.
So to get back to Kanye West, him blaming his actions on his mental illness is definitely unfair. I do believe Kanye has a mental illness and I'm hoping he gets the help he needs, but I don't think it's fair to use that as an excuse. Same goes for mass shooting suspects. Even people around me do this sometimes.
So please stop using mental disorders as an excuse. No one is doubting you from suffering from one, but don't use that as an advantage over other people.
