NBC broadcasted a celebrity Katrina telethon tonight. In general, it was an unremarkable event, except for a certain two minute segment.
Kayne West (who is this guy anyway?) appeared on camera with Mike Myers to deliver a tag-team plea for cash. Myers delivered his lines with the sort of drama you’d expect, but when it was West’s turn, he decided that the speech he was to intone wasn’t quite his style, so he ditched the cue card and instead, stumbled and stammered his way through a Bush slam.
You gotta feel for Mike Myers. You can see him becoming uncomfortable throughout the segment, but still trying to keep his composure. He was doing O.K. until West blurted out, “George Bush doesn’t care about Black people”. Mike’s “quick turn of the head” toward West spoke volumes. Too bad the camera cut away. I have a feeling Mike wanted to slug him.
So, congratulations Kayne. NBC issued a statement saying they think you’re nuts, and the American Red Cross was forced to pull out the “we’re a neutral, impartial organization” speech.
You ruined the event, you idiot.
UPDATE: Kanye West booed by football crowd.
UPDATE II: ‘George Bush Hates Midgets‘
I’m in total agreement with you, Bill. Kanye West’s real motive is to sell his new album, NOT to gather aid for the victims of Katrina. Instead, he made a complete idiot out of himself in front of millions. I knew fully well who Kanye was before his latest appearance and respected him for how far he has made it in the buisness.. but I have no respect for him now. I applaud Mike Myers for keeping his composure.. now THERE’S someone who truly wants to help.
Your numbers are off Madellaine. 67.25% of the New Orleans population is black.
This all has to do with the numbers. It’s only logical that there’s more black people still left in New Orleans. There’s more of them to get out. I mean, the black population in N.O. is double that of the white population. More than double.
And no, many American’s don’t pay attention to pop culture because it’s stupid, pointless, and rots brains. Kanye didn’t even have anything important to say. He was just rambling. I don’t even know if he meant to say what he did. Probably just fell outta his mouth along with all the other poopie. Who knows.
Either way, it’s wrong. The numbers show that there should be mostly black people left in the city. It’s not because the government hates black people, it’s in the numbers!
I can’t stress enough how much the numbers mean. I should know, numbers are my life. Anyone with half a brain should see that the truth lies in the numbers.
“Who is this guy anyway?” Well, since it was a celebrity telethon, common sense should tell you that he’s a celebrity. If you are an american and part of the so-called “great melting pot” than you would be aware of all aspects of american culture. Unless you’ve been living in the cloudy bubble of white culture, you should know that Kanye West dominated the Grammy Awards this year, he was nominated for ten awards, won a Grammy, as well as produced hits for Alicia Keys and others. He’s intelligent and has intelligent parents (his father has several doctorates), so don’t reply and try paint him as some poor, dumb ghetto kid. For future reference, if you are uninformed, take the time to look it up. If you simply don’t care to, stay ignorant but don’t speak out of ignorance.
Now, you say he “stummbled and stammered his way through a Bush slam.” He’s little over 25 years old. He was on national television, live, deviating from a script about a subject that’s turned into a socio-policitical issue (not his field). You don’t suppose that he could be, oh, nervous or upset?
Kanye West had the courage to stand up and speak the truth about how the media in this country portrays blacks (“looters” in this case, “thugs” in others) as opposed to its white counteparts (“looking for food” in this case, “suspects” in others), he then spoke about his regrets about not taking immediate action himself, he acknowledged the efforts of the Red Cross, asked for everyone to help in anyway they could, and his very last statement was that “Bush doesn’t care about black people”. Was Bush slamming all you heard?
Are you not aware that politicians rarely care about citizens who overwhelmingly voted against them?
Are you not aware of the fact that Bush is a big business-loving Republican? Why would he care about blacks, the underclass, or the disenfranchised? Not only that, the Tsunami was a complete surprise. Katrina was predicted over a year ago and look at the contrast of how each situation was handled by our govenment and emergency services. (see article: http://www.indyweek.com/durham/2004-09-22/cover.html)
As for Mike Meyers, from my point of view he didn’t seem all that uncomfortable, with the exception of being shocked (as anyone would be) by Kanye’s last statement. From my point of view, there’s a point in time where Meyers seems to nod in agreement. You are, again, speaking out of ignorance when you assume what Meyers is thinking. You can only say it is in your anything-but-humble opinion.
(See video clip at http://michaelmoore.com, scroll to bottom, lower left)
So congratulation go to Kanye West. Although Republican-backed NBC had to say what they did to protect the station, I and many others applaud you for having the courage to speak out.
As for the Red Cross being a neutral and impartial organization. If they were, then since 80% of the population in New Orleans are black, then 80% of thos evacuees aided by them should be black.
So far, that’s not reflected in the faces of the victims saved in the CNN clips. We shall see.
I agree with Kanye West. George Bush doesnt care because if he did, those people would have had food and water 5 days ago, and you wonder why they were looting. Because they had no food. If there were white elderly people and white babies alongside dead bodies in the street, trust me our racist president would have been there on day 2 to help them. How can you say the things that you say unless you too, dont care about black people. Helping those people get out of the city and giving them adequate food, water and shelter is what every American citizen deserves. Not just white people
It’s not like Kayne said anything that didn’t need to be said. It is not just George Bush, but it is American society in general that has never cared about its black citizens. Its time that people say what is on their minds!
Kayne West didn’t say anything radical. Many people feel that George W. and the rest of the government don’t care about them. That’s not their job, and if you believe that it is, you’re simply naive.
And speaking of jobs, do folks know that Mike Brown (FEMA) was fired from his last job for incompetence? Condi Rice was in shopping for shoes at the height of the Katrina disaster, and Cheney is still on vacation.
It’s black people today, but poor whites are just as vulnerable. Money is what saves you in this country. You’d better have a good deal of it because even if you’re well off, you probably don’t half enough money to upgrade a levy, or avert the impact of this kind of disaster. Hope that you’re never struck by bad luck.
Hold on to your money, don’t get caught in a hurricane, don’t get cancer if you don’t have medical insurance, don’t think, and for god sakes don’t deviate from the script if you’re ever on a telethon.
Oh, and don’t worry too much about Mike Meyers I’m sure he’s just fine.
Kayne’s reaction to these events is very natural. He is afterall a man seeing thru our media channels, a majority of people of his race wasting away, desperate, and helpless. Kayne and many other people of his race may be feeling very ashamed at what they are seeing and a lot of the country and world are seeing too. When someone is ashamed and threatened they are going to lash out and look to blame something or someone. This is human nature, yes, and I believe irrational as well.
from another websire…something for all you Bush bashers to think about…
WHY DIDN’T YOU DEPLOY THE BUSES DURING THE MANDATORY EVACUATION, MAYOR?…
Louisiana disaster plan, pg 13, para 5 , dated 01/00
‘The primary means of hurricane evacuation will be personal vehicles. School and municipal buses, government-owned vehicles and vehicles provided by volunteer agencies may be used to provide transportation for individuals who lack transportation and require assistance in evacuating’…
This isn’t about politics, it’s about humanity…and looking from over here (Australia) it sure looks like that’s one thing a lot of American bible bashing white folks have very little of when it comes to anybody who is of a different opinion, race or culture. It was disturbing in Iraq, and it’s totally disgusting now in New Orleans. These people were left behind like so much trash, and nobody put their hand up to get them out in a hurry…because nobody wants a bunch of underprivileged coloured people camping on their nicely manicured front lawn. It’s the same attitude that has people make smart-ass remarks about ‘who is this guy anyway’ in this very column. It doesn’t really matter ‘who’ he is…what matters is the reality he was prepared to speak up about. And oh dear “he deviated from the script” of white-wash that they feed to the masses. Well this time, the real story got out…once again ignorance and arrogance in America has reared its ugly head for all the world to see. Do yourself a favour people: Read the news from an international perspective sometimes and catch up on what the world really
thinks of the US…Yes, your president seriously sucks…but then, that’s not surprising…cause people like you voted for him!
“About 10,000 US National Guard troops were deployed [in New Orleans] and were granted the authority to fire at and kill whom they wanted, upon the pretext of restoring order. This decision is an indication of the US administration’s militarist mentality, which regards killing as the only way to control even its own citizens. ” MORE WORLD PRESS HERE:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4211320.stm
Hmm, in order
1) Yes, Kanye’s parents are educated. They are also mind-numbingly stupid. The CIA brought crack into the ghetto? Umm, yeah, sure Sparky.
2) Why would Bush care about people who didn’t support him? Umm, because he’s not a complete shit? Hell, I may not have liked the guy, but I doubt Clinton would have allowed people in states he didn’t carry die, either.
This Bush hatred is incredibly irrational.
3) NBC is Republican backed? I suppose even the tiniest shred of something closely resembling proof would be a bit too much to ask, eh?
4) “If Bush cared, they’d have had food and water by now”.
OK, how would it get there? Most of the city is flooded. There is NO infrastructure. There are no local officials (gee, thanks Nagin and Blanco) who can do anything.
So, please, enlighten me as to how the supplies could get somewhere flooded with armed maniacs driving around looting everything?
5) Plenty of whites are suffering. Why are there so many blacks? Well, as pointed out, blacks are a rather dominant majority of the city’s inhabitants.
6) “If you cared about blacks, you’d want them to get out of the city”. Well, we do. And Mayor Nagin had the means and authority to do so.
Mayor Nagin, not shockingly, failed because he is an inept buffoon.
7) Hmm, Condi bought shoes? OH MY GOD! What next? Did she…*gasp*…buy a matching purse?
Man, that IS pure evil.
8) Australia dude — you clearly don’t know the first thing about how federalism here works, so a few pointers
— the GOVERNOR controls the Nat’l Guard. Bush did try to federalize them, but she fought it.
— the MAYOR had an evacuation plan that called for him to use school buses and public transportation buses to evacuate the city. He failed. The federal government is not in existence to do the job of LOCAL governments.
— Oh, as for not wanting refugees, you seem oblivious to the reality that numerous states are taking them in.
— Anybody who thinks that moronic dolt Kanye West is worth hearing is seriously lacking intellect in their own right.
He’s just a crappy rapper, folks. He’s not somebody one should ACTUALLY take seriously.
9) And thank God Nat’l Guard troops are given orders to shoot to kill. There are psychopaths driving around killing and raping people in the remains of the city. You have to stop that activity as quickly and forcefully as possible.
Or would you rather MORE people get killed and raped by the hooligans?
Yeah, that’s compassion for you.
Rich repubicans Black or White (yes, I spelled it that way) don’t care about poor people to begin with. But if you happen to be a poor white person then you are better off anyway. I want to be a poor white person….at least I can get treated better by other ignorant minorities.
At least I would get George Bush to sit down with me and take a picture for the New York Post. At least I wouldnt have to be trapped in a Make-shift concentration camp with other stink black people and treated like I am some savage. At least I wouldn’t have to go and loot for items that the stores couldn’t re-sell anyway. —I mean where the hell am I going to go?!
But the unfortunate reality is that I am BLack. And, to have the balls to go on National televison and say what you feel—-that is beyond being a man.—Wow. Kanye West pretty much gambled his reputation and other things by going up against the Largest Mafia in the world. All BLACK men should have that conviction! After all, it was on the Backs of slaves that this country was built, so we should enjoy the freedoms of being part of its Citizenry.
Hmmm…
Mike Myers is Canadian…I think its automatic that he is equally as distrustful of our government. That is why I believe he was uncomfortable becasue he doesn’t want to die!
This disaster has made me think of alot of things:
1)What the fuck am I doing typing some thing on this bullshit website so that outside observers can tally who is having independent thoughts.
Yes, I think outside the box, and Dumb white & black people should too!!
2)I am ashamed of being a part of this society..
It truly makes me want to cry! I fell Hatred…intense hatred for my fellow ‘Citizens’ who reply to web blogs on this event by calling my people “Apes, and savage niggers”. Look it up in Google under NEWS.
3)All those people trapped in the superdome! Trapped because the National Gaurd will not let them leave.
4)People are dying, and the Military would not help them. ARghhhhhhH!!!!!
5)Why do people talk about donating when our Welfare backed corporations should automatically give to those areas where there profits are generated! They can afford it, plus they have the SUPPLIES!!!!!
6)Kanye, Diddy, Oprah, Jay-Z, etc…(Black entertainers who actually put their $$$ where their mouth was and gave millions…what did you do?
7) And most importantly, for those dumb assholes who base their OBJECTIVITY on the Media—Even Harry Connick Jr. (guess Correspondent on NBC) asked the question, ” How come I was able to drive my car into the city”? He contributed as well.
All of you people who said Kanye is wrong are really insane. He is telling the truth and you white folks can’t handle it. You all can kiss my white ass and right now I’m ashamed to be white because of you comments.
Also, for someone sooooo objective MikeSC, you claim to know the intelligence quotient of Kanye’s Parents? Where is your evidence?
Rape…who? the tourists? Oh God f**k forbis that some white women will get raped by a black man or MEN! GASP!!
WHERES THE F******G PROOF!!!!
Oh wait the Police were “reported as saying…” that there were reaps occuring.
Can anyone use thier 10% for a moment.
What is a great way to get the nation to back you slowly on your genocide tactic?—> By saying those savages areraping innocent women, especially ripe white women!
Damn those N*****s!!! Shoot to kill Pa!
Hmmmm….Brilliant. Similiar tactics have worked before.
Condi…I won’t touch that!
Give me Free
“They killed a man here last night,” Steve Banka, 28, told the Reuters news agency before he left on Sunday.
A body lies face down in water next to the Superdome. Death was everywhere, both inside and outside the Superdome
“A young lady was being raped and stabbed. And the sounds of her screaming got to this man and so he ran out into the street to get help from troops, to try to flag down a passing truck of them. He jumped up on the truck’s windscreen and they shot him dead,” Mr Banka said.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4213214.stm
Joe, Kayne West’s parents are not stupid. Google the CIA’s involvement in assassinations of black social activists in the 1970s. You will understand why other speculations have been made about the CIA. Reporter Gary Webb was the one who linked the CIA to crack cocaine trafficking. I think most whites don’t know about these things. The government has done alot of shady things in black communities including secret medical experiments. Many blacks know this, but whites are unaware.
Well, first of all to all the squares who don’t know Kanye West in a Grammy nominated rapper/producer. What he said in the Telethon wasn’t apart of the script, but none the less true. While the U.S. sends millions of dollars( quickly I might add) to rebuild foreign countries. There was no quick response to the Katrina disaster. You have announcers bemoaning how can this happen in America, people dying in the streets. Kanye was only speaking his mind, and a view a lots on minorities and poor folk think.
The Kanye is being honest. But he is also showing the FRUSTRATION that alot of people have with the situation in New Orleans. The TV has shown WHITE PEOPLE stealing food and clothes, but say they are doing what they have to do to survive… The TV has shown BLACK PEOPLE stealing and call it LOOTING… come on! if you poor and black, stranded, hungry, cold, and no FEDERAL HELP has come to you for 4 days. What do you expect? Maybe Kanye shouldn’t have said what he said there… but trust me… 100% of the people still in NEW ORLEANS without help, WHITE, BLACK, or whatever would AGREE WITH HIM!
NBC is Republican backed. That could end up being one of the most amusing statements of this century.
If they’re not left I dunno what is.
Congratulations to the brilliant commenter at IP address 69.153.3.149. You’ve been permanently banned from adding any more comments to this site.
Let’s have intelligent dialog here people. Keep it clean, keep it civil. Otherwise, you’ll join the commenter above.
The management.
Why is it that when the tsunami hit Bush gave millions of dollars to the victims and he can’t even do that for his own country? He asks the citizins to donate. A majority of us don’t even have enough money to get by as it is. So he can give millions and millions of dollars to other countries but he can’t even do that for his own country. There is something wrong there. Hes running this country into the ground. Look at gas prices. Everything is getting increasingly higher priced. So we have to deal with that and oh yeah Mr Bush wants us to give our money to help. I’m not saying that you shouldn’t donate. Thats good to donate. And yes we should donate, but we shouldn’t have to be the ones to donate all the money. The government should be the one to give the money. And now with insurance companies owing billions of dollars to people, taxes are going to go up. But thats bush for you. Doesn’t do anything to help this country. He will be are demise. He ruined this country.
In my opinion Mr. West has no idea what a racist is. Making statements without the facts is dangerous especially about someone he does not know. Mr. West should use his talent to help promote peace and respect and refrain from making racist comments about the President of the United States.
Mr. West is an American Citizen not a Black radical. I wonder how he would do in Iraq?
Mr. West use your money and celebrity status to help those that need it and leave the politics alone.
Stay away from the arena of lions or you may soon find out who is the predator and the prey!
“Also, for someone sooooo objective MikeSC, you claim to know the intelligence quotient of Kanye’s Parents? Where is your evidence?”
Anybody who claims that crack was introduced by the CIA, as his parents taught him, is an idiot.
I don’t care if they have college degrees. One can easily have a college degree and be a flipping idiot.
“Rape…who? the tourists? Oh God f**k forbis that some white women will get raped by a black man or MEN! GASP!!
WHERES THE F******G PROOF!!!!
Oh wait the Police were “reported as saying…” that there were reaps occuring.
Can anyone use thier 10% for a moment.
What is a great way to get the nation to back you slowly on your genocide tactic?—> By saying those savages areraping innocent women, especially ripe white women!
Damn those N*****s!!! Shoot to kill Pa!
Hmmmm….Brilliant. Similiar tactics have worked before.”
You know, if this is true — why would the National Guard be needed at all? If the violence was overstated (it was a black guy who claimed blacks were resorting to cannibalism), then the Nat’l Guard are just superfluous.
“Joe, Kayne West’s parents are not stupid. Google the CIA’s involvement in assassinations of black social activists in the 1970s. You will understand why other speculations have been made about the CIA. Reporter Gary Webb was the one who linked the CIA to crack cocaine trafficking. I think most whites don’t know about these things.”
Actually, that story was rather thoroughly and extensively debunked. You might need to pay closer attention to reality.
“Why is it that when the tsunami hit Bush gave millions of dollars to the victims and he can’t even do that for his own country?”
Hint: 10.5B > “millions”
“Hes running this country into the ground. Look at gas prices. Everything is getting increasingly higher priced.”
The curse of future trading, insufficient refining capacity, and about 15 different blends of gasoline for the country.
“Well, first of all to all the squares who don’t know Kanye West in a Grammy nominated rapper/producer. What he said in the Telethon wasn’t apart of the script, but none the less true.”
So, can you provide any tiny sliver of evidence to back up his claims? Come on, if they’re true, some evidence should be forthcoming.
Prove that Bush doesn’t care about minorities. Feel free.
And him being Grammy nominated does not make him educated or even remotely interesting. It just means he’s a crappy rapper (yes, a redundant term) who the Grammy voters (rocket scientists all) think is just neato.
“Kanye was only speaking his mind, and a view a lots on minorities and poor folk think.”
Then a lot of minorities and poor folk believe lies and lack critical thinking skills.
“The TV has shown WHITE PEOPLE stealing food and clothes, but say they are doing what they have to do to survive… The TV has shown BLACK PEOPLE stealing and call it LOOTING”
Such as…when?
Come on, a single example. You can do it.
“if you poor and black, stranded, hungry, cold, and no FEDERAL HELP has come to you for 4 days. What do you expect?”
Well, stealing TV’s seems a little useless in that situation.
“
I can’t believe some of the statements some of you are making. Those of you who bash blacks and continue to make everything a political issue need to wake up and realize that this is about humanity. Don’t some of you have compasson, feelings, and sympathy for the less fortunate? What ever happened to the idea of people helping out their common man? It is abundantly clear the government failed to provide the victims with services and supplies when emergency response is probably one of the most important functions of our government. The people put in charge of the Homeland Security department weren’t qualified to deal with this one bit. Who appointed them? Guess! People can disect this issue all day, but the fact of the matter is we should all be ashamed to be citizens of this country right now. This country has made a turn for the worst over the last several years. Think about it! Our society is so divided now. The US wasn’t like that before 9/11. The general public now tends to make everything a political or religion based issue. I don’t care if you are a republican or democrat because THAT DOESN’T MATTER! We need to stand up and fight to make this country better because if we don’t, our freedom could be taken from us.
This is for he people that disagree with Kanye, if you are not black, or finacially unstable you probably don’t understand where he’s coming from. And to say that he’s stupid your guilty of that as well because everyone is entitled to an opinon. And being african-american I agree with Kanye. It’s pittyful to have those people marinating in feces infested waters, starving, and ordering soliders to shoot and kill looters.(people that looking for their next meal). Where is the sense in that decision? Also for those of you sheltered uninformed caucasions-americans, that don’t think that the CIA, or government for that fact, had anything to do with crack-cocain era and the poor black community are dead wrong and should try and NOT comment on things that you really don’t know about. Think about this how did crack get here? Planes. Do poor blacks own planes? NO!! Also cocaine was first introduced to us(afro-americans) by the white man. Also may I add it was wealthy caucasion-americans as a matter of fact. Because cocaine is an expensive drug. So for all you IGNORANT white folks yall might want to stand down! AND YOU CAN COMMENT ON ANYTHING I SAID IT WON’T CHANGE THE FACT THAT THE GOVERNMENT DON’T GIVE TWO FLIPS ABOUT THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN POPULATION THAT AREN’T A** KISSING UNCLE TOMS!
“Don’t some of you have compasson, feelings, and sympathy for the less fortunate? What ever happened to the idea of people helping out their common man? It is abundantly clear the government failed to provide the victims with services and supplies when emergency response is probably one of the most important functions of our government.”
Which is a little hard with anarchy in the streets. If the utterly inept NO and LA governments had managed to maintain control — this wouldn’t be an issue.
And 72 hours for the federal government to get into action is lightning quick.
“The people put in charge of the Homeland Security department weren’t qualified to deal with this one bit. Who appointed them? Guess! People can disect this issue all day, but the fact of the matter is we should all be ashamed to be citizens of this country right now. This country has made a turn for the worst over the last several years. Think about it! Our society is so divided now. The US wasn’t like that before 9/11.”
Umm, WHAT?
The country only got divided under Bush?
Yeah, hold on to that.
“I don’t care if you are a republican or democrat because THAT DOESN’T MATTER!”
Provided, of course, that you get to bash Bush.
“This is for he people that disagree with Kanye, if you are not black, or finacially unstable you probably don’t understand where he’s coming from.”
Kanye ain’t exactly financially unstable.
“And to say that he’s stupid your guilty of that as well because everyone is entitled to an opinon.”
When he states something completely incorrect, it needs to be mentioned.
“Also for those of you sheltered uninformed caucasions-americans, that don’t think that the CIA, or government for that fact, had anything to do with crack-cocain era and the poor black community are dead wrong and should try and NOT comment on things that you really don’t know about.”
You know, you could provide EVIDENCE of this.
But, I suppose you don’t need facts when you have irrational emotion.
” Think about this how did crack get here? Planes. Do poor blacks own planes? NO!!”
But RICH blacks do.
Thus, crack is Jesse Jackson’s fault.
That was easy. And as factually accurate as “The CIA brought crack into the inner cities”
“Also cocaine was first introduced to us(afro-americans) by the white man.”
Proof will, of course, soon follow, right? Surely you’re not just making stuff up, are you?
“Also may I add it was wealthy caucasion-americans as a matter of fact. Because cocaine is an expensive drug. So for all you IGNORANT white folks yall might want to stand down! AND YOU CAN COMMENT ON ANYTHING I SAID IT WON’T CHANGE THE FACT THAT THE GOVERNMENT DON’T GIVE TWO FLIPS ABOUT THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN POPULATION THAT AREN’T A** KISSING UNCLE TOMS!”
Ah, so the only valid blacks are the ones who agree with you?
Pretty open minded of you.
“Well most of you will sit in denial, primarily because your white and blind ot the fact of what is really going on int his country today and in the past. I do commend the few, so few of whites that are willing to acknowledge the truth about this country. Please read this:”
So only whites can recognize factual reality?
Pretty insulting towards black guys, there.
Ill say this, I am proud of my fellow brother Kayne West for saying what should be said about white america. Well most of you will sit in denial, primarily because your white and blind ot the fact of what is really going on int his country today and in the past. I do commend the few, so few of whites that are willing to acknowledge the truth about this country. Please read this:
http://seamonkey.ed.asu.edu/~mcisaac/emc598ge/Unpacking.html
I’m not here to say I know everything or much at all…i would just like to commment on how blind, immature, and uneducated some of you are. Instead of criticizing, make an effort to help. If you think the relief effort is all wrong, than blogging is not going to help. Here, let’s put you in charge of a city entirely covered in water and see what you do with it and how fast…I don’t care how much you prepare, this defies what we could have imagined. Stop arguing, stop bitching, stop seeing color…just help or shut up.
All that Kanye was doing was expressing his emotions, what does a guy do when he sees all this nonsense on TV?
Screw the script, there is no doubt that theres mostly blacks left in New Orleans. 5 days, no food, no water, people and babies dying, the stench of defecation in the street, violence, havoc, its all there.THE HEAT, wow man its hotter than Houston in that place.
Hes stumbling because he is getting so emotional. He, in my eyes, really cares.
Madellaine
How is he trying to promote his album? He probobly is donating more than an average person makes in a few years of pay.
“Who is this guy?” for those who say that when you here Kanye West, go check out his latest album Late Registration, its pretty awsome.
Its kinda funny to see some news reporter’s comments on this; some just skewing this whole event to dis a black man. I don’t know much I’m only 15. lol. rofl. haha. lmao.
Hm, I really doubt any of you people actually live down here in the affected areas on Hurricane Katrina, because then you would have realized that arguing all of this is pointless. I’m glad you all care and everything, but bitching about what some enraged, “anti-racist”, Bush-hating celebrity said, and if it’s okay or not…IS NOT GOING TO SAVE LIVES.
People are dying of starvation, thirst, rapes, brutality, black or white.
I practically lived in New Orleans my entire life. It is(..was..) predominately black, so, of course, most of the people you will see on the news..will be black.
So what if the fucking news stories make it seem like a racial issue? It’s not. There’s a bigger problem here, did you forget about that?
White or black, people are having to wade around in stagnant, polluted, sewage water, or sit on their rooftops, because their homes are inhabitable. Others have lost their homes completely.
Hindsight is 20/20, the government is doing what they can, while people are shooting at the helicopters trying to save them. Those people are scared to no end, so they go back to primal instincts, to take care of themselves. They would have been out a long time ago, but some people are making it difficult. Who cares how long it took, it’s happening now, they are taking the necessary steps to get people out of there.
Here’s a question, besides bitching? Who’s actually DONE something to help? You know, something like donating?
To you miss Missy my unit is going down there to do what we can. What are you doing sweetheart? This question also go out to the rest you who are just typing words and not meaning or feeling jack.
“Screw the script, there is no doubt that theres mostly blacks left in New Orleans. 5 days, no food, no water, people and babies dying, the stench of defecation in the street, violence, havoc, its all there.THE HEAT, wow man its hotter than Houston in that place.”
Difference between that and “America doesn’t care about blacks”.
When the majority of the city is black, the people remaining in the city, logically, would be black.
“How is he trying to promote his album? He probobly is donating more than an average person makes in a few years of pay.”
He’s promoting Kanye West, his only concern.
“To you miss Missy my unit is going down there to do what we can. What are you doing sweetheart? This question also go out to the rest you who are just typing words and not meaning or feeling jack.”
I’m donating to the American Red Cross. I could go down there, but I’d simply be in the way.
Yes, if the majority of the city was black, it makes sense that most of the people remaining should be black. It doesn’t, however, make sense that 90% or more of the remaining people should be black if only 2/3rds of N.O. was black before the flooding.
And can anyone prove that Bush doesn’t hate black people (especially poor black people, which is an important consideration since blacks are disproportionately poor)? I mean, really, can you? For example, has he done anything to prevent the systematic disenfrnchisment of black people in state and national elections? Has he supported affirmative action, or even taken action on reducing the taxes for the poor like he has for the rich? Is he trying to provide subsidized housing or medical coverage for low-income citizens? Don’t try to make a clear differentiation betwen income and race, because the numbers indicate that the two are closely related.
On the other hand, I’m sure the black poor remaining in N.O. are hugely comforted by Bush’s reassuring words that he’s looking forward to sitting on the porch of Trent Lott’s house that was destroyed, after Trent rebuilds it better than ever. Thankfully, Trent Lott has more than 1 house to live in.
To those Bush apologists who also suggest that no one could have foreseen devestation on this level, the fact remains that it had long been predicted that a level-5 hurricane could cause exactly such a situation as we’re seeing now. It also remains true that Bush cut funding for work into reinforcing the levies and protective infrastructure around N.O. Many people had predicted this disaster, but it’s a lot more politically expedient to forget that.
Finally, here are the pictures showing how white people “find” things, while black people loot:
http://www.boingboing.net/2005/08/30/black_people_loot_wh.html
This Kanye guy is just as much a looter as the people stealing non-survival items during the disaster. Here he is given an oppurtunity to help and instead steals the air time to push his own agenda.
If Mr. West is so outright disgusted with this country and it’s leader ship, prehaps he should find another country to call home. I am sure that the city of Bam in Iran would be happy to have him, how about anywhere in Sudan or even Iraq. Let him go to one of those country’s and complain about race.
He just told it as it is. If you dont see that then it’s time to wake up.
WOW, you guys are really serious to think that Kanye West did something bad. And yes, the government DID bring crack to the ghetto!!! Do you know why the vietnam war is aka the heroin war?? cuz the gov’t stuffed heroin into the dead soldiers bodies to bring it back into the u.s.
and yea they could have gotten them food quick regardless of flooding. im not sure what yr u live in, but theres something called boats. they actually float in water and they come in all types of sizes to carry what needs to be carried
like a cruise ship, im VERY sure someone could have jus takin a cruise ship from like florida, stuffed food in it, took a one-day trip to N.O. and jus gave food away
the army has huge helicopters that can lift thousands of lbs of food… instead, the national coast guard (who are actually the good people for some reason, with small ass helicopters that can only hold about 3 extras) were helping out
shoot whoever to presume justice?? they;re fuckin hungry and food will spoil eventually, so y not make use of it??
obviously you guys still dont realize that not only does he not care about black people, but he doesnt care at all!!! he’s taking pictures and signing autographs…. go fuckin give cpr or feed some children u fuckin idiot!!!
and seriously, water is too soft to break down a wall, fill ur room up to the ceiling with water, u tell me if ur wall is going to break!! i think that was all setup!!! water… breaking a wall??? i understand a big crack cuz of erosion, but a huge gap???
and you know what, the mayor was talkin shit about getting buses and all that, thats tru, but he was relying on the gov’t also you fuckin idiots y do u think he was yellin too??? wow, u guys jus dun see the bigger picture huh
mike meyers sounds intelligent? look at his eyes, left to right as he’s reading the telprompter, thats not intelligent, thats what the white man who runs the white shows wrote for you ignorant fuck heads to believe!!!!
would cnn ever say ‘we think bush doesnt care’
ofcourse not, not cuz they scared, cuz remember, we do have freedom of speech, but because they ran by the whites
and thank you to the man from australia who said that we should watch the news from an internation perspective to see how bad america got it right now LOL
bye u idiots!!!
“Yes, if the majority of the city was black, it makes sense that most of the people remaining should be black. It doesn’t, however, make sense that 90% or more of the remaining people should be black if only 2/3rds of N.O. was black before the flooding.”
And you have figures backing up this 90% figure somewhere, right?
“And can anyone prove that Bush doesn’t hate black people (especially poor black people, which is an important consideration since blacks are disproportionately poor)?”
Seeing as how the accusation is made that Bush hates black people (in spite of having blacks in position of power in his Cabinet from the beginning) — it’s not anybody’s job to prove he doesn’t.
It’s YOUR job to prove he does. And you have just admitted you cannot.
“I mean, really, can you? For example, has he done anything to prevent the systematic disenfrnchisment of black people in state and national elections?”
There HASN’T been “systematic disenfranchisement”, hate to break it to you.
“Has he supported affirmative action, or even taken action on reducing the taxes for the poor like he has for the rich?”
Hmm, the poor, by and large, don’t PAY income taxes. Sorry, but they don’t.
And, affirmative action is racism. Like it or not. But, you support racism, as long as benefits the group you support, apparently.
“Is he trying to provide subsidized housing or medical coverage for low-income citizens?”
That’s the federal government’s job?
Wow, that is news.
“To those Bush apologists who also suggest that no one could have foreseen devestation on this level, the fact remains that it had long been predicted that a level-5 hurricane could cause exactly such a situation as we’re seeing now. It also remains true that Bush cut funding for work into reinforcing the levies and protective infrastructure around N.O.”
Ignoring that the responsibility for keeping up N.O’s infrastructure is the job of New Orleans and Louisiana, not Washington.
“WOW, you guys are really serious to think that Kanye West did something bad. And yes, the government DID bring crack to the ghetto!!!”
Feel free to provide evidence.
“Do you know why the vietnam war is aka the heroin war?? cuz the gov’t stuffed heroin into the dead soldiers bodies to bring it back into the u.s.”
Hmm, proof of this would also be nice.
“and yea they could have gotten them food quick regardless of flooding.”
No chance the roving bands of psychos would have stolen it. No sir.
Try and read up on the basics of logistics.
“im not sure what yr u live in, but theres something called boats. they actually float in water and they come in all types of sizes to carry what needs to be carried”
In case you missed it, aid is arriving.
“ike a cruise ship, im VERY sure someone could have jus takin a cruise ship from like florida, stuffed food in it, took a one-day trip to N.O. and jus gave food away”
Yeah, no problems getting a cruise ship into downtown N.O. Yeah, NO problem with that at all.
“the army has huge helicopters that can lift thousands of lbs of food… instead, the national coast guard (who are actually the good people for some reason, with small ass helicopters that can only hold about 3 extras) were helping out”
Except there is nowhere to land, no way to distribute the food, etc.
But don’t let reality slow you down…
“shoot whoever to presume justice?? they;re fuckin hungry and food will spoil eventually, so y not make use of it??”
Considering that they’re targeting armed people shooting at folks and people looting such idiotic crap as electronics — your attempt at melodrama is more than a little false.
“obviously you guys still dont realize that not only does he not care about black people, but he doesnt care at all!!! he’s taking pictures and signing autographs…. go fuckin give cpr or feed some children u fuckin idiot!!!”
Gee, all Bush did was get the governor to demand a mandatory evacuation, name the area a disaster area before the store hit, and attempt to get Blanco to sign over control to the federal gov’t the weekend before the storm hit.
Damn Bush didn’t do much, did he?
“and seriously, water is too soft to break down a wall, fill ur room up to the ceiling with water, u tell me if ur wall is going to break!! i think that was all setup!!! water… breaking a wall??? i understand a big crack cuz of erosion, but a huge gap???”
You might want to take remedial science.
To give you a hint — water can break down MOUNTAINS.
“and you know what, the mayor was talkin shit about getting buses and all that, thats tru, but he was relying on the gov’t also you fuckin idiots y do u think he was yellin too??? wow, u guys jus dun see the bigger picture huh”
The mayor had several hundred buses he didn’t use when he could. He then wanted the federal gov’t to send buses down into a flooded city?
Yeah, good plan.
“mike meyers sounds intelligent? look at his eyes, left to right as he’s reading the telprompter, thats not intelligent, thats what the white man who runs the white shows wrote for you ignorant fuck heads to believe!!!!”
Yeah, FIGHT THE MAN!
Racism is lovely.
“would cnn ever say ‘we think bush doesnt care’
ofcourse not, not cuz they scared, cuz remember, we do have freedom of speech, but because they ran by the whites”
Yes, blacks have no freedom of speech.
BWA HA HA HA!
And, yes, I am openly mocking you now. Feel free to call me racist.
“and thank you to the man from australia who said that we should watch the news from an internation perspective to see how bad america got it right now LOL
bye u idiots!!!”
Bye “killa”. Nice of you to fulfill a stereotype so thoroughly.
1998, I honeymooned in the Big Easy, yeah big deal. If you live there you knew it then and you are living it now, the Dirty Dirty has been waiting for this storm for 60 years.
This, no matter what anyone says is still about a Cat 4 storm and a 50ft wall of water slamming the coast with 145+ sustained winds, residents knew for 3 days before hand and were told it was mandatory they leave, the people who are too poor to get out were Naggins responsibility, he did nothing, but give a speech. I really feel him and his aren’t getting enough blame because it’s much easier to sit and blame white people, white politicians and white society. That’s fine, I know me better than anyone else, and people like “Killa” don’t phase me a bit. Say what you want…but don’t tell me that the Double D doesn’t have “Black Faces in the Highest of Places”! Black mayor, Black population majority, ENTIRELY Black City Counsel, school board, and City planning and management.
These are the people to blame, top to bottom. These are the people who built the BRAND NEW 17th St. Levee, that breeched. They are in charge…they failed their constituents.
But it is that much easier to blame a hurricane on the white man, by in by there are people (who are black) who are still refusing to leave and have to but they won’t, so when they die or become ill from some god forsaken malady, who’s fault is it? Bush making them stay? No, but he will be blamed for their death and/or sickness – because it’s easier to point your finger than it is to tighten up your boot laces and take some ownership and responsibility for your own actions in the current situation.
Next time the City Counsel of New Orleans misappropriates funds for Levee building to put Casino’s on the Riverwalk, maybe a black man will stand up to Black Authority and tell them this will not be tolerated.
In the End, Kanye can do or say what ever he wants I guess, you still can’t yell Fire in a crowded theatre and call it Free Speech though…His actions are just a red herring, a distraction, from people actually taking responsiblity and ownership.
God Bless the 2,000 or so people who were actually south of New Orleans that no longer exist, that no one evacuated because they were poor and Cajun…no they were not evacuated because they made a choice, and they paid with their lives.
Hello, I just recently viewed what Kanye West said on the telethon. It is arguable whether his comments were appropriate or not. Personally, I feel like that was the best time for him to get his point across to people who otherwise would have never seen his face or known who he was. It was the best time for him to illustrate the racism that the goverment often perpetuates.
And it is also arguable whether or not Bush cares about black people. Personally, I don’t believe Bush cares for too many people that are poor, whether they’re black or white. I do believe that he has prejudices and that they influenced his slow response to the primarily black city of New Orleans. I do believe that if it had been Crawford, Texas he would have responded sooner. Moreover, I do believe that he demonstrates partiality for certain U.S. citizens.
However, it is NOT arguable whether it would be appropriate for someone to not donate to the Red Cross because of what Kanye West said. That’s ridiculous. It was a live show, and NBC had no way of stopping Kanye from practicing his freedom of speech. He has the right to say what he wants to say, a right that many other countries can’t boast of. If you want anyone to suffer because of what Kanye said, let it be Kanye, and not the Gulf Coast victims. THey don’t deserve to not receive a donation because you’re disgusted with Kanye West. That’s ridiculously stupid, ignorant, immature, and very unAmerican.
People talk about us uniting as one, but they fail to realize that for people who can’t look to this country as their own country, they can’t consider themselves one with racist people. It’s hard to convince someone with the theme of unity when we live in a country where the President hesistatingly, reluctantly, and possibly grudgingly cut his vacation short to assess the damage of New Orleans from his jet. 5 days?!?!?! That is crazy!!! Come on, let’s push aside any partisan views and fix our country!
Crystal Marie
Kanyes statement is how he felt! Would it been stupid to you if he said Bush is doing a great job? I dont think so. So why is his opion stupid. Note: he is the only one speaking his mind (not reading from a fucking q card) does that say anything for the kind of person he is. And for Bush if this hit a rich district of Pennsylvania food would have been there 2 hours after they got hit. It makes no sense the news crews could get in there but own gov. couldnt. All they had to do was drop pallets of water and supplys in front of the convention center and stadium. And “shoot to kill” why would u want to shoot people that are stealing, are we in cambodia? No this is america. People that are stealing food are more than likely doing it becuase out own gov. cant supply them with it. and i sure as hell would steal clothes to get out of the nasty rotting ones i was in. The ones stealing tv’s have no justification but dont kill them for god sakes. Its just crazy to me how a man gets critized for speaking his mind. Just get them out of there, feed them, give them water, and finally help them out!
I won’t bore anyone with my ignorant opinions of who deserves the blame for aftermath in New Orleans but I will comment on Kayne’s stellar performance during the telethon. Whether Kayne is on the money or off his rocker is irrelevant. His impromptu speech did more harm then good.
Now I’m not an expert on disaster relief but I’d imagine the media should stay focused on the situation at hand. Extra media coverage, newspaper headlines and web traffic should probably not be diverted to a rapper who decided to either jump start or flat line his career on live television with a few heartfelt words. Whether Kayne’s speech intentionally caused this occurrence does not matter, now that its over the media will soak up as much time as they can on a celebrity saying something controversial when they should be concentrating on the problems concerning Katrina.
Aside from my two cents on where the attention should be focused, I will say that Kayne brightened my day today. You put a man on live television that cuts out with “George Bush hates black people” while Mike Myer’s head sharply turns to gaze in bewilderment as if to say “you do realize George Bush is the president right?”. If that wasn’t worth the ten times I replayed the video, Chris Tucker certainly made up for it with the look of “my god, this man ended his career on live television” as he fumbled to regain composure. Rappers are supposed to be Entertaining and though I did not see the Grammys this year, I’ll certainly be tuning in next year to see Kayne triumph with the Katrina Telethon nomination.
In such times of disaster and famine it’s nice to know that Kayne is there to brighten your day as he speaks his mind while simultaneously giving his agent a heart attack.
Feel free to bash me, it just makes the read that much sweeter. I do gotta hand it to MikeSC though, I find myself scrolling down to his every reply. Keep em coming!
MikeSC:
It may come as some surprise to some of the commentators on this board, but the vast majority of industrialised nations do believe that it is the government’s responsibility to provide housing and medical care to the poor (and, in general, medical care to everyone). It has ocassionally been the view of the US government, as well.
I did not, in fact, say that it is impossible to prove that Bush hates blacks, no more than you said it is impossible to prove that he doesn’t. The fact remains that you want everyone else to prove that Bush hates blacks, but we want you to prove he doesn’t. You’ve essentially said that he doesn’t so now we’re asking you to prove it the same way you’re asking us to prove he does.
As for 90% of the remaining population being black, that figure is derived from news reports. If you want to analyse all the wire photos, tv broadcasts, and news stories coming out of N.O. to rebut this figure (which I suspect that most everyone with access to media will agree with), then you’re more than welcome to.
Poor people don’t pay taxes (by the way, I said taxes, not federal taxes)? I see. I wasn’t aware that poor people were exempt from sales taxes (which have a disproportionately high effect on low income citizens, as they still need to spend just as much money to survive as wealthy people do), gas taxes, medical insurance, school taxes, etc. If you add the fact that the tax cut-off point is artificially low due a lack of adjustment for inflations, you do have many working poor who do end up paying federal taxes. I know he’s pushed through a cut to capital gains taxes, but has Bush taken measures to substantially raise the tax threshold? Has he re-indexed the threshold to account for inflation?
Furthermore, it’s been fairly well documented that unregistered, but eligible, US voters are regularly denied their right to vote. The polling officials regularly tell them that they are not able to vote, when in fact they are entitled to vote. Coincidentally, most of these people are black.
To say that state and municipal authorities alone are responsible for the maintainence and construction of levees around N.O. is like saying that the National Guard should only be deployed to assist in times of National Emergency within the US. Actually, it’s even dumber.
I can’t believe this tragedy has given people another reason to bring up racism. This isn’t about race. It has nothing to do with it. It’s about people needing help. Not going on national television to spout your ignorant racial crap. Do you think people want to listen to that? I think Mike SC said it well. Stop wasting time blaming the president. He is a public offical that is in the spotlight 24/7. Do you REALLY think is would intentionally say, “Hey, this is a good chance to let more minorities die. Let’s do it while everyone in the world is watching” Get a clue, people. Stop blaming Bush. Go out and do something to help.
“Personally, I feel like that was the best time for him to get his point across to people who otherwise would have never seen his face or known who he was.”
Oh, makes sense. Because that concert was ALL about Kanye West and not anybody else.
“And it is also arguable whether or not Bush cares about black people. Personally, I don’t believe Bush cares for too many people that are poor, whether they’re black or white. I do believe that he has prejudices and that they influenced his slow response to the primarily black city of New Orleans.”
Yup, it was racism. Not Blanco and Nagin refusing to request help, that the federal bureaucracy is slow, and that there are massive logistical difficulties.
“However, it is NOT arguable whether it would be appropriate for someone to not donate to the Red Cross because of what Kanye West said.”
Considering that he said the President I support wants blacks to die — why the heck should I donate a dime?
“It was a live show, and NBC had no way of stopping Kanye from practicing his freedom of speech.”
Yawn, THIS again?
OK, one more time: Freedom of speech only deals with the government. NBC has every right to dictate what is and what is not said on its airwaves. In fact, they’re EXPECTED to monitor what is said on their airwaves.
“People talk about us uniting as one, but they fail to realize that for people who can’t look to this country as their own country, they can’t consider themselves one with racist people.”
I’m overlooking your blatant racism in this post, aren’t I?
Oh wait, you don’t think you’re being a bigot, do you?
“Come on, let’s push aside any partisan views and fix our country!”
Hey, Marie, why don’t you start us off?
“Kanyes statement is how he felt! Would it been stupid to you if he said Bush is doing a great job? I dont think so. So why is his opion stupid. Note: he is the only one speaking his mind (not reading from a fucking q card) does that say anything for the kind of person he is. And for Bush if this hit a rich district of Pennsylvania food would have been there 2 hours after they got hit.”
Considering that nowhere in PA is pretty well kept alive due to levees and, thus, would unlikely to be as horribly flooded, you might be right.
Also, since PA’s government is not as historically corrupt as LA in general and NO in particular, you might be correct.
But, you’re comparing apples and vans.
“All they had to do was drop pallets of water and supplys in front of the convention center and stadium.”
You know, it really isn’t nearly as easy as that.
“And “shoot to kill” why would u want to shoot people that are stealing, are we in cambodia?”
When anarchy breaks out, it’s what has to be done.
“Its just crazy to me how a man gets critized for speaking his mind.”
Or, in simple terms, “people who use their freedom of speech to criticize him should stop using their freedom of speech”
“It may come as some surprise to some of the commentators on this board, but the vast majority of industrialised nations do believe that it is the government’s responsibility to provide housing and medical care to the poor (and, in general, medical care to everyone). It has ocassionally been the view of the US government, as well.”
That is also why most of the industrialized country have unemployment markedly higher than ours, productivity markedly lower than ours, and a system that won’t be able to maintain itself.
“I did not, in fact, say that it is impossible to prove that Bush hates blacks, no more than you said it is impossible to prove that he doesn’t. The fact remains that you want everyone else to prove that Bush hates blacks, but we want you to prove he doesn’t.”
Can you prove you don’t hate whites?
You can’t?
Stunning. You can’t prove you don’t hate somebody. Truly, astonishing stuff.
You are the one claiming he hates black people. I’m simply asking you to provide some semblance of proof.
“As for 90% of the remaining population being black, that figure is derived from news reports.”
Such as…where? You can post a URL address here if you wish.
“If you want to analyse all the wire photos, tv broadcasts, and news stories coming out of N.O. to rebut this figure (which I suspect that most everyone with access to media will agree with), then you’re more than welcome to.”
Whoa, not my job to do that. Again, YOU are saying 90% of the victims are black. It’s YOUR job to prove it.
“Poor people don’t pay taxes (by the way, I said taxes, not federal taxes)? I see. I wasn’t aware that poor people were exempt from sales taxes (which have a disproportionately high effect on low income citizens, as they still need to spend just as much money to survive as wealthy people do), gas taxes, medical insurance, school taxes, etc.”
I specifically said income taxes. Nice of you to miss it. Bush cut everybody’s income taxes.
“If you add the fact that the tax cut-off point is artificially low due a lack of adjustment for inflations, you do have many working poor who do end up paying federal taxes. I know he’s pushed through a cut to capital gains taxes, but has Bush taken measures to substantially raise the tax threshold? Has he re-indexed the threshold to account for inflation?”
Yes, because taxing investment is the perfect way to improve an economy.
Little question: if the “rich” pay even more in taxes than they do now — how does that benefit YOU?
“Furthermore, it’s been fairly well documented that unregistered, but eligible, US voters are regularly denied their right to vote.”
Then provide the documentation. Really, not that hard.
“The polling officials regularly tell them that they are not able to vote, when in fact they are entitled to vote. Coincidentally, most of these people are black.”
Such as…when?
If it’s been “well documented”, then provide some of it. I know far more of this story than you do and I can say that there is NOTHING behind the story.
“To say that state and municipal authorities alone are responsible for the maintainence and construction of levees around N.O. is like saying that the National Guard should only be deployed to assist in times of National Emergency within the US. Actually, it’s even dumber.”
They are state and municipal governments for a reason. It’s THEIR job to provide for their citizens’ safety.
If they won’t do so, then disband the state and local government and have Washington run the show. Then again, since they had to do so for the incredibly inept Washington DC city government, it might end up being required.
If my family was starving, I’d probably steal food too. I don’t think America necessarily thinks that the problem lies with the idea of people stealing or looting to survive. The problem is when you see a bunch of people looting and stealing TVs, electronics, jewelry, cd’s, etc.. These are obviously not things that are needed to stay alive. So for the people saying that the blacks (or whites) were being made to look like thieves by the media, I have this to say: If they are stealing stuff just because they can… THEY ARE THIEVES. You can try and paint a pretty picture if you’d like, but the facts still remain- the pictures and video don’t lie. What is someone going to do with a TV when their home is flooded? Come on! How do you paint a pretty picture about that?
First, I would like to say something to the moron from Austraila “RG”. You obviously no nothing about life in America just by reading your comment. You are portraying yourself as one who knows about things that go on in the US. These people were not left behind. The whole comminication system failed. The idiot mayor didn’t bus those people out. He had 2 days to do it. Ohhh…. he is black. The governor of Louisiana was supposed to be the first responder with National guard and food, and evacuations. Were was she? So again… you outsider moron from Austraila don’t tell me about racism and greed. If you think we are all racist, you obviously don’t see what is really being done to help these victims. Oh, thats becouse you are an outsider!!!!!
While I cannot agree with Mr. West’s comments, I can understand that he was upset. However, it is imperative that we not make this a racial issue. In a predominantly black city, it makes sense that most of the people left there would be black. It is the local government’s responsibility to be the first responders in an emergency situation. On September 11, the local government stepped in to take care of the situation. This is not the case in New Orleans. The local government stood back and waited for someone to handle the situation for them. I am not disagreeing that there should be some aid from the federal government, but New Orleans should not rely solely on that. But again, this should not be about race. Several rescue attempts had to be abandoned because people on the street (I do not know or care what color their skin was) were shooting at rescuers. I realize that the people that were left in the city were scared and angry, but that kind of behavior does nothing good for anyone. The whole disaster is just that, a disaster. Creating hatred based on skin color is doing nothing but dividing an already split country.
This is really incredible. There are a lot of issues that needs to be addressed here. Yes, there was a slow reaction, and yes it may have caused some deaths and we need to find out what happened. But this a problem that has been compunded from the local gov’t all the way to the federal gov’t, including the individuals that didn’t evacuate. I understand some couldn’t, but the 100,000 that could just compunded the problem with rescuing the ones that couldn’t. I watched on TV how one woman hitchhiked with her 4 kids to Houston. She didn’t have a car and still got out. If EVERYONE that could have walked, hitchhicked, rode would have left there would have been far less people to rescue and far less deaths. Now that’s not saying that there definitely was not problems, but to blame it all on Bush, and saying he doesn’t care about black people is rediculous. The rescue is more than just Bush. Even if the statement was true that shouldn’t hamper the rescue missions from all the different agencies that are not controlled by Bush. Let’s wait and find out what really happened and put the blame, if we must, where it really belongs. I mean if we want to place blame, then why don’t we blame GOD himself. He could have stopped this and we wouldn’t even be arguing over this. Though, this kind of thing makes me wonder if GOD even cares about any of us, white, black, yellow, or even purple.
I saw the incident, and will say this much:
1) Kayne’s statement never should have been made. A telethon to raise money is not a point to spew out your particular views on the politics of the relief efforts. Kayne’s comments were simply wrong, regardless of if I agree or disagree with what he said, it is not the place nor time.
2) Kayne did nothing to improve my views on him with the statements he made. Though I do agree that the relief efforts were poor at best by all of the proper authorities, his statements and blatent lies (“…permission to shoot us…”) For someone whom makes a living for being eloquent with spoken words, he fumbled the ball, big time. Had he not stumbled his speech, provided factual information, and not brought racisim into the statement, I would have been much more intent on listening and agreeing with him.
Bottom line is that in a small way, I agree with him… the government has not provided the help that the region needs. (I don’t agree that there is a racial reasoning behind the motives, I just believe it to be the fact that our current president does not know how to run our country.)
Perhaps Kayne should compose a new rap song with a video regarding the situation with proceeds benefitting the relief work instead of making a fool out of himself and alienating possible donors…