A Message for Kanye West

Kanye West, an American superstar, disappointed his Jewish following with the outward exposure of Anti-Semitic troupes.

After being diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2016, West began lashing out in an inexcusable form: hate speech. West consistently spews hurtful side comments, but the act is now more concerning as these assertions have quickly led to the singling out of the Jewish people. To millions of followers on Twitter, West promoted going, “death con [sic] 3 On JEWISH PEOPLE.” 

While this statement may be excused by West’s disorder, this impolite remark led to many believing that encouraging Anti-Semitism is acceptable. In an interview with TMZ, West doubled down on his premature declaration. He mentioned, “I want to talk about the Jewish comment. It has actually proved the point that … That’s how this town has been running for so long. They’ll mute you, they’ll try to mute you at all costs.” The “they” West referred to in this gutting message is the Jewish community. West conformed to the widely accepted belief of Jews being controlling within the entertainment industry, and when the Jews tried to speak out about his Anti-Semitism, they “proved” his claim correct. 

While many in the Emery community are fortunate enough to live in a close-knit Jewish community where Anti-Semitism is shunned, “many” only take up less than one percent of the world. There are another eight billion people in the world to whom Kanyes’ words may trigger internalized Anti-Semitism and unfortunately will unfold into the rise of open Anti-Semitism. 

Just a few days after West slaughtered the Jewish people, TMZ claims a hateful organization huddled in Los Angeles heiling Hitler and hanging a banner that read, “Kanye Was Right About the Jews” off the 405 freeway. This leads to those uneducated on the subject to believe this advertisement is correct, while also encouraging others to engage in similar acts. The regional director of Colorados’ Anti-Defamation League, Scott Levin, expressed his concern for the future. Scott declares, “That is just so disappointing because what’s going on right now is the normalization of Anti-Semitism.”

Luckily, fame comes with responsibility. Although West’s foolish words will lead to the outbreak of society regularizing Anti-Semitism, West’s business counterparts have held him accountable, showing society that Anti-Semitism has consequences. Adidas, and Balenciaga, since these shocking statements, have cut off all ties with West dropping his economic status from billionaire to millionaire. Cable News Network (CNN) displayed Adidas’ apology: “Adidas does not tolerate Anti-Semitism and any other sort of hate speech” and explained that his recent comments were “unacceptable, hateful and dangerous.” 

Whether you identify as Jewish or not, we are all members of the same Jewish community at Emery. What this means is that, with West’s large following leading to the normalization of Anti-Semetism, we are now all targets of hatred. Jews have always been victims of attempted assimilation. But the Jewish people have never obeyed, so now is not the time to end this victorious pattern. We are lucky to live in a world where we can use our voices as peaceful weapons to fight for our rights. So I ask you kindly, please do not support the man who has openly made comments to hurt you, your family, and your friends. No matter if you are an avid Yeezy consumer or one of his top listeners, it’s time to take a stand. Remove his songs from your playlists and donate the shoes. Unfollow him on all platforms in protest to show your support for our community. Material value will never be more valuable than human decency. Show Kanye and the millions of other Anti-Semites that their ideas of the Jewish community are flawed and that Jewish people are much more than how the media portrays them.