Rapper Kanye West blasts the president during a live telethon for victims of Hurricane Katrina
On an NBC benefit concert for Hurricane Katrina victims aired live on Friday night, rapper Kanye West vocalized his criticisms on the relief efforts and on President George W. Bush.
The rapper was paired with comedic actor Mike Myers. Myers read what was scripted for him beforehand and then handed it off to West, who clearly did not read what was scripted. Overwhelmed with emotion and speaking between heavy breaths, West began airing out his dissatisfaction with the aid efforts.
"I hate the way they portray us in the media. If you see a black family, it says they're looting. See a white family, it says they're looking for food." (This is a reference to a pair of AP photos with opposite captions for a black victim treading through water with a bag and a white victim doing the same.)
After crediting the Red Cross with doing all they could to help the victims, West added that the national guard are "given permission to go down and shoot us."
Myers, visibly surprised by West's unscripted remarks, continued on before pausing to allow West to close out their segment. West abruptly said, "George Bush doesn't care about black people." After a few seconds of awkward silence, West began saying "Please call -- " before the camera cut away to a shocked and speechless Chris Tucker.
As surprising as West's unscripted remarks were, his comments do reveal an ugly underside to the Hurricane Katrina relief efforts that society may not have wanted to deal with.
Many believe that the government and other organizations have not responded as quickly or as effectively as it seems the situation warranted. Chaos and virtual anarchy ensued in New Orleans for almost four days before effective relief was finally granted.
Though West's remark about President Bush's disregard for blacks may not have much substance, it does open a door that many people have probably tried to keep shut. The race card is finally out in the open for all to see.
On newscasts it's obvious that the vast majority of the victims in New Orleans are black. If a category 4 hurricane had hit a wealthy white city, it's an open question whether relief would have taken so long to arrive.
West's brash remarks have allowed a huge, looming issue to rise to the surface of an already cluttered and obscure issue. Hopefully, after all is said and done, the truth of this situation may lead to discussions and resolution, and expose the prejudices that lie in individual hearts of some narrow-minded Americans.
Posted By:
Sunday, September 4th 2005 at 3:02PM
You can also
click
here to view all posts by this author...
