Maybe making the cover of Time magazine last month not only went to Kanye West’s head but also addled his brain. How else to explain the rapper’s ridiculous assertion on an NBC benefit special Friday night that "George Bush doesn’t care about black people." Bush has had his differences with the NAACP and the Congressional Black Caucus and other African-American constituencies, but as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice retorted, "I don’t believe for a minute anybody allowed people to suffer because they are African-Americans." There are legitimate questions to be asked about why so many people didn’t evacuate New Orleans and what local, state and federal officials could have done to better help them before and after the flood. But what united those most affected was poverty. Suggestions to the contrary are the work of provocateurs more interested in blaming than helping.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
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29 Comments
Kanye West speaks for many on the Left. The whole, Bush stole the election, Bush is raising gas prices to help his oil buddies, Bush lied to get us into Iraq crowd. There’s a reason, when it comes time to go to the polls that the American people don’t choose the representatives of these folks to elected office. They’re a joke.
Kanye West speaks for many in the black community who see the administration’s piddle-farting as just another example of why no black should vote for a Republican. As has been pointed out, if this hurricane disaster had been in eastern Florida (predominantly white), Help would have been there before the hurricane was over.
What, pray tell, is “good rap”?
Dagett obliges us with a fine example of Rhonda’s statement about “provocateurs more interested in blaming than helping.”
Haters and dividers like Dagett are a national disgrace.
Nah, Dagett is an individual with an opinion. The utter failure of our government – on all levels but especially the feds (remember FEMA had assumed control via the declaration of emergency requested by LA, AL, and MS and made before the storm hit) is a national disgrace.
That we allow so many to live in such poverty that contributed to this disaster is a national disgrace
That bush stayed on vacation, golfed, played guitare, and ate cake until late Wednesday is a national disgrace.
That the director of FEMA had no clue about the refugees at the Superdome is a national disgrace.
that even over the weekend staged photo-ops were a higher priority than rescues is a national disgrace
And when you pile this latest failure on top of all the other failures of this administration… that so many still blindly support Bush is a national disgrace.
What do you expect from a FEMA director whose last job was legal counsel at the Arabian Horse Association? Or whose predecessor was a political hack whose wife and brother are both lobbyists?
From the City of New Orleans Emergency Preparedness Plan (note no mention of FEMA, National Guard, etc…before the storm, Mayor Nagin knew that it was HIS job to get the city evacuated. It was only AFTER the storm, when he had not done his job, that he began blaming everyone else).
http://www.cityofno.com/portal.aspx?portal=46&tabid=3
During the Recommended Phase of Evacuation:1. The City of New Orleans Emergency Operating Center (EOC) is staffed for 24-hour operation.2. Local transportation will be mobilized to assist persons who lack transportation.3. Bus routes and locations of staging areas for those needing transportation to shelters in or out of the Parish, will be announced via radio and television.4. Relatives and neighbors should help family and friends who need transportation and other assistance.
More
REFUGES (SHELTERS)
It should be noted that should the need arise, hurricane refuges will be opened in certain areas of the city. Only minimal services will be provided at the locations. Bring your own food, water and bedding. Eat a full meal before arriving.
Kanye West is a very smart man. Maybe he picked the wrong time and place to say what he said. But, he said what a lot of African Americans have been thinking, though he doesn’t speak for all of the african american community, it is his right to speak up. He also made the comment of how the media potrayed african americans saying that they were looters, instead of saying they are just trying to do what they need to survive and provide for there families like they did the caucasian evacuees. I feel as though he made a great point and I hope more people consider that.
Our fever swamp is busy today. Sure, all us “gimme” types like to blame, blame, blame. Nothing’s enough. We gotta have more. Don’t you heartless folks understand that yet?
All together now –
It don’t matterWhat you do.It ain’t enoughWe all hate you.
Simplex Simon’sGot it right.Just blame BushFor every plight.
So, whitey doesn’t like it when Kanye West says what we all know? Big surprise there.
How about a little class baiting? Here’s Barbara Bush, the Dowager Empress of the Right. Listen as she fiddles while New Orleans drowns:
“And so many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway, so this—this (she chuckles slightly) is working very well for them.”
Translation: they were poor and had nothing to lose, so let them eat cake. Soggy cake.
I hate BushiesThrough and through,I tried to make a career of itAt WSU.
We’re smarter’n Bushies,Can’t you tell?You can’t?Then you can go to hell.
Ign’rnt bastardsJust get it wrong.The liberal plantation’sWhere you belong.
I’m a PhD with an OAC,Outstanding Ace ComplainerThat’s what I be.Now you gotta listen to me.
Let’s bait them classes,Those poor little fishies.Let’s whip up resentmentLike teenage prissies.
I hate Bush,Oh yes I do.And if you like him,Then I hate you, too.
Kayne West should shut his mouth before someone puts that little monkey in a cage, in a zoo!
Holy crap! Barbarba Bush did say that!http://www.nynewsday.com/news/local/wire/newyork/ny-bc-ny–katrina-formerpre0906sep06,0,2579068.story?coll=ny-region-apnewyorkWhere have I been?It’s not just racism that is floating to the surface of our society, it’s rampant classism.I am “white” and I can see it plain as the nose on my face. Kanye didn’t say anything that I was already thinking.
I. SantiagoYour comments are appalling even to my politically incorrect mind. There is a difference between being hard on indifferent malingerers and being positively hateful to an entire race.
I would guess that West’s remarks actually fit your attitude very well.
Where to start…let me see…
First, the issue before us is not whether Bush “stole” the election. Regardless of what one “feels”–white, black, Latino, Native American, or “other–we live in a democracy that operates under the currently arcane notion that we must carefully guard against the tyranny of the “majority”. While it is not perfect, and has moved slower than justice should demand, it did accomplish both women’s suffrage and the emancipation proclamation. Neither have fully achieved their intended end, but in a society that upheld the tyranny of the majority, such issues would never have been addressed.
One of the arcane methods of “checks and balances” was the electoral system. Again, while imperfect, it attempts to achieve the goal of a representative election without results being immediately determined by the most populous states or urban centers. Otherwise, all we would need to do is count the votes of a few cites or states. Theoretically, we could have kept counting votes foreves, while each side claimed to have many of its supporters disenfranchised, or accused the other of voter violations (these accusations have been going on for years–far before most of us have been born). For good or for ill, the Supreme Court determined that the electoral plurality was held by Bush. And having no further proof but accusations on each side, most have decided to just “let it go” and hope that there will be a more clear decision in the next election.
It’s easy–far too easy–to raise the spectre of “racism”, and not look for the more likely causes to our problems. Kanye West’s remarks were not helpful, either in analyzing the problem (his family certainly does not suffer from the poverty that stifles so many) nor helping us find a solution. It may reflect his sentiments, and the sentiments of many others, but in order to solve the problem, we must get beyond sentiments to facts. In fact, his remarks caused such a negative response to the call for donations to the Red Cross, that it may have exacerbated the problem, decreasing the funds available to the Red Cross to help the victims of this disaster.
But there are other facts we must address: Mara Liasson of NPR put it well when she said that there is plenty of “blame” (for lack of a better word) to go around. Jimmy Bisoni’s post of the City of New Orleans Emergency Preparedness Plan certainly indicates that the indecisive action of Mayor Nagin esacerbated the problem. Why did it take so long to issue the order to evacuate (made Sunday morning–hardly enough time for the many poor, elderly and disabled to arrange for leaving the area OR get provisions as needed)? Why, at so late of hour, were the busses sent only to move the poor to the Superdome rather than out of the city (when it could have been predicted that if the worst happened, they would have no access to potable water, restroom or shower facilities, food, or medical help)? The failure of the Mayor to think beyond his own city’s inadequate emergency procedures in the face of such a disaster, and then whine about the results, speaks a lot about his character.
The governor of Louisiana was certainly inept as well. Why was the request for the National Guard not made until AFTER the storm? Constitutionally, the issue of “posse comitatus” prevents the federal government from activating the military until the state makes such a request. While we may disagree with this policy in the face of such a disaster, this will have to be addressed by the legislature and the voters. The Federal government has strict limitations on its ability to interfere in the business of the state.
Finally,, the Federal government does bear its share of the blame. When it appeared that Katrina was bearing more easterly, FEMA moved much of its resources to Mississippi and Alabama. Additionally, I was abashed at the failure of President Bush to speak immediately to the issue, in roder to galvinize an emergency response. Charles Krauthammer pointed out that at 9/11, Bush gained popularity for his more immediate moral leadership (although a lot of the credit goes also to Rudy Giuliani), but that his tepid response to Katarina has lost him popularity. He also pointed out that after 9/11, what Congress and the Administration did was simply “rearrane the boxes”–i.e, shift around the bureacracy without making it any more efficient. Given the response to Katrina, God help us if we have a terrorist attack.
But the most perplexing issue is why, in spite of the recommendations (for years) of the Army Corps of Engineers to bolster the New Orleans levee system that our government did not address this problem–neither Democrat administrations (including Clinton) nor Republican administrations found the policital will to solve a “disaster waiting to happen.” But legilators from BOTH sides of the isle, of EVERY race, always managed to cater to their special interests (every legislator is equal at the pork barrel), while pushing just enough hot buttons to get their consituencies to vote for them. Perhaps it is time to take a long look at the oligarchy we have elected to represent us, who make far more than most average Americans and have far better medical and retirement benefits. Maybe rather than separating along racial lines we ought to look together at the problems facing us, and question whether either party is truly representing our interests (or just the lobbyists and special interests who give to their campaigns). And it is certainly time that WE (not “US” and “THEM”) do so.
Playing the race card. If something doesn’t go right, then it’s because the white man put the black man down.
While I was over in Ireland the past 2 weeks, the video’s I saw on the Irish news showed the looters. Funny that I didn’t see any “whities” in those videos. I know… Bush made them loot.
I don’t really give a crap about what Kanye thinks. He should take a look at his newest album going from Grammy to crappy. I burned my CD after hearing his b.s. statement.
soulfrye,It has been reported on the news all week the Clinton and the republican congress funded the improvements to the levee system in 1998. It was to be funded over the next few years. After the 9/11 attacks Bush pulled funding of the levees to pay for his little war. This is one reason many blame him. Some years ago FEMA compiled a list of the 3 worst possible diasters that could hit the US. One was an earthquake in the San Francisco area, another was terrorist attacks on the city of New York, and the third was a major hurricane in New Orleans that would cause levee failure. Draw your own conclusion.
Kanye West espouses the typical drivel that comes from the left. Let’s play the real race card and properly point fingers. It is New Orleans mayor, Ray Nagin, that needs the first finger. All he does is whine and cry, but has not, and did not do anything to help the people of New Orleans. Meanwhile, he is high and dry in some hotel miles from the city…
The hatred and racism I see on this issue is disgusting. I am a Kansas native now living in Arizona, and I have been watching and listening to both sides of this issue. I have come to the conclusion that right-wingers have little or no interest in helping the people who were locked in and left to die in New Orleans, and all of us “prissy” progressives are out gathering water, food, clothes, money, etc. to help them.
Of COURSE this was about race. Class played a part in this as well, but I guarantee you if there were several thousand cute Natalee Hollaways stuck at the Superdome, FEMA would have been there in a matter of hours instead of several days. Of course, they only would have been rescued if they had flashed the rescuers. http://uk.news.yahoo.com/06092005/140/storm-survivors-told-expose-themselves.html
Last time I checked, Bush didn’t point his finger at the sky and conjure up the hurricane. There weren’t buses for the evacuees with “whites only” signs. It’s tragic that people are suffering, and that most of those people happen to be poor african americans, but it takes a sick, simple-minded individual to even attempt to twist such a tragedy into a political issue like this. Give it up, people, the hurricane is in the past. The refugees are not going to be helped by those of us on dry land blaming Bush and the right-wing caucasians. What they need is sympathy, compassion, and non-partisan relief efforts.
Judging by what’s going on upthread on this thread and others, I seem to have attracted a groupie. But that word is so, well, judgemental; let’s call him/her/it my secret admirer. Or, even better, my stalker.
Here’s a joke about celebrity stalkers that was REALLY funny back in 1981. I suspect my stalker won’t get it. More’s the pity, since it goes out to him/her/it.
Q: Why did Menachem Begin invade Beirut?A: To impress Jodi Foster.
Makes me wonder who W was trying to impress when he invaded Iraq.
Wow CF, I jealous! where can I get a stalker/parrot/pet asshole?
You have to get under a Wingnut’s skin, which can be difficult because it’s both oily AND scaly.
Brown, you’re correct that the project was “funded” during the Clinton congress, but the funding was far lower than the amount deemed necessary by the Army Corps of Engineers to upgrade the levees. Bush lowere the funding even further. But to me, any attempt that didn’t seriously address the issue shoes a lack of prioritizing at the Federal level (remember, they continued to fund the Big Ditch project in Bostin without any consideration of how obscenely far over budget it had gone–thanks to Ted Kennedy). I’m not giving Clinton and his Congress a pass on this one because he gave a authorized a token amount of what was necessary to achive the goals of the project. That is just a political “carrot and stick” policy.
Believe me, I’m an equal opportunity curmudgeon. I still believe that Ross Perot, presidential timber or not, called the shots right for both Democrats and Republicans when he said that if NAFTA were passed, we would hear a great “sucking” sound as businesses outsourced and even moved out of the United States, leaving many either unemployed or underemployed (Hey you! Yeah, the guy who used to make $25-30 an hour as a skilled machinist manufacturing airplane parts—I’ve got a great opportunity at MacDonald’s flipping burgers for minimum wage!).
Neither political party does more than is necessary to “carrot-and-stick” (or sometimes just “stick”) its constituencies while it grovels at the feet of special interests and big money (interestingly, there are far more wealthy donors for the Democratic party than there are for the Republican party, which is funded far more by small individual contributions–seems strange to me). I’m ready to become an independent.
Thanks for your reply,
Soulfyre
OOPS! please forgive the spelling errors in that one.
motherlowman, c’mon. You’re speaking in such sweeping generalities that the breeze almost knocked me over. It might surprise you the number of “conservatives” (a comparatively meaningless title, just like “liberals” and “progressives”–it has been so long since anyone really read the political theorists or how they have historically defined the positions) are helping out through volunteering time, money, food, clothing, housing, etc. Let’s be honest! How many of the victims is Kayne inviting to live in HIS home?
Rhonda Holman is correct that what we saw is primarily the results of economic discrimitation. It may surprise you to know that 75% of those living below the poverty level in the United States are white. Because of the “sexiness” of the New Orleans disaster (I mean, who can deny the mind-boggling failure of government at all levels to address this), in which many of the urban poor (predominately black) were affected, the news is concentrating its coverage on New Orleans, and little is covered of the trailerpark poor whites across Mississippi and Alabama, whose lives were also devestated.
It is also interesting to note the sources of the two controversial photographs and captions that have raised the issue of a “racist” press. The picture of the white man and woman who “found” groceries and provisions was from Reuters. It was AFP (Agence France Presse) that published the picture of the black man “looting”. The French may pontificate about “Liberte! Fraternite! Egalite! (Liberty! Brotherhood! Equality!) all they want, but there is a vicious strain of racism evident among the French. So before one assumes everything in the United States is a “racist conspiracy”, one should carefully check their sources (I have found the U. S. media, even the most conservative, far more balanced on this issue).
motherlowman, I don’t know how old you are, but I am 52 years old and have seen the Jim Crow South and the subtle “look, but don’t touch” discrimination of the North. Is there still racism? Yes. Martin Luther’s dream has not been realized. But the difference between 1955 and 2005 is substantial. I think few younger people now truly understand what racism is. It makes a nice “hot button” word, but is rarely helpful to those who have seen the difference. It simply muddies the water (like the sewage of New Orleans), poisoning the conversation by failing to address the issues, and polarizing people.
What a big surprise a black man calling a “whitie” racist. I dont know what the big deal is really. I mean thats the first card played from n e black person. The irony is that kangay and you people with racial “interest” accuse bush of racism, but use racial slurs in calling him out. It seems like most of u need to take a look in the mirror.
Well said, Ian, I am on your side.