As the Former Kanye West Sows, So May Ye Reap

Clarence Page, Tribune Content Agency on Nov 3, 2022

Later, Ye was sued for $250 million by the family of George Floyd for saying he died of a drug overdose rather than murder by cop.

But last month, his assaults against public sensibilities picked up steam. During Paris Fashion Week, he showed up wearing a “White Lives Matter” shirt in his runway show.

What’s wrong with that, you may ask? Nothing, if you’ve been vacationing on the moon for the past couple of years. But on this planet, the message came off as a clear attack ridiculing the movement to improve policing practices. Even the simpler message “All Lives Matter” sounds less like a poke in the eye of the liberal establishment, although that’s probably what Ye had in mind, too.

By contrast, it’s not really clear what Ye had in mind with his more recent outbursts of bigoted and rambling rants on social media, in which he said he intended to go “death con 3 (sic) On JEWISH PEOPLE,” and during interviews on podcasts and with Fox News’ Tucker Carlson.

Those are worse than simply hurtful comments, particularly at a time when hate crimes are on the rise in Chicago and nationally. We need more clarity in our language about race, religion and ethnicity, not just reckless rants.

Nationally, the FBI reports that Jews, who constitute about 2.4% of the total adult population in the United States, were victims of 54.9% of all religiously motivated hate crimes, particularly for Orthodox Jews wearing visible symbols of their religions.

I take some encouragement from the erase-the-hate-style backlash that has begun to emerge, as modest as the famously cheeky marquee of the Wiener’s Circle hot dog stand on Chicago’s North Clark Street. With more hot peppers than a fully dressed Chicago-style wiener, it said: “Kanye can suck our kosher dogs.”

To paraphrase the Temptations, I second that emotion.

What about his mental illness, many ask? Ye has been quite public in the past about his bipolar condition. Indeed, he looks and sounds like his mind is somewhere else in his offensive rants. But that’s not an excuse. It’s a plea for help. I hope he gets it.

Meanwhile, closer to Ye’s wallet, so many of his partnerships for Yeezy brand sneakers and other products fled that he lost his billionaire status, according to Forbes. Adidas ended its partnership, followed by Gap, Foot Locker and other brands totaling $2 billion worth of business. “Adidas does not tolerate antisemitism and any other sort of hate speech,” the company said.

Sure, it’s easy to shrug off such decisions as “PR moves” or, as the far-right would say, “woke” gestures.

But if respect for human rights and decency are good for business, that’s a good reason to have more of it.

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(E-mail Clarence Page at cpage@chicagotribune.com.)