I am sure you’re all aware of the recent Kanye West controversy.
To be completely clear in no way am I defending West’s recent anti-Semitic comments, which are based on stereotypes and conspiracy theories. I am simply analyzing the hypocrisy in the left’s reaction to the rapper’s comments.
In recent weeks, numerous companies have cut ties with West for his remarks including Gap, T.J. Maxx, Peloton, and Foot Locker to name a few. The most notable entities that have parted ways with West are JP Morgan Chase, which forced the rapper to close his banking relationship with the company, and Adidas, which ended their collaboration with West’s famous Yeezy show collection.
There has been a multitude of influencers, celebrities, and political commentators that have shared posts on social media in response to Wests’s comments that say things like, “I support my Jewish friends and the Jewish community.”
This is great and I agree! We should all support the Jewish community when harmful conspiracy theories are being spread.
But it’s worth noting that the same people eager to post statements condemning West’s actions are the ones silent when similar comments are coming from the left.
Congresswoman Ilhan Omar has posted several tweets over the years that align with the anti-Semitic rhetoric, including one that claims Jews have “hypnotized the world.” Al Sharpton, a civil rights activist that leftist news outlets constantly invite on to talk about race relations in our country, made comments in 1991 that fueled the Crown Heights riots that attacked Orthodox Jews in New York City. Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib has expressed support for the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement which calls for a boycott against Israel, a blatantly anti-Semitic campaign.
And yet, the media largely ignores all this. The reason West is being condemned by the media and corporations isn’t just because of his inexcusable comments, it’s because he has openly expressed that he has conservative views. If West was the older version of himself that goes on television and says “George Bush doesn’t care about black people,” he probably wouldn’t have faced the same backlash he has. But because he is friends with Candace Owens and states that he is anti-abortion, the left is eager to censor him and cut all ties.
We should condemn ALL forms of anti-Semitism. But when people are only calling it out when it is politically convenient, that’s a problem. The left and the right should be just as willing to call out radicalism on their own side as they are to calling out radicalism on the opposing side.
