When I was growing up I was told many stories about my grandfather’s time in the Holocaust. I heard of the hardships and terror that he endured all because he was Jewish. To this day people are still berated and attacked for being Jewish.
I was recently shopping when a man walked over to the woman checking out next to my mother and me. He asked her if she was Jewish. When she said yes he began to get closer to her repeating the words “you killed my people.” Security was called and the situation was handled, but these things are not just fiction. These events happen to real people every day.
Kanye West, also known as Ye, was recently banned from Instagram and Twitter after he posted antisemitic content.
On Instagram, he posted a screenshot of text messages accusing rapper Sean Combs, also known as Diddy, of being controlled by Jewish people. After that, he took off to Twitter and threatened to “go death con 3 on Jewish people” referring to DEFCON, an alert system used by the military. Both posts have been removed and West has been banned from both social media platforms.
Following this, many actors and actresses turned to social media to spread awareness about antisemitism and the effects of West’s words. However, celebrities are not the only ones speaking out against West.
Several companies such as West’s talent agency, Donda Sports agency, and Balenciaga have ended their partnerships with West. Even Adidas ended their contract with him after he bragged “I can say antisemitic things, and Adidas can’t drop me.”
The responses to West’s derogatory posts have not all been positive.
Amplified by West’s words, an antisemitic white supremacist group hung banners reading “Kanye is right about the Jews” and “VAX THE JEWS” over various freeways in California.
The group also raised their arms and performed the Nazi salute several times while standing with their signs above the freeway.
West’s hateful speech inspired this group as well as many others to spread hate and antisemitism. If we do not speak up against this, we risk allowing the spread of hate speech and false information and helping to incite violence against the Jewish people.
Following his posts, West was interviewed by several media outlets, one being Drink Champs, where he continued his hateful rhetoric. He stated that he believes the Jews control the media, in an attempt to turn the Jewish people into villains and inspire brutality against them.
Just recently West was interviewed again, this time by Piers Morgan on his talk show, “Piers Morgan Uncensored.” In the interview, West was asked if he felt sorry about what he said in his hateful posts about the Jews. West responded, “No, absolutely not.”
Morgan proceeded to ask him if he knew he was being racist toward Jews since he claimed that he has suffered due to racism, to which he responded, “Yes obviously, that’s why I said it.”
West has repeatedly bashed the Jewish people and has shown no remorse or growth since, yet we continue to give him a stage to speak on. We continue to allow him to spread misinformation and hate speech. In another interview with TMZ, West was asked how he felt about people trying to cancel him. To this he responded confidently saying, “I’m here, what are we talking about, we’re here and we ain’t goin’ nowhere.”
We continue to enable him and give him a platform to speak words filled with hatred and lies.
So many antisemitic crimes happen every day worldwide to innocent people, just because they are Jewish. Many people are misinformed on this issue, probably because they are receiving their information from people like West. We will never progress from these issues if we continue to give people like West a platform to spread hate and violence.
Words are so powerful and can be dangerous to society. We must use them to spread kindness and awareness. We must use them to fight back against those who choose to say harmful things. Don’t be silent, stand up for what is right.
