elph8: Cooling Kanye's Jets

Mall of Andy (

elph8) wrote,
@ 2005-09-12 13:01:00

Cooling Kanye's Jets
I doubt that "George Bush doesn't care about black people."

(Post a new comment)

	twosnoos 2005-09-12 06:10 pm UTC (link)
	Kanye actually said, "George Bush doesn't care about black people," not "doesn't like." Just to clarify... (Reply to this) (Thread)

	elph8 2005-09-12 06:28 pm UTC (link)
	Just as I was walking up to my computer, like JUST now, I remembered that. I shall change it. Thanks... (Reply to this) (Parent)

	lowhumcrush 2005-09-12 06:40 pm UTC (link)
	(Reply to this) (Thread)

	violetdusk 2005-09-12 06:56 pm UTC (link)
	I'm picking out a thermos for you...not an ordinary thermos will do. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	dansully 2005-09-12 06:59 pm UTC (link)
	hahahaha (Reply to this) (Parent)

	elph8 2005-09-12 07:09 pm UTC (link)
	Are you calling ME a jerk? (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

	hahahaha lowhumcrush 2005-09-12 07:34 pm UTC (link)
	no. but for some reason, whenever I think of Bush, this guy comes to mind. (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

	Re: hahahaha tonyjackson 2005-09-12 08:42 pm UTC (link)
	Too bad because I liked it a lot better when I thought you were calling him a jerk! (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

	naw lowhumcrush 2005-09-13 12:30 am UTC (link)
	when I think of Andy, this comes to mind: (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

	Re: naw doctortina 2005-09-13 04:07 am UTC (link)
	Hey... Don't fuck with the Jesus! (Reply to this) (Parent)

	claudelemonde 2005-09-12 08:05 pm UTC (link)
	in the face of shap's correction, yr statement is a little less effective. of course Bush cares about black people. the question is, in what capacity. as a constituency? as part of the vote? as a very public and graphic face on yet another fuckup? sure he cares. he cares TONS. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	elph8 2005-09-12 09:45 pm UTC (link)
	Precisely. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	tonyjackson 2005-09-12 08:47 pm UTC (link)
	What makes you say things like this? (Reply to this) (Thread)

	elph8 2005-09-12 09:44 pm UTC (link)
	I don't think it's true. (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

	ohiojake 2005-09-12 10:00 pm UTC (link)
	bush does not not care because they are black he doesn't care because they are POOR (Reply to this) (Parent)

tonyjackson
2005-09-13 02:49 am UTC (link)

Do you really think that or are you just saying it to say something controversial and get attention. If you really believe that and believe it to the extent that you had to make sure everyone knew it, please tell me what your rationale is. West was not necessarily eloquent with is explanation for what he believes, but he did give one. He gave reasons that those of us who agree can support and probably expand upon.

So really, what makes you think that Bush cares about black people? Or are you just saying this to get attention, like with your Revolotion idea.

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

	elph8 2005-09-13 02:33 pm UTC (link)
	This isn't about attention, Tony. It's about the fact that Kanye's statement took off and has become a sort of mini-rallying cry in the post-Katrina mess, and I don't think it's true. I don't think the burden of proof is on me to point out how Bush cares about "black people," but rather on West (and you, if you agree with West) to prove exactly how he doesn't. (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

tonyjackson
2005-09-13 03:06 pm UTC (link)

It is about attention Andy! You quite often take the counterpoint to any popular idea or the position that you know will be offensive to people. At some level, I admire this because I believe that a lot of the time you do it to spur debate. It sort of reminds me of that poem you did about the girl in your class who took the counterpoint on a racial issue and you admired her for it. I think I am remembering the poem correctly. It is completely offensive so I can see why many people don't like it, but I could also see where you were going with it.

But consistently doing this starts to seem like a cry for attention if you don't support the debate you are trying to initiate. For example, I don't necessarily agree with everything you said in the whole "retard" debate, but I will say that you did offer some decent arguments to support your position. So you don't agree with the idea that Bush does not care about black people. Tell me what your reasons are. I don't think the burden of proof is on either side to validate how they feel, but if you are going to make people believe that you do this for any other reason than to call attention to yourself, then you need to tell us why you would say this.

I mean you don't have to prove anything, but if you don't people will stop listening to anything you say. You will be the offensive version of the boy who cried "Wolf!" And that would be unfortunate because you are not a complete jerk off and once in a blue moon you say something that people should hear. :-)

And by the way, if Kanye had just blurted out, "Bush doesn't care about black people" without supporting it with any other statements, I would say that he was just doing it to get attention too. But it was the last thing he said after proceeding it with several other statements (some that were even self incriminating) that supported his position. You may not agree with them, but at least he offered them.

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

elph8
2005-09-13 03:43 pm UTC (link)

I'm happy to see that we're close enough as friends that you can presume to know my intentions. It warms the cockles of my heart, truly.

But I'm afraid you're wrong. I mean, first, it WAS attention-seeking insofar as everything everyone puts on LJ seeks attention. But beyond that, I was stating a fact in which I'm FAIRLY confident. I've seen no evidence to suggest that Bush "doesn't care about black people" (see Condoleeza Rice) and thus, can't assume he doesn't. I'm working on giving the benefit of the doubt more often. This is a case of that.

And Kanye's rambling rationale hardly stands up to critcism.

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

tonyjackson
2005-09-13 04:36 pm UTC (link)

If you were to tell me that the weather in Arlington is hot in July, I would pretty much give you the benefit of the doubt. I might offer some counter arguments to get you to clarify and support your statement, but I would ultimately concede that your years living there trumps my cursory knowledge of the place.

Hence your offering of Condoleeza as proof of George Bush's concern for the interests of black people is like my countering your Arlington is hot argument with, "But it has snowed there before!"

So start with accepting that people who have spent all of their lives actually being black might have some valid points you might want to listen to. As to what makes us think that he does not care about black people, I wish I had the time to write out a complete position paper on this, but alas, contrary to popular belief, I do actually work. However, I will offer a few points of the top of my head:

1) Bush has NEVER met with the NAACP. He has met with the women's lacrosse collegiate champions, but he won't meet with the one organization that has the most knowledge of the lives of 11% of his constituency.

2) Bush was governor of Texas which lead the nation in executions of young black males (lead the nation in all executions, but a disproportionate number were black males)

3) Bush's policies (exporting of jobs, a substandard minimum wage, the bankruptcy bill, capital gains tax relief) have increased the number of people under the poverty line (again a disproportionate about of those being Latino and black)

I could go on, but I think it's time for you to tell me what make you think Bush cares about black people.

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

	eskimopie 2005-09-13 04:45 pm UTC (link)
	1) that's a valid point 2) he killed more poor people than anything. when it comes to executions there is a higher discrepancy regarding poor and insane people. 3) he doesn't care about poor people because they don't contribute to his campaigns. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	poetryslam 2005-09-12 11:57 pm UTC (link)
	dude, all i'm saying is that if that hurricane hit connecticut, the response would've been the very next day. poor black people in a city that's 70% black? they waited nearly a week. (Reply to this) (Thread)

paigeness
2005-09-13 02:23 am UTC (link)

i really don't think that's true. it smacks too much of hysterical conspiracy theory. first of all, who's "they"? FEMA? the governor? the mayor? the president? from what i understand, most of the responsibility for the slow response falls on the state government in louisiana. so who is this "they" that should have responded the very next day? also, that area was largely inaccessible for about the first week after the storm hit. i seriously doubt that the powers that be said, "well, there's been a terrible natural disaster and we should really get off our asses... but it's the south! it's just a bunch of black people. let 'em wait." come on now.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

elph8
2005-09-13 02:34 pm UTC (link)

You're wrong on the facts. They didn't "wait nearly a week." And even if that were true, it seems as though there's plenty of blame to spread around. If your main rationale for saying Bush doesn't care about black people is the timeliness and preparedness of the response to the hurricane, then Mayor Nagin, a black man, must not like black people either, considering how piss-poor his reaction was.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

	misshouston 2005-09-13 12:51 am UTC (link)
	Why does everybody keep blaming Bush when he called Kathleen Idiot Blanco immediately? Not Bush's fault. And I am not a Bush fan. It's the idiot Governor that we elected. The president cannot come in until she says okay. Checks and balances. The blind leading the retarded. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	lilsamkudu 2005-09-13 03:08 am UTC (link)
	well, i think it was thursday already when bush had the "emergency" meeting with blanco and nagin where blanco was all "give me day to decide to hand it over to you." sure she's to blame, but once nagin declared it to be a "federal disaster" it was legally a federal problem-- that was before the storm. (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

	misshouston 2005-09-13 04:05 am UTC (link)
	right.. but correct me if I am wrong, I was under the impression that a Mayor doesn't have the authority to declare a federal disaster.. I thought it still had to be signed off on by the Governor? Maybe I am wrong, and it's just my distaste of Blanc-head coming through. :) (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

	lilsamkudu 2005-09-13 05:23 am UTC (link)
	hey, either way, we all get to hate whitey! (Reply to this) (Parent)

eskimopie
2005-09-13 04:50 pm UTC (link)

the fault the Bush is being painted with has more to do with denying funding to reinforce the levies. it has nothing to do with, "Oh, he could have gone down there and pushed the storm away from the coast." no. no one believes that. but denying funding to defend the city adequately (dare I say, to have a pre-emptive plan for if a hurricane did hit) at the same time that he sends many of their young and poor over seas to fight the war that he's using as an excuse to not have that portion of the coast protected against a surity sucks.

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

	misshouston 2005-09-13 04:56 pm UTC (link)
	I firmly agree with that. Like I said, not a Bush fan. I just dislike Blanco more. :) (Reply to this) (Parent)

	What Bush likes dfleming 2005-09-13 01:01 am UTC (link)
	I hear that Bush likes tapioca pudding. And he cares about it too. (Reply to this)

	skattenstar 2005-09-13 03:12 pm UTC (link)
	I saw you on TV the other day talking about Greenlights. The best part was when the interviewer said, "So, what do you guys really need?" and you said, "CASH!". I hope that you are doing well. =h= (Reply to this)

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