Last week Kanye West tweeted “You don't have to agree with trump but the mob can't make me not love him. We are both dragon energy. He is my brother. I love everyone. I don't agree with everything anyone does. That's what makes us individuals. And we have the right to independent thought.” A wildfire of comments erupted following the tweet.
Some liked the tweet. Some not so much. Tweeter kept active taps on West’s account following the tweet heard around the world. For whatever reason social media thought it was relevant to check which celebrities unfollowed West after comments. Justin Bieber, BTS, The Weeknd, Rihanna, Ariana Grande, Harry Styles, Katy Perry, Nicki Minaj, and Kendrick Lamar have all report unfollowed West. Seeing tweets commenting on who unfollowed someone on because of something they said reminded me of our class discussion on Mae and Annie’s PartiRank. When Annie enters herself into the PastPerfect project and discovers her ancestors were slave owners, she is terrified that people will take it out on Annie and her PartiRank score. PartiRank score is very similar to followers on Twitter, so I found it entertaining and noteworthy how Kayne West reacted to the backlash he received for supporting President Trump. Rather than backtrack or apologize for his tweet like Annie tries to do, West tweeted a picture of a “Make America Great Again” hat, signed by Donald Trump. Receiving even more backlash, West went a step further. Last Saturday, April 29th Kanye West released “Ye vs. the People”. In the song West elaborates on his initial tweet. West explains how he don’t align himself against Trump and Conservatives because it is the “popular” thing to do, especially as he believes in Conservative principles. Whether you like or dislike what President Trump and West stand for and support, I think it is important to hear what he is saying, especially after reading The Circle. Mae and the other employees of the Circle are effectively without the “independent thought” that West refers to. Every action is done as a show for others so that they can be well-liked and their PartiRank improve. They conform whether they believe in what they are conforming to or not. Their opinion is not their own. If we blindly follow the status quo, the popular choice, we lose free will and we lose ourselves. West isn’t saying that everyone should get on board with Trump, he’s actually doing quite the opposite. West is encouraging everyone to sit down, do their research, come to their own conclusions, free of the crowd mentality, and to support what you believe rather than what is popular.
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Dr. PolakWrangler of the attendant ne'er-do-wells. Archives
May 2018
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