I thought I might respond to this trending article on the Huff Post, partly because it reeks of condescension and ignorance:
Dear Kanye,
You probably don't have many post-menopausal white women in your fan base. The only reason I know who you are is because I read US Magazine on the treadmill. For that reason, I know that you sort of ruined Taylor Swifts's big moment at the Grammys and that you are Kim Kardashian's Baby Daddy. I also know about your interview with Ryan Seacrest, because of Yahoo News.
Right in the first paragraph, Renee Fisher admits she knows little about Kanye West. It's worth wondering how well she can judge the context of what he's saying!
Yahoo News is filled each day with items that have nothing to do with my actual world, like talking dogs and the world's largest baby, and the fact that Will Smith's 15-year-old son has gone public with his relationship with his 16-year-old girlfriend who is the daughter of Bruce Jenner Kardashian, I try to bypass these items, in order to get to my mailbox. But each day, at least one headline accounts for me checking my mail about 30 seconds after I intended to do so.
I have to say if your chosen source of 'news' is Yahoo News, you're severely mal-informed.
Last week, I was sucked into your interview with Ryan Seacrest, in which you blamed "classicism" for your not being able to achieve all of your goals in life. I'm not sure what "classicism" is but if it means "lack of class" I'm on board with your statement.
This is where I thought I had to write a response. Honestly? You didn't understand what he was trying to say? He means 'classism,' and it seems here that Fisher is committing it: blaming West for a innocent mistake.
From a really well-written Gawker article(http://gawker.com/kanye-west-knows-you-think-he-sounded-nuts-on-kimmel-1443710553): "The BBC interview was personal and honest and heartfelt, but it was also frenetic and boastful and rambling at times—perfect fodder for late night TV, in other words. Kimmel mocked it by reproducing the interview with a black kid in place of West. When West took offense, and let loose a series of furious tweets, Kimmel gave the smirk of a comedian who couldn't see the big deal. You know the one; it climbs up only one side of the face, its meaning being: It was just a joke. That Kanye West didn't take it as a joke isn't really a surprise, even if we ignore the fact that he's famously self-serious. Here he'd done an interview explaining how hurtful it is to have proved one's ability and still be seen as inferior by rich white people, and a rich white person responded by infantilizing him."
And somehow, it seems that Fisher is infantilizing Kanye. She's turned herself into a grammar nazi--a true snob who thinks West lacks 'class' for having misspoken.
You also said that no one cares if Michelle Obama Instagrams a picture of herself in a bikini. I completely agree with that statement as well. We live in a pretty fucked up world, Kanye. There are few things nowadays that give me any hope for the future. But I have to say that one of them is that the American public sees the First Lady as being more than booty.
I think maybe you are confusing popular culture with culture. Most of us love something about popular culture, whether it be following fashion or sports, or picking up the latest fare from some author of international thrillers to read on the beach. We watch reality shows and we vote for American Idols. We read everything we can about Wills and Kate. Popular culture is available to all of us. We don't have to be talented or smart or wealthy to be fans.
Culture is something else. Culture is human intellectual achievement.
I suppose she's taking from the OED:
But pay attention to the second definition: the ideas, custom, and social behavior of a people or society.
It is what defines a society, the legacy we leave to the generations that will follow. When we look at the Roman Empire, Pharaonic Egypt and the ancient dynasties of Asia and the Middle East, we marvel at the feats of government, the arts and engineering that created nations from tribal societies. The internal violent and sexual shenanigans of many of the rulers of these civilizations is no doubt a fascinating sideline, but it in no way defines the civilizations that these people created and ruled.
Your fiance probably has more Twitter followers than the First Lady. Hell, she might even have more followers than the president. But our fascination with her is limited to the externals of her life: her face, her body and the clothes she puts on it. She is a fantasy, whether one's fantasy is for giant booty or designer duds. The best you can say about her is that she has turned her ability to showcase her body parts into a lucrative profession, indeed.
The fascination we have for Michelle Obama has nothing to do with what she looks like or what she wears (although an attractive First Lady is always more interesting). When we look at Michele Obama, we think about her intelligence, her strength, her ideals. No matter your political affiliation, you have to admit that Michele Obama is a powerhouse. Your girlfriend reminds us of what one can do with the gift of outstanding good looks. Michelle Obama reminds us of what one can do with outstanding intellect and drive.
So Kanye, draw Kim and North close to you. Tell them that you love them and that they are the most important people in your life. And be grateful that you live in a society that worships celebrity to such a ridiculous degree that someone like you, someone who sets the bar ever higher for pretention and self-absorption, can be worthy of taking up space with talking dogs and giant babies.
For some reason, doesn't the above smell of classism to you? Her points may ring true, but what's her intent? Isn't this a put-down of the lowest sort, a kind of excuse to compare Kardashian to the First Lady to render West a silly egotist? And is this not what West is complaining about? That he's not taken seriously, that no matter what he does or who he marries, his personal life is never off-limits?
Let me rewrite Fisher's paragraph and direct it toward her:
"So Renee, draw your husband and your children close to you. Tell them that you love them and that they are the most important people in your life. And be grateful that you live in a society that allows white privilege to such a ridiculous degree that someone like you, someone who sets the bar ever higher for pretention and self-absorption, can be worthy of taking up space in the Huffington Post."
You see how patronizing that sounds? This, I feel, is the real injustice to Kanye West: that someone he doesn't know can label him 'pretentious' and get away with it--and have hundreds agree.
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