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Millions of people believe the Covid vaccine was designed to kill them, or that the Clintons eat fetuses in pizzerias. Millions more are absolutely certain a Je

by bambax 4y ago

Millions of people believe the Covid vaccine was designed to kill them, or that the Clintons eat fetuses in pizzerias. Millions more are absolutely certain a Jewish secret cabal runs the world. Are they "insane", or just dumb? Kanye West is pushing conspiracies a little further, into the domestic realm. What's upsetting is that when ordinary John Does promote conspiracy theories they are shunned, but when it's a successful artist we try to find them excuses.

tptacek 4y ago
He's not unwell because he's antisemitic. Maybe he's antisemitic all the time, but it seems probable that he's antisemitic because he's unwell. He doesn't seem unwell because he's antisemitic. He seems unwell because he believes that his children's friends are fake child actors installed by a conspiracy to sexualize them, and that a (possibly related?) Jewish conspiracy caused Pete Davidson to sleep with his ex-wife. Most people do not believe anything like those two statements. This is what happens in these discussions: people take the genuinely batshit things he's saying and then generalize them to a point where they're merely stupid, and not batshit. Then they say "well, that might be wrong, but it's not crazy!". Well, you're right: it's not crazy. It's also not what he said.
- bambax 4y ago
  You have posted this generic answer several times. Ok. Maybe he's "unwell". My point though is that there is very little difference between believing that your children are child actors and believing that politicians eat fetuses in a pizzeria on a regular basis. Both things are completely out there and rely on zero evidence. Also, believing members of your family are impersonators or aliens is something young siblings try to persuade one another all the time. It's not unheard of. Anyway, my larger point is that we should not tolerate antisemitism because of "crazy". Just because one adds outrageous beliefs on top of hate doesn't excuse the hate.
coinbasetwwa 4y ago
[flagged]
nemothekid 4y ago
>but when it's a successful artist we try to find them excuses. This is, to me, what is missing from this entire thing. Kanye is bipolar, yes, but I don't think anything he's points to some kind of manic outburst. What he said over the past few weeks have be fairly mainstream (or sub-mainstream) conservative talking points. Maybe not the ones that get blasted on Fox News, but the ones that shared and like with Fox News posts on Facebook. To me the "Kanye is mentally ill" is a cover to hide some very pervasive talking points in conservative circles. It's an extension of the mass misinformation problems that we as a society have been dealing with since COVID and Kanye is the latest victim.

by bambax 4y ago

tptacek 4y ago

He's not unwell because he's antisemitic. Maybe he's antisemitic all the time, but it seems probable that he's antisemitic because he's unwell. He doesn't seem unwell because he's antisemitic. He seems unwell because he believes that his children's friends are fake child actors installed by a conspiracy to sexualize them, and that a (possibly related?) Jewish conspiracy caused Pete Davidson to sleep with his ex-wife. Most people do not believe anything like those two statements. This is what happens in these discussions: people take the genuinely batshit things he's saying and then generalize them to a point where they're merely stupid, and not batshit. Then they say "well, that might be wrong, but it's not crazy!". Well, you're right: it's not crazy. It's also not what he said.

bambax 4y ago
You have posted this generic answer several times. Ok. Maybe he's "unwell". My point though is that there is very little difference between believing that your children are child actors and believing that politicians eat fetuses in a pizzeria on a regular basis. Both things are completely out there and rely on zero evidence. Also, believing members of your family are impersonators or aliens is something young siblings try to persuade one another all the time. It's not unheard of. Anyway, my larger point is that we should not tolerate antisemitism because of "crazy". Just because one adds outrageous beliefs on top of hate doesn't excuse the hate.

coinbasetwwa 4y ago

[flagged]

nemothekid 4y ago

>but when it's a successful artist we try to find them excuses. This is, to me, what is missing from this entire thing. Kanye is bipolar, yes, but I don't think anything he's points to some kind of manic outburst. What he said over the past few weeks have be fairly mainstream (or sub-mainstream) conservative talking points. Maybe not the ones that get blasted on Fox News, but the ones that shared and like with Fox News posts on Facebook. To me the "Kanye is mentally ill" is a cover to hide some very pervasive talking points in conservative circles. It's an extension of the mass misinformation problems that we as a society have been dealing with since COVID and Kanye is the latest victim.