Kayne West: "We are going to boycott Arizona!"

[Lyev]

I don't mind if this is moved to chit-chat, but at least it shows a mainstream, well-publicized view of anti-racism. Original link here (http://www.contactmusic.com/news.nsf/story/kanye-west-boycotts-arizona_1144280). I just stumbled across it, thought I would share it with comrades.
Kanye West Boycotts Arizona
Kanye West is refusing to perform in Arizona, America because of their immigration laws.

Kayne West is refusing to perform in Arizona, America.

The 'Heartless' rapper has vowed not to visit the state until their immigration law - which has given police officers the authority to stop suspected illegal immigrants and demand proof of their citizenship - is altered.

Kanye's decision to do this has been inspired by African American rights activist Rosa Parks.

He said: "When Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat, they arrested her. As a result, people got together and said, 'We are not going to ride the bus until they change the law.' It was this courageous action that sparked the Montgomery bus boycott.

"What if we got together, signed a collective letter saying, 'We're not going to ride the bus', saying 'We are not going to comply. We are not going to play in Arizona. We are going to boycott Arizona!' "It's a bit liberal, but good on him, at least.

[Gravedigger01]

Despite his ego I like Kanye because he appears to have a good social conscience

[Universal Struggle]

"At the tender age of 6 she was arrested for the sit ins.
with that in my blood i was born to be different"

~ Kanye West

[pierrotlefou]

It seems like this would hurt the workers of arizona.

[Rusty Shackleford]

Truly the voice of this generation...

and pierrotlefou, i kind of agree. it seems to be that this boycott is a popular mass action though so i support it. plus, fuck arizona.

the working class in mexico will get even further hurt if the conservatives and farther-right groups keep making more gains.

[Robocommie]

Despite his ego I like Kanye because he appears to have a good social conscience

I kinda like Kanye because of his ego. Dude don't give a fuck. But yeah, he does seem to give a damn about blacks and the poor. That thing in Katrina with Mike Myers was big, and weeks afterwards, you could tell the smart folks from the knuckleheads, based on their reaction to it.

[The Vegan Marxist]

A lot of musical artists are taking part in the strike against the Arizona law. Here's the link to the site where it's promoting the strike:

http://www.thesoundstrike.net/

[Ocean Seal]

"I'm a let you finish, but racism is one of the worst crimes of all time, of all time."

All joking aside good to see that a mainstream artist is taking our side against those who impose a reign of terror on the Hispanic community by depriving them completely of police protection and criminalizing them. One day Jan Brewer will regret instituting this backwards racist agenda.

[x371322]

I wonder if Moop will refuse to play.

http://userserve-ak.last.fm/serve/252/25712737.jpg

:D

[Invincible Summer]

My cynical old fart side always has to come in...


Racism is one of the "easiest" things to be against. Just sayin'

[The Vegan Marxist]

My cynical old fart side always has to come in...


Racism is one of the "easiest" things to be against. Just sayin'

Right now, yeah. But that's only because race is no longer a taboo in this country. But what if laws, such as the Arizona one, were to be implemented throughout the nation. Then would it be just as easy then as it is now?

[The Ben G]

Hm, maybe a suburban teenager uprising will occur?

[Chambered Word]

Hm, maybe a suburban teenager uprising will occur?

That's basically my biggest fantasy of all time. :laugh:

[Ocean Seal]

Right now, yeah. But that's only because race is no longer a taboo in this country. But what if laws, such as the Arizona one, were to be implemented throughout the nation. Then would it be just as easy then as it is now?

The Vegan Marxist is right. Racism could experience a revival if this law is not stopped quickly.

[The Vegan Marxist]

http://i46.tinypic.com/2n7l36f.jpg

[Mendax]

I think the only real problem here is that a lot of the bands signed up to the sound strike weren't even planning on going to Arizona anytime soon anyway. Rage being the obvious example.

[The Vegan Marxist]

I think the only real problem here is that a lot of the bands signed up to the sound strike weren't even planning on going to Arizona anytime soon anyway. Rage being the obvious example.

Tom Morello & Outernational went I know, not to sing, but to protest with the thousand-man march on May 31st.

[KlownBaby19]

meh...could give a damn less for Kanye West and maybe HE should focus on his racist bullshit but other than that I live in AZ and THANK GOD i am moving, this state has an outrageous number of racist fux here, moving back to STL makes me so damn happy and i do not agree with the new law because yes it is racist, the border battle on drugs and "bad guys" has been fought fairly for years but now theres a new law on immigration, oy this is stupid. I guess all the news has nothing better to do with it's time but to report how bad mexicans and pit bulls are...fuck fox news

[Abyss Crown]

To be honest, I still have 0 respect for Kanye West. His music is crap and all he focuses on is people being racist against blacks, which I'm sure he's living in the 1960s. While racism, especially against blacks, is still a big thing, comparing this issue to the riots, etc in the 60s and comparing himself to Rosa Parks... what a god damn moron, really.

He doesn't do anything else political unless it has to do with racial crimes or whatever, unless, of course, it's against whites.

Look, I'm sorry and all for not being to happy with Kanye West, but the man is obviously racist against whites.

[28350]

The problem is,

[Arizona] ...doesn't care about black people.

[28350]

Look, I'm sorry and all for not being to happy with Kanye West, but the man is obviously racist against whites.

Lolwat

[bailey_187]

all he focuses on is people being racist against blacks

yeah, he should do something about the anti-Mexican racist laws in Arizona.....

[Abyss Crown]

yeah, he should do something about the anti-Mexican racist laws in Arizona.....

Perhaps you can't read English properly, if perhaps at all. I did not say, "Kanye West is racist against whites because of racist laws in Arizona", that has very little do with what I said. Kanye West spends his entire political time, which is very little, going around saying this white person hates this black person. Maybe I would take him more seriously if he didn't compare himself to Rosa Parks and spend his other political time for, well, not just racist-related subjects.

[KlownBaby19]

To be honest, I still have 0 respect for Kanye West. His music is crap and all he focuses on is people being racist against blacks, which I'm sure he's living in the 1960s. While racism, especially against blacks, is still a big thing, comparing this issue to the riots, etc in the 60s and comparing himself to Rosa Parks... what a god damn moron, really.

He doesn't do anything else political unless it has to do with racial crimes or whatever, unless, of course, it's against whites.

Look, I'm sorry and all for not being to happy with Kanye West, but the man is obviously racist against whites.
I second this! Kanye West, Young Jeezy, the big "hate whites" thing is coming back around but god forbid a white man defends himself...he MUST be racist...yeah i am pissed at the AZ law but seriously KW is a racist fuck

[leftace53]

I like that atleast someone is boycotting AZ, still don't like KW or his music or his weird sunglasses fad that seems to have caught on.

[Abyss Crown]

I like that atleast someone is boycotting AZ, still don't like KW or his music or his weird sunglasses fad that seems to have caught on.

Fair enough, at least someone is "boycotting", or, at least, mentioning it.

[Pirate Utopian]

the man is obviously racist against whites.


I second this! Kanye West, Young Jeezy, the big "hate whites" thing is coming back around but god forbid a white man defends himself...he MUST be racist...yeah i am pissed at the AZ law but seriously KW is a racist fuck
Are you guys fucking serious? Kanye West is racist because he calls some white people racist?

Also Kanye West has some good songs, like Crack Music (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GknaBceo0Vc).

[The Vegan Marxist]

Are you guys fucking serious? Kanye West is racist because he calls some white people racist?

Also Kanye West has some good songs, like Crack Music (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GknaBceo0Vc).

I'm surprised Kanye sung that.

[Ocean Seal]

Unfortunately, this law has gained widespread support (how it could possibly do so is beyond me), and things are looking pretty dismal I was hoping for a quick repeal, but apparently that's not happening. Should we stand with Kayne on this, absolutely, but yeah I don't like him too much.

[the last donut of the night]

To be honest, I still have 0 respect for Kanye West. His music is crap and all he focuses on is people being racist against blacks, which I'm sure he's living in the 1960s.

I didn't know racism ended in the 1960s. How can you be spouting this right-wing nonsense? Either you're woefully ignorant or actually racist; either you don't anything about the systematic racism of today or you don't give a fuck. I'm not sure if I should be angry or ashamed.


While racism, especially against blacks, is still a big thing, comparing this issue to the riots, etc in the 60s and comparing himself to Rosa Parks... what a god damn moron, really.


He doesn't do anything else political unless it has to do with racial crimes or whatever, unless, of course, it's against whites.

This reminds me of a lot of subtly racist and right-wing commentary that decries Black people for complaining and resisting racial crimes as "reverse racists" or whatever. Because when Black people complain about injustices, they're uppity, rebellious, misinformed, or just racist. Again I ask how you can be saying this shit.


Look, I'm sorry and all for not being to happy with Kanye West, but the man is obviously racist against whites.

It's not about being "racist against whites", it's about standing up to a racist law. Is that not good enough for you? It seems you carry the same old racist beliefs of the right wing.

And even if he were legitimately racist against whites, to be honest, I wouldn't be surprised or offended, really. I mean, after 500 years of oppression, it's very understandable.

(Before I get cries of "nationalism!!!!!", I'm not saying I advocate for a purely Black nationalistic, separatist movement, as these movements divide an essential link between white and Black workers, but that it's very understandable and honorable as well too).

[Red Commissar]

Kanye isn't the only person calling for action against the state of Arizona for this fascist bill. Some organizations are cancelling their company or organization trips to Arizona, and some local governments have stepped in as well doing a similar action.

They are all trying to emulate what had occurred back in 1990 when Arizona was not recognizing MLK Jr. day which unleashed groups boycotting trips to Arizona and even caused the NFL to move the super bowl for that year from Arizona to California. Enough damage was caused to Arizona to quickly back peddle on this and recognize MLK day.

On a side note, Public Enemy made this song at the time about this, slamming Arizona's government.

TRW6K5CvLFs

Aside from the fact that there won't be a drastic punishment like the NFL did to Arizona then, a main issue in this one is that there is unfortunately more support for this by the American populace. Especially since some people are thinking its their duty to help out the Real America™ by helping out their fellow Americans in Arizona from "attack" by *insert dangerous group*.

Palin has been making rounds supporting her fellow wingnut Jan Brewer, including one stop in Illinois where she highlighted a school in the area which decided not to send their girls basketball team to Arizona. In her words, it was hypocritical for said school to stop visits to Arizona while they had in the past sent visits to China. Media is also going into overtime to drive home to Americans that Arizonans are "under siege" by crime attributed to illegal immigrants; an attempt to moralize this law.

Arizona itself is being cheered on as standing up to actions of boycott from cities. For example, the city of Los Angeles is boycotting the State of Arizona. In response Arizona is threatening to cut energy deals with LA.

Even if it's Kanye, any one who is on board and standing against Arizona's law is a welcome addition, considering the nature of the opposition.

[~Spectre]

The boycotts all across the board (corporations and cities boycotting events) will destroy this law. The bourgeoisie will show the Arizona lawmakers what happens when a dog bites its master.


__

P.s. : Kanye isn't a good rapper. He has a nasty habit of taking really good beats and putting his horrible verses over them.

[GreenCommunism]

Arizona itself is being cheered on as standing up to actions of boycott from cities. For example, the city of Los Angeles is boycotting the State of Arizona. In response Arizona is threatening to cut energy deals with LA.
i hope the whole country crumbles!!!

[Red Commissar]

The boycotts all across the board (corporations and cities boycotting events) will destroy this law. The bourgeoisie will show the Arizona lawmakers what happens when a dog bites its master.


__

P.s. : Kanye isn't a good rapper. He has a nasty habit of taking really good beats and putting his horrible verses over them.

They're hoping they can replicate the boycotts from the MLK Day controversy in Arizona. It would really help if we got a large group pitch in. One thing that really helped last time was the NFL moving the superbowl for that year out of Arizona.


i hope the whole country crumbles!!!

Los Angeles receives a considerable portion of its power (52%) from outside the state- being coal-fired plants in Utah, Arizona, and Nevada. What will matter is ultimately who needs this business more, and I think LA can easily lean on the other two states for more power.

Unfortunately as far as the issue goes, there is considerable support for this legislation. Enough of the immigration issue has been spammed to have Americans start feeling exaggerated or unfounded fears about economic drains, welfare, losing culture, and/or simply being hateful towards immigrants.

[GreenCommunism]

. One thing that really helped last time was the NFL moving the superbowl for that year out of Arizona.
boy that's a large move. i do imagine that alot of arizona would be pissed about that.

[bailey_187]

Kanye West spends his entire political time, which is very little, going around saying this white person hates this black person.

I know, thats why i said he should show some solidarity with other oppressed groups such as Mexicans in Arizona - maybe a boycott or something?

[Red Commissar]

boy that's a large move. i do imagine that alot of arizona would be pissed about that.

It really was. In the first place securing the rights to the super bowl is a costly processes, trying to beat out other candidates and convince the board to pick your venue at any cost possible. In between that all being wasted and all the businesses hat were expecting good profit to come out of the super bowl, it really hurt them.

I don't recall the exact figure but I think all the boycotts and the superbowl move caused Arizona to lose up to $30 million in one month.


I know, thats why i said he should show some solidarity with other oppressed groups such as Mexicans in Arizona - maybe a boycott or something?

It would be good if he could. Unfortunately there is trouble trying to get the Mexican community to have a cohesive response. They came out well for the May Day demonstrations but have not been able to do anything significant beyond that. There was an attempt by the Mexican community back in 2006 to have a mass walkout/strike by all Mexicans to drive home the point of just how dependent people are on Mexicans and other immigrant groups, but unfortunately it didn't make the splash it did as not many heeded the call.

Hell, I've even talked to Mexicans in my area and they don't have a consistent opinion on the matter. Some are outraged but others are indifferent towards the situation.

[Saorsa]

Look, I'm sorry and all for not being to happy with Kanye West, but the man is obviously racist against whites.


I second this! Kanye West, Young Jeezy, the big "hate whites" thing is coming back around but god forbid a white man defends himself...he MUST be racist...yeah i am pissed at the AZ law but seriously KW is a racist fuck

Ah, the sweet, sweet smell of white privilege. :rolleyes:

It's not possible to be 'racist' against white people. White people are born into comparative privilege and superiority, and their racism is the belief that this should be maintained at the expense of the rights of blacks, latinos, asians and so on.

Oppressed racial groups don't have the objective ability to promote an ideology based on maintaining their racial privilege - they don't have any.

Frankly I think we should avoid the term racism as much as possible, and instead say 'white supremacy'. Same goes for sexism - 'male supremacy/male chauvinism' and so on.

[Across The Street]

Where I live the legislature is in talks about a similar law to that of Arizona in which anybody who is arrested and suspected of being in the country illegally will have to show proof of citizenship, which is a little more understandable considering that the person in question has already committed a crime. It's still probably coming from the minds of dedicated racists though.

Comrade Alastair:
"Oppression racial groups don't have the objective ability to promote an ideology based on maintaining their racial privilege - they don't have any."

^This however i gotta cry bullshit on, racism exists in many ugly forms, it isn't just about privilege, rather a thought process whereby you view your race as superior to that of all others. Racists can be any color and when a particular group of people calls for violence against another lighter or darker skinned group of people, that is racism, sure it's an ugly term, but don't shy away from it. Try living in a place where whites are the minority.

[The Vegan Marxist]

Where I live the legislature is in talks about a similar law to that of Arizona in which anybody who is arrested and suspected of being in the country illegally will have to show proof of citizenship, which is a little more understandable considering that the person in question has already committed a crime. It's still probably coming from the minds of dedicated racists though.

Comrade Alastair:
"Oppression racial groups don't have the objective ability to promote an ideology based on maintaining their racial privilege - they don't have any."

^This however i gotta cry bullshit on, racism exists in many ugly forms, it isn't just about privilege, rather a thought process whereby you view your race as superior to that of all others. Racists can be any color and when a particular group of people calls for violence against another lighter or darker skinned group of people, that is racism, sure it's an ugly term, but don't shy away from it. Try living in a place where whites are the minority.

You have a point that racism can come in all different colors. We can think about a world where the whites are the minority, but this isn't true. Under the present social conditions, the white race are the oppressors over the minority races. Racism is in co-existence with the white race. Though, I hope you don't think I mean the white race of the entirety, but rather upper-class whites. The privileged whites.

[Across The Street]

I don't think we've witnessed the full extent to which racism infects our world. I'm definitely in agreement that most of the racism the world has seen, and continues to see today involves the domination by whites of other races, this isn't even debatable. I just know that racism isn't confined to a particular race, as I've been witness to many different people describing their hatred of other races. The strange thing about racists though is that most of them don't act that different around the races they supposedly hate. Most of them don't act out on behalf of their violent thoughts, but this isn't always the case and goes back to what I said in the first sentence. I don't want to get into a what-if scenario, so suffice it to say racism is like an infectious disease, and like other diseases doesn't target specific skin colors.

[REVLEFT'S BIEGGST MATSER TROL]

http://www.revleft.com/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=7765&stc=1&d=1275798974

[The Vegan Marxist]

^ :laugh:

[GreenCommunism]

It's not possible to be 'racist' against white people. White people are born into comparative privilege and superiority, and their racism is the belief that this should be maintained at the expense of the rights of blacks, latinos, asians and so on.
i have heard that mixed race baby in africa are very hard to get adopted and so on, how is that not racist.

the point is that anti-white racism does not have the newspaper,media power and propaganda science that white racism had before the 1960's or that still has. we don't have to fight anti-white racism, it's in fact a form of racism that actually has some justification, even though i hate the idea that i should pay for what my ancestors did. i think that pointing out that i still profits from the crime of my ancestor is better.