Kanye West is a problem we created a long time ago. The moment we allowed him the title of “genius” and “free thinker” as a shield to guard him against accountability for his harmful and ignorant sentiments, we showed him he was above society. Above right and wrong. 

And now, some sit back in shock as the self-destructive storm that is “Ye” unfolds their eyes and they ask themselves “what happened?”

 It would be a lie to say West’s latest problematic campaign came out of nowhere. 

Before West’s dangerous anti-Semitic comments, there was a period where he was becoming arguably a beloved and even cherished figure within the conservative circle for his views on abortion and the Black Lives Matter movement. 

Yet even now, it seems like most of the influential online Republican political commentators have abandoned him. 

It took them a few months to do what we’ve been unable to do for years: let him go.

West’s ignorance has always been on display, and we just decided to excuse his stupidity. In 2018, when he said slavery was a choice, his fans went on the defense saying he was “misunderstood” and was trying to explain that racism in America is allowed to occur because “we” let it happen. 

During his failure of a Presidential campaign, he stated that Harriet Tubman never freed slaves, she “just had them work for other white people.” 

Yet again his online defenders took his words as too “woke” for simple minds. 

And now we are left to deal with the man he has now become. The type of man who regurgitates any conspiratorial information he is spoon-fed and takes it as gospel. The type of man who harasses and villainizes his ex-wife for all the world to see. The type of man who spreads hate and claims it to be the hard truth. 

And like I said before, none of this is new.

Shockingly, it was revealed that West has always, at least since 2018, had a fascination with Nazism and the leader of the Nazi party.

CNN released an article where they talked to several sources who claim he wanted to name one of his previous albums after the dictator. And Van Lathan, an ex-reporter for TMZ, came out recently to say during his heated TMZ interview in 2018, West claimed he loves Hitler and Nazis. 

Yet TMZ and the individuals who just now ran to CNN sat on this piece of information for years. Why is this just now being spoken about publicly? Why would news organizations like TMZ let West’s comment go unheard by the public? 

It is because society overall seeks to continue to profit and be entertained by him, so when he says something shocking, we cling to the slightest hope that his erratic actions have some artistic motive. But there is no real artistic motive. He is not a genius performative artist, he’s a contrarian desperate for attention. 

It is the sad truth that we used him for entertainment, and now he is once again being used. But now by a completely different audience. 

It has seemingly become a trend for black conservatives to strike back at the left and become celebrated heroes for the right. 

Two more examples that easily come to mind are the social media influencer Christian Walker and Candace Owens. They can be the mouthpiece to an entire group of people who fear they will be shunned for their beliefs. 

People like West, Walker, and Owens can say extremely racist and degrading remarks about black people and black culture because they can use the color of their skin as a shield against the dreaded “cancellation” movement. 

But West is a different entity entirely. What makes him different is the fact that he was so celebrated by black culture and has now become such a problem to the point he cannot be held back. 

I’m convinced not even Walker and Owens would come close to saying the statements Kanye has proudly declared. 

After Paris fashion week and the West and Owens political protest against the “corrupt” Black Lives Matter movement by both wearing a White Lives Matter t-shirt, Owens reflected on the controversy the t-shirt garnered, criticizing the wording of the Black Lives Matter phrase on her YouTube channel, saying “… It would mean taking a look at the real problem that is happening which is our culture. A celebration of perversity pitch to us as if it was diversity…Your idea of progressivism is clearly regressive.”

What if she’s right? Not about foolishly labeling a culture as perverse, but the idea that we must look into ourselves to understand the origins of Kanye West’s behavior. 

West is in the situation he is in because society acted as yes men surrounding him. We sought to excuse every extreme comment he said, and stuck our heads in the sand every time he showed us his true face. 

West is a problem we unknowingly created.