Oh Kanye…
The 2015 Grammy’s were a whirlwind of good music, shocking wins, and Kanye West being… well, Kanye West. If you tuned into the highly sought-after show, you probably know what I mean when I say that Kanye almost – well practically – pulled ANOTHER “Kanye” (ony this time he did it on the Grammy stage rather than the VMA stage). He clearly disagreed with the fact that singer, Beck, won Album of the Year and, in true Kanye fashion, felt the need to express this dissatisfaction. Except, he stopped himself:
(http://www.newsweek.com/beck-grammys-kanye-west-305413)
A lot of us thought he was only kidding and could awkwardly laugh it off… that is until his interview on the E! Grammy After Party. I’ll spare you all of the gory details, but he essentially said that, though he refrained from taking the microphone away from Beck, he did mean to make a statement by walking up to the Grammy stage. He felt as though Beyoncé deserved the award and that the Grammy’s need to respect true artistry (because apparently Beck doesn’t live up to West’s standard). Check out this link to see the full interview: http://www.eonline.com/videos/231600/kanye-west-goes-on-another-rant-at-grammys-after-party.
If you ask me, it isn’t worth our time to be angry at Kanye West. Just hear me out: I think it is safe to say that one of the few people who agreed with Kanye West’s tantrum-like actions that night was Kanye West. Ironically enough, the only person he made look bad was himself. If anything, we should be thanking Kanye for his outstanding demonstration of how not to act in public, or even in private. In lieu of this annoying yet enlightening event, I’ve compiled a list of 3 ways we can learn from Kanye’s embarrassing behavior.
1. Use West’s faux-pas as a motive to reflect upon the less-than-fabulous things you’ve said or done to people:
As college students, we’re at an age when our thoughts follow the trend of “me, me, and more me.” While that is perfectly acceptable when considering some of the massive decisions we are forced to make, we shouldn’t go through life completely disregarding the people around us. So the next time you consider saying something less-than-complimentary, ask yourself if it’s worth making the person to which you’re speaking feel how poor Beck, or even Taylor, felt on that stage.
2. While you should value your own thoughts and opinions, they are not the only worthwhile thoughts and opinions out there:
One of Kanye’s biggest errs in judgment is thinking that because it comes from his mind, it must be right. I hate to say it, but a lot of us university attendees have a tendency to think the same way (I know I have). Just do yourself a favor: next time you go to tell someone why their opinon is worthless in comparison to your’s, stop to reconsider whether it’s worth looking as vain and pompous as Kanye West does in every interview he’s ever been in.
3. Realize that everyone makes mistakes:
I don’t know what it is about being in our late teens/early-twenties that makes us feel that we need to complain about everything wrong in our lives, but this struggle is very real, and frankly, very unattractive. It is especially unattractive when we complain about honest mistakes that others make. It’s so easy to do and it gives us something to talk about with our friends during conversation lulls, but it’s so incredibly insensitive. Here’s why: typically, the mistakes others make are pretty darn similar to mistakes we ourselves make – granted, there are some exceptions. Next time you go to tell your friends about the “jerk” who inconvenienced you, ask yourself if you’ve made his mistake before and how you would feel knowing that someone was gossiping about you. Kanye thinks that Beyoncé absolutely deserved that award, and maybe the Grammy voting system could be improved, but slamming Beck’s talent isn’t going to help him affect change. He isn’t accomplishing anything by complaining about this award, and neither are we when we complain about others’ honest mistakes.
So thank you, Kanye West, for yet again making yourself look bad for the sake of teaching America’s youth what not to do and why.