How Kanye participates in the standard and the trouble behind it:
Once again, here we are. The inevitable round of attention-grabbing social media posts by Kanye West. This time we are not talking about him specifically. Just using him as a vessel to get to the main problem I see in all of this. If you want to hear a discussion on his last social media emergence and situation in the news, I strongly suggest watching Trevor Noah’s video on the Kanye-Kim-Pete controversy that I will link down below.
Just recently Ye had posted on instagram (now deleted) several screenshots of private conversations he has had with previous partner Kim Kardashian and of several other family members and friends. Making a joke of matters over their kids and just a general social media outburst. This came as expected, since we’ve seen this before in the past from him. Personally, I’m more focused on the follower’s reactions. Of course immediately following, Twitter and Instagram imploded with discussion and continued adding to the ridicule that Kanye was expressing. These reactions on social media unknowingly set the perfect amount of room for a double standard to make it’s nest. A lot of people do not like the Kardashian/Jenner clan. A lot of people could not care less about or just generally despise Kim Kardashian. A lot of people, including myself are not fans. Alternatively, just because I personally do not praise this woman does not mean I need to include myself in making fun of a clear privacy breach or continue to just be a social media bystander when a woman is harassed online. I say this for two reasons.
We would not be getting this same reaction for instance if Brad Pitt did the same thing to Angelina Jolie. When we talk about a celebrity like Jolie there is usually a lot of positive connotation surrounding her, she is generally loved by the public eye. By Kanye doing this without any real sort of consequence, it provides an example to the viewer that if said person that is being harassed is not loved by the public eye, then they are unworthy of any respect. This subconscious standard then seeps into our everyday lives when a potential situation arises. Whether it is discussing forms of emotional, verbal or physical abuse. When we are so used to that sort of action being okay from these culture moguls, we repeat the same in everyday life. Which will ultimately be dangerous for the person on the other side. I agree with Trevor Noah’s notion about the previous social media scandal because it 100% ties itself to this one. If one of the richest women in the world cannot get their ex to stop harassing her, what hope do we have as the public if and when the same thing happens to us individually?