The Obvious Conclusions

Of late I find an awful lot of headlines and articles about Kanye West.

And I have been aware, for some time, of his issues with mental health.

So I don't suppose it's all that surprising.  I do understand that some folks very literally see all publicity as good.  There are those who seek to promote themselves, their work, gain attention, and seem to suffer a fair amount if they aren't the subject of attention, gossip, and ... well, in some cases, just plain old "WTF?"  

Kanye West appears to be one of those sorts.  I do understand he is trying to promote himself, his work, and get some new contracts to replace those which have let him go.  But I do not think that the best way to go about that is to let folks know he admired one of the worst mass murders in history.  Let me speak plainly.  I do think it is a good idea that we study what Hitler did.  How he rose to power, what he did while in power, and how he was brought down.  And more importantly, why the various safeguards failed to prevent him from rising to power, and later how they failed to remove him once it became abundantly clear he was the problem.

Much like serial killers, we need to study things like this.  Not with admiration, mind you, but with an eye towards where do we see similar characteristics in others.  For example, are there any modern individuals or movements that bear any sort of resemblance to Hitler and the Nazi Party?  I, for one, now, do not see a lot of parallels between Hitler and Trump, for example.  While both played the "make the country great again" card, there are a few huge differences, starting with charisma.  Hitler was incredibly charismatic.  He could convince people he was right.  Donald Trump used to be able to convince people he was successful, but that was about as far as it went.  The man has about as much charisma as a dirty paper towel.  As in the color's a bit off, it's fairly weak and useless, needs to be disposed of.

But I think that we will, in all likelihood, soon hear of a terrible tragedy about Kanye West.  I don't think he's going to last much longer.  Because when he finds out that most of the folks who think like he does are going to be happy to string him up solely because of the color of his skin, well, that might be an ending he'd rather not participate in, if he has the option.  Then again, it may be that he won't have the option not to participate.  So it goes.

Not that I'm in favor of anything like that.  I think the guy should have the opportunity to work through his issues and get some help to get his head sorted out.  It's got to be absolute hell to be at war with your own brain.  I am indeed fortunate that my brain isn't trying to kill me.  But the bottom line is that, once we've come into the world, our long-term prognosis is terminal.  As is Mr. West's.  I don't think he's someone who wants to die young.  I do think he's just not too smart, hasn't really thought these things through, and doesn't seem to understand that, once we're gone, there's not going to be many people who will be able to stand up and explain away these moments when much of what we may have done does not make sense.  But then there are some folks who will end up as an example in textbooks and reference works, as in "Hitler's sad end at his own hands came far too late to save six million Jews and others whom he killed in his concentration camps and war, but his true value is in serving as the example of the ultimate evil, that which good people can agree must be stopped before it comes anywhere close to what he accomplished.  And if that can be done, then his life and death have served the world in preventing it from ever happening again."  You can quote me on that.  I just did.