When I heard that Kanye had said "400 years of slavery, sounds like a choice." I felt compelled to watch the video and assess whether Kanye had truly fallen off the ledge of sanity.
Here are my initial thoughts:
Watching the TMZ interview, the first thing that struck is that Kanye was struggling to articulate what he was thinking.
When he made the slavery comment it was clear (to me at least) that he misspoke. As when asked to clarify he stated 'right now we're choosing to be enslaved.' People whose ancestors were slaves have a choice of how they use that as a frame of reference. I think this was the point he was trying to make albeit badly.
I also want to comment on his friendship/ admiration or whatever he has for Trump.
If he classes Trump as "his boy", a 'dragon energy' kindred spirit or whatever that's on him.
We all have a friend that believes some shit we might find outlandish. I'm sure Kanye himself has friends that oppose his views on Trump but still stand by him. I think Kanye is taking a similar stance, however ill-advised it may or may not be. This idea that he should be shunned because he admires the guy that America elected as their president seems over-the-top. Sure debate whether you think he is misguided but some of the hysteria has been jarring.
We live in a time where it is fashionable to polarise and sensationalise everything in exchange for likes shares and retweets.
Whether you agree with Kanye's views or not, do they really warrant the overraction and vilification that ensued? The problem with today's social media culture is that people want to digest their information in 140 character soundbites and respond with two word expletives. The art of conversation and debate and agreeing to disagree is lost in favour of shutting people down, name-calling and internet memes.
The lesson I take away from Kanye's comments is we need to learn to listen and challenge (rationally) what we hear and what we believe. Being able to truly listen to views you disagree with is one of the most powerful tools you can have on your arsenal, no matter what your colour or political inclinations.