Kayne West Comments Can Open Up a Dialogue

In the early days of this ongoing tragedy of life in The Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina, news reports were as tentative as they could get. Race was the issue that dare not speak its name. Then, hip-hop artist Kanye West went off script during NBC's September 2, 2005 live "Concert For Hurricane Relief" telethon and claimed "George Bush doesn't care about black people."

The network immediately cut him off and his remarks were censored for the West Coast feed. West's statement was on the internet in a matter of minutes and quickly became the talk of the weekend.It was definitely a compelling live TV moment.

West was paired with comedian Mike Myers who looked like he'd been kicked in the stomach. Such events usually have a noble, worthy, and frankly dull effect. Like the telethon held shortly after the events of 9/11, it was a mix of musical performances and scripted recitations from celebrities. West spoke twice during the ninety second stand-up piece. In the first instance, he noted that he hated how we [black people] are being portrayed in the media. Of orders that have come down to shoot to kill looters, West noted: "They're giving them permission to kill us."

Interesting or not, there is a thin line between heartfelt honesty and grandstanding. For many on that night, Kanye West crossed the line into libel. For others, like myself, he opened up a dialogue that should be confronted at some point- just not this soon. To take priorities away from the immediate physical and emotional care of these Hurricane victims and shift instead to political accusations is irrelevant, no matter where you stand on the political spectrum. There is a reason why many musical artists know their sentiments are best placed within the context of a song.

Phrases get stuck in our throats, and labels used to describe actors in this grand play are causing just as much trouble. Early on, the victims of Katrina were called "refugees." Dissect the word and you will find the meaning. A refugee is a person who flees their land to escape oppression of a political [or in this case disaster] oppressor. After a few days, many news outlets caved into pressure and switched "refugee" with the more bland and generic "evacuee." While this may be a more technically accurate adjective, it seems to dampen the staggering loss these people are enduring.

There will be more instances of reporters and experts carefully walking through a terminology minefield over the next weeks and months. Far too many of us seem more concerned with avoiding judgmental phrases and words with deep implications than actually getting to the heart of the matter.

From such horror as this, we can only hope that dialogue does commence. Raw honesty can hurt, but hurt always comes before healing.  It hurts to speak when your heart is crushed. Sometimes people with good intentions speak way too soon, but it's better than not speaking at all.

Christopher J. Stephens is an adjunct college english instructor for Northeastern University, Wentworth Institute of Technology, Western New England College, and Corinthian Colleges, Inc.