InfluEntiAl pEoplE must wAtCH tHEir worDs

Sir,

One of the most flamboyant French journalists of the 19th century, Emile de Girardin, once warned about the power of words. “The power of words is immense. A well-chosen word has often sufficed to stop a flying army, to change defeat into victory and to save an empire,” he said.

Hip Hop singer and fashion mega-star Kanye West, who currently goes by the name Ye, has recently made shocking, divisive and harmful statements. The 45-year-old African-American artist stirred a similar controversy again last month at the Paris Fashion Week when he wore a T-shirt with the slogan ‘White Lives Matter’.

Of course, white lives do matter, but what seems not to matter to the controversial rapper was his refutation of and opposition to ‘Black Lives Matter’, the popular global protest movement inspired by the death of American George Floyd, who was brutally murdered by a white police officer in 2020.

Questioned

Ye questioned the death of Floyd, absurdly suggesting that it was due to drug use. Ye has recently also made a series of bizarre, demeaning and flagrantly anti-Semitic public comments.

We cannot be oblivious to the fact that Kanye West’s influence goes far beyond even the more than 30 million followers on his Twitter account; there are millions of people without Twitter accounts who follow either the music or fashion of the artist. He influences many people in multiple ways.

People like Kanye – public figures such as artists, politicians, thought leaders, etc – who exercise great influence need to speak and act in a more dignified way, to conduct themselves in a manner that seeks to unite people in a particular community, not cause division between them.

Responsibility

They have a responsibility to guard against what comes out of their mouths because of the influence they have in the communities where they live or work. Words are so powerful that a mere apology or retraction often cannot undo the damage. One cannot take away the impact or harm that certain ill-chosen words cause since an apology can only lessen the pain, and never erase it completely.

It is, therefore, important that we never say things that seek or destroy or divide our communities; rather those who have such influence in society should use it to make a positive impact on their people. What is also wrong about Kanye West’s statements is that they generalise. He talks about a particular community, a Jewish community; that is troubling.

I often wonder why the whole world is so prone to generalise. According to Agatha Christie, the best-selling English language novelist of all time, generalisations are seldom, if ever, true and are usually utterly inaccurate.

Referring to the relationship between Kanye’s behaviour and his mental fitness, American Psychologist Dr Bedford Palmer observed that people with mental illness do far fewer negative things and are far less violent than people who do not have a mental health disorder.

“Having that disorder does not make you a racist, it does not make you anti-Semitic, it does not make you do harmful things to people,” Dr Palmer said.

People throughout the world are battling with mental illness. However, they are not propagating irresponsible, dangerous statements, nor are they inciting violence against anyone. It is, therefore, misplaced to blame such recklessness on mental illness.

Reckless

Kanye West should take full responsibility for his misdeeds. His statements are reckless and dangerous because they encourage violence against Jewish people. While his apology will not make any difference, financial sanctions against him will certainly force him to change his bad behaviour.

He should understand the kind of influence he has and what potential it has in society. He is not an ordinary person; he is a powerful, influential figure and he knows it.

Mokgatlhe