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July 2, 2009

Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski: The hallmark of a person

Abe Novick: Up, up, and aliya

July 1, 2009

Rabbi Avi Shafran: The Road Taken

The Kosher Gourmet by Marialisa Calta: Get into the holiday spirit with these Star-Spangled desserts

June 30, 2009

Rabbi Binyomin Ginsberg: What makes a great parent?

Caroline B. Glick: Ideologue-in-Chief

June 29, 2009

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Beware of 'Caveat Emptor'

Steven Emerson: ACLU pushing for more money for Hamas

June 26, 2009

Rabbi Yoni Posnick: Learn the secret to a healthy marriage from a scriptural villain

Caroline B. Glick: Barack Obama vs. International Law

June 25, 2009

Rabbi Shimon Apisdorf: The Absurd Power of Truth

Jordan "Gorf" Gorfinkle's strip: Everything's Relative

June 24, 2009

Rabbi Yonason Goldson: Advancement of technology is a wake-up call for humanity

The Kosher Gourmet by Andrea Weigl: Summer on a stick: Making frozen treats can be easy, creative and fun

June 23, 2009

Martin M. Bodek: 'On Surnames': And so, We Begin

Caroline B. Glick: The Obama Effect

June 22, 2009

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Working for a corrupt firm

N. Richard Greenfield : Where are American Jews?

June 19, 2009

Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski: Emotion v. intellect

Caroline B. Glick: Israel's rare opportunity

June 18, 2009

Jonathan Rosenblum: Sometimes it is more essential to define the nature of evil than good

Jordan "Gorf" Gorfinkle's strip: Everything's Relative

June 17, 2009

Rabbi Yonason Goldson: The Language of Confusion

The Kosher Gourmet by Linda Gassenheimer: Nothing pleases Dad more than a thick, juicy onion-smothered steak. Add home-Baked Potato Chips and …

June 16, 2009

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Career v. Careersism

Caroline B. Glick: Obama's losing streak and Israel

Richard Z. Chesnoff: ‘Palestinians’: Never Missing an Opportunity …

June 15, 2009

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu: How Judea and Samaria can become 'Palestine'

Daniel Pipes: Where Netanyahu's speech failed

June 12, 2009

Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski: Some big thoughts about not acting so big

Caroline B. Glick: Obama's High Commissioner

June 11, 2009

Victor Davis Hanson: Our historically challenged President

Mitch Albom: Beware the True Believers

Lewis Grossberger: What we learn from the new Hitler photos

June 10, 2009

Mort Zuckerman: What Obama and his advisors won't -- or refuse to -- grasp about Israel and the Muslim world

The Kosher Gourmet by Steve Petusevsky Lotsa pasta: Tips, techniques and (amazing) taste

June 9, 2009

Anne Bayefsky: Obama's stunning offense to Israel and the Jewish people

Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: America's first Muslim president?

June 8, 2009

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Merchant must take responsibility for careless shopper?

Mark Steyn: A superpower that feeds on mediocrity cannot survive for long on leftovers from the past

Richard Z. Chesnoff: How do you say 'kumbaya' in Arabic?

June 5, 2009

Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski: In quest of spirituality

Caroline B. Glick: Obama's Arabian dreams

Charles Krauthammer: The Settlements Myth

June 4, 2009

Paul Greenberg: The War Comes to Little Rock

The Kosher Gourmet by Judy Hevrdejs: Splash it on! Tap your inner jazz musician and improvise when stirring up a vinaigrette

June 3, 2009

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Q. Should terrible teacher be exposed?

Jonathan Rosenblum: The Israel Lobby: Missing in Action

June 2, 2009

Dennis Prager: The Speech President Obama Won't Dare Give in Egypt

Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Pressure on Israel raises war risk

Oct. 29, 2003
Mortimer B. Zuckerman: Graffiti On History's Walls (MUST-READ!)

Jewish World Review Sept. 27, 2005 / 23 Elul, 5765

Racism’s Double Standard

By Rudy Gersten


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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | Kanye West is a racist. Not that this should come as a newsflash to anyone who has ever listened to his music. West's new album Late Registration just debuted at number one on the billboard charts, selling 860,000 copies in its first week. But the press has largely given the hip hop star a pass for his outrageous comments during an NBC telethon for Hurricane Katrina victims. As most Americans now know, the hugely successful rapper claimed that the government was sending troops to New Orleans not to help those in need but to "shoot us" and accused President Bush of not caring about blacks. But the fact that West is himself a racist must not be overlooked, or, as is the case with the mainstream media, completely ignored.


You won't find any criticism of West on MTV, which has aired numerous documentaries in the past attacking hate speech, including questioning white rapper Eminem's anti-homosexual lyrics. But MTV and other outlets apparently have no problem with West's referring to whites as "the devil" or his claim that when a drug dealer buys Jordans and a "crack head buy crack…the white man get paid." Funny, I don't recall getting any royalty checks from local crack sales last month.


In a hit song off West's new album, he degrades a black man who leaves his woman for "a white girl." And in a recent interview with Stuff Magazine, West said he doesn't believe white people should be "allowed to use slang until it is at least a year old." Say what? Seventy percent of hip hop albums are bought by whites. But apparently West believes the majority of his fans shouldn't be allowed to sing along to his tunes.


Racial demagogues like Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton have always had a public forum. Their bigoted records are somehow irrelevant to the reporters assigned to cover them. Jackson compared the scene at the New Orleans Superdome to that of a "hull of a slave ship" and his comment went almost completely unchallenged in the press. There is something fundamentally wrong with how nearly all of the media ignores comments like these. The Kanye West example shows us what we already know, that if you are black and famous you have a license to say anything you want and you will never be held accountable for it.


During his bumbling rant on NBC, West actually called himself a hypocrite for complaining and said he went "shopping before giving a donation." While NBC did attempt to disassociate itself from West's assertion that the president of the United States does not care about black people, no one has bothered to ask the question of why Kanye West was invited on an NBC telethon to begin with. When a major television network gives a platform to someone who has made a career out of rapping about the evils of white people, no one should be surprised when he uses that opportunity to spew more of his pitiful ignorance.


West, the son of a Black Panther, is never criticized about his racist lyrics by any of the outlets that have helped make him famous. Silent on the issue are MTV, BET, hip hop radio stations, and even Time Magazine, whose recent cover story proclaimed West "the smartest man in pop music." I can assure those at Time that Britney Spears, everyone's favorite pop music airhead, knows more about the world than Kanye West. At least she likely doesn't believe that "AIDS was a man made disease placed in Africa just like crack was placed in the black community to break up the Black Panther party," as West told his fans during the Live 8 concerts this summer.


The double standard is understood throughout the country. When a famous white man says something racially insensitive, he is roundly criticized by all. And rightly so. There is absolutely no place for racism in society today. But when a famous black does the same, it's acceptable.


Racism should never be tolerated, whether you are a U.S. Senator or a rap star. Trent Lott knows this. As do David Duke, Jimmy the Greek, and John Rocker. They all found out the hard way. And Kanye West is no better. He should be held to the same standards they have been held to.


It's time Americans treated black racism no different than white racism. There is simply no justification for either. So when a rapper preaches about the evils of white people, it's time for us to cut his mic.

Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.

Rudy Gersten is Director of Operations at the Center for Equal Opportunity. Comment by clicking here.

© 2005, Rudy Gersten

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