I’m a fan of Kanye so I was deeply disappointed in his behavior. My guess is that he may have felt that he was defending another black artist from the racism of a music industry more interested in pushing a new country artist than rewarding an established and gifted one.

I’m just speculating.

Kanye should have held his fire. He’s a smart guy and there’s a time and place for everything, even stopping the show to make a point (Russell Brand did it better with his comments on British healthcare being free). Fortunately Beyonce had enough elegance and class to spare to pull things around, inviting Taylor Swift back on stage.

But this wasn’t worth the static and I don’t think it was a correct assessment of the sitch especially since Beyonce won Best Video of the Year. He was obviously off-base and out-of-line. Furthermore, in a racially super-charged America, it only stirred more negativity and racism toward African-Americans online. From TheGrio:

Kanye West’s latest outburst at the MTV Video Music Awards has drawn mostly negative reactions. After his unsavory diss of country singer Taylor Swift during her acceptance speech for the best female video, many people immediately went to their various online social media tools to share their thoughts about the hip-hop star.

I agree with the opinion that West’s blowup was horribly rude and childish. However, there were some Internet users who took their thoughts about him too far. This was particularly obvious on Twitter, which was awash in a flood of racism, with the so-called “post-racial” levees fully giving way.

Here are just a few of the most memorable tweets:

ODV1985: kanye west is monkey ass n****r! and should be lynched! taylor swift i love you girl! (these people are going somewhere in life)

JacobFredG: I realy hope I dont have any black followers and if I do just stop following me, Kanye West is a stupid n****r!

trevbandito: Watch’n the VMA’s and decicided to look up the word “N****R” In the dictionary, and low and behold was a pic. of Kanye West!!!!!!!!

There are some who still want to believe that with a black man in the White House, racism is a thing of the past. But I would contend that racism hasn’t gone away, it has just gone online.

With the evolution of online conversations, many bigots who are too cowardly to spew their vitriol in front of an actual person, now hide behind a virtual barrier. The only reason many white supremacist groups stay alive is because they have vibrant online communities.

Kanye has apologized on his blog and on tv. What do y’all think of the situation?

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