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Hear Ye, Hear Ye! Some thoughts on Kanye’s outbursts

A man knows when to speak out and when to hold his tongue.

Kanye West on Tour
Rapper Kanye West, now known as “Ye,” performing at the Saint Pablo Tour in 2016. Credit: Kenny Sun/Flickr via Wikimedia Commons.
Pinny Arnon is the author of Pnei Hashem, an introduction to the depths of human experience based on the esoteric teaching of Torah.

Ye wants to be heard. Desperate for attention, he orchestrates stunts to grab the mic and draw the spotlight. How can I be so outrageous, he schemes, that people will have no choice but to look at me, hear me. Hear Ye, Hear Ye, please!

Let me parade my wife naked before the cameras. Let me declare my love for Hitler and my hatred for the easiest and oldest target: the Jews. Let me pretend that I am edgy and courageous in order to conceal the fact that I am incredibly needy, starved for attention and sad.

Hear this, Ye: We are unimpressed and underwhelmed. We have seen this performance before by other megalomaniacs and little men who wanted to be large. They have come and gone, made noise and then fizzled out. They, too, have squandered talent that they could have used for good but chose instead to serve their ego.

Ego, it has been said, is an acronym for “Edging God Out.” It is the hubris of those who ache to be worshipped and are too small to admit that there is something bigger than themselves. Yearning to be a god, they fail to be a man.

A man treasures and protects his wife rather than exposing, cheapening and objectifying her. A man knows when to speak out and when to hold his tongue. A man recognizes when he needs help, and seeks guidance and assistance when he has fallen or lost his way.

Ye has lost his way, and perhaps in a twisted fashion, he is crying for help. Like a frightened or troubled child who throws a tantrum because he would prefer negative attention to being ignored or alone. Hear Ye, Hear Ye, please!

It is a sad spectacle, a train wreck from which it is hard to look away. But we must turn away. It is our attention that Ye craves, and in paying it to him, we only feed his appetite. Like all bullies, rabble-rousers and jar-shakers, if they are disregarded, they will eventually quiet down or move on.

Hear this, Ye: Jews have been subject to this type of hatred and vilification before, and we have been forced to defend ourselves while we simultaneously try to explain to our children why troubled men make trouble. Hurt people hurt people, we teach them, and we encourage them to maintain their dignity and stay above the fray. We pray daily for a world of peace, a time when God will reveal the truth that we are all one.

In the meantime, we hope someone helps you manage your mania and your anger, and we pray you get the medical and emotional care you need. God loves all of His children, yea, even Ye.

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