Facebook statuses were furiously updated and angry tweets were Twittered about Kanye West’s outburst last Sunday at the MTV Video Music Awards. A small percentage of those people actually watched the award show as the incident took place. The rest probably learned about it through their friends and followers updates, then conveniently looked it up and changed their media profile to follow suit.
While just about everyone agrees what West did was wrong, it’s everybody else’s and our own actions we should be looking at in these moments. A recent New York Times collaboration between two columnists declared this outburst a display of society’s downward spiral. The debate got pretty political with a lot of historical references, but for those of us who are not experts in the area, let’s bring it to circa now.
West has been known to push the envelope, cause scenes and whatever else anyone allows him to do. This is not the first time he has come into “conflict” with MTV and it probably wont be the last. Security at the award show should have been very tight, so it brings up the question — how did he get on stage? West, an award nominee, was seated at the front and stepped on stage with no interference and remained on stage unobstructed. When MTV allowed his antics to continue it marked a bruise on television broadcasting. Everything and anything is allowed to happen on television now.
Then again, West is collaborating with Jay-Z who is married to Beyonce, who apparently made the best video of all time. Interpret that as you wish.
Facebook and Twitter exploded with references to the incident moments after it happened. People now flock to their computers and cell phones every time something happens, sometimes watching events with these things at hand. The internet is a great way to find out information about anything, the profiles you create are a great way to express your views. So why is the internet only being used for seemingly useless information such as video awards. Are people closeted historians or activists or is it that the generation that grew up on Facebook and Twitter actually only cares about award shows, Kanye West and Taylor Swift.
The President of the United States, one of the most powerful men in the world, was accused of being a liar during his speech to Congress. The United States is facing health care problems which are raising questions about our own health care system. A former MP was arrested on possession of cocaine while driving drunk. Those stories took a back seat to Kanye West’s actions, despite being more important.
Why do we care what West does, or how Swift is recovering from the incident? They can go back to their mansions, cry and use $100 bills to dab their eyes. What should matter is how little Tommy is going to pay for surgery on his heart or what kind of people hold powerful government positions. Shame on us for watching and liking this nonsense. Shame on me for continuing to put Kanye West’s name in print.