Letters to the Editor: Kanye West is traumatizing Holocaust survivors and endangering Jews

Los Angeles Times Opinion
·2 min read
Rapper Kanye West, left, shakes hands with U.S. President Donald Trump during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Thursday, Oct. 11, 2018. West, a recording artist and prominent Trump supporter, is at the White House to have lunch with the president and to meet with presidential son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner who has spearheaded the administrations efforts overhaul the criminal justice system. Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Rapper Kanye West meets then-President Trump in the Oval Office of the White House on Oct. 11, 2018. (Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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To the editor: I'm outraged by the Kanye West situation in ways I can only begin to describe. ("Deplorable: How Kanye West went from beloved generational rapper to far-right Hitler apologist," Dec. 2)

First, there are Holocaust survivors living today who are being traumatized by West’s public praise of Adolf Hitler. Second, the Department of Homeland Security and other groups that monitor online hate speech have noted an increase in antisemitism lately, so West is literally helping put the lives of Jews in danger.

Finally, I'm sick of hearing about West's mental health problems in connection with his vile actions. Having family members who suffer from mental illness, I can state that becoming a rabid antisemite is not a mental illness. It's a choice.

West has a history of saying or doing shocking things to garner attention. Therefore, I think this could all be an extremely twisted publicity stunt. And I believe that, like his supposed hero Donald Trump, West is too egotistical to admit a mistake. So like Trump, he too doubles down.

I hope for the sake of those who suffered under Hitler and people who might be harmed due to his depraved actions, West loses every penny he has and perhaps feels a fraction of the pain he is inflicting on people around the world.

Matthew Singerman, Newbury Park

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To the editor: I find it interesting that Twitter owner Elon Musk sanctioned West off that social media platform, yet he tolerates thousands of people spewing hate speech on myriad topics.

Musk might think about sanctioning himself.

Ellen Faulk, Los Angeles

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To the editor: West's affection for Hitler is not only ignorant, it also resonates with antisemitism. West must have forgotten about the time when Blacks were not allowed to drink out of a water fountain designated for whites, sit at a restaurant counter with whites or marry a white person.

With all the divisiveness happening in the U.S. and around the world, it is fruitless to waste print on someone as misinformed as West.

Bunny Landis, Oceanside

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.