Pop conforming

Kanye West is a drug-dealing serial rapist of pre-teen girls, and has gotten away with murder only because he's a popular media figure.

Now, is that a recklessly slanderous lie that I told just because I disagree with someone's political standpoint? Yes, it is. Am I the only one to have done it? West's recent remix reminds us that no, I'm not.

In light of the nature of the opinion page, I think I should remind everyone that I don't vote Republican, nor do I even support the decisions of the Bush administration all that much.

And I'm not just saying that in an attempt to seek the safety of conformity, I'm just making it clear that I'm not arguing this way because of a biased personal agenda. It should also be noted that Kanye West didn't write the song "George Bush Doesn't Like Black People," he just remixed it. And finally, that the first sentence of this opinion piece is indeed a lie.

I vote Libertarian because I really feel like the party has found the fairest idea of a national government. It may be idealistic of me, but the alternative is voting for a major party which many college students don't enjoy picking the lesser evil from.

The fact is, the real reason I get so steamed is because I hate seeing others wrongfully mistreated.

I honestly feel that yes, the president of our country has made mistakes. Maybe, even, many mistakes. Is it all right to accuse him of making a big mistake with his Supreme Court nominee? Perhaps it is.

But I don't think it's okay to blame him for everything. It's not George Bush's fault that Hurricane Katrina ripped up the Gulf Coast, and it's not his fault that the local government of New Orleans was unprepared for a major evacuation.

Years ago, it became popular to criticize the Bush administration for things that weren't its fault. Just like listing "Donnie Darko", "Requiem for a Dream" and "Fight Club" as your favorite movies on Facebook is the safest way to conform and express an interest in film, trashing the president is a safe political expression for college students and media figures alike.

Those were all respectable, well-made movies that I personally enjoyed. And I bet you won't find Dela Yador admitting that he loved "Mean Girls." Today, you'll notice that the only college students around you who object to West's unfair accusations are the College Republicans. The members of which, according to last year's Spectrum April Fools issue, have trouble getting laid. The members of which, according to Michael Flatt's last column, are illogically emotional. Read: unpopular.

I'd feel the exact same way if President Bush did all this to Kanye West. But he's not. He's trying as hard as he can to protect us and save those hurricane victims, while West seems to think lies in the form of political hip-hop are more important than just leaving the whole thing alone and sticking to what he's good at.

Let's not be afraid to stand up for the president of our country, or even to simply not participate in the inane or false accusations that so many seem to get a kick out of. "George Bush Doesn't Like Black People" is a funny song. Hey, I chuckled the first time I heard it. But it's important to remember that Mr. West is just a media figure whose job is to publish a commercial product, and there's no more useful tool for selling CDs than conformity.

So if you're more concerned with your own popularity than others being wrongfully mistreated, you may wish to consider doing a little research and figuring out who's really to blame.

And if you're one of my readers that happen to be thinking, "But Bush is wrongfully mistreating black people in New Orleans," go pick up a Kayne West record and leave the politics to the president.