[Swinging Johnson]

Kanye West is guilty of everything that has been previously said about him. I am in complete and total agreement. He is a glory hound who cannot bear to cede the limelight to anyone else. However, it would be intellectually dishonest to ignore his subsequent apologies. Furthermore, he honored a committment to appear on Jay Leno's inaugural show by not only performing but addressing the topic before he performed. Does that absolve him of his lunatic behavior and his god complex? Of course not. However, it does demonstrate his intestinal fortitude to take responsibility which is so conspicuously absent in today's society. He blamed no one but himself and understood the gravity of his antics and the consequences which resulted.

Kanye West has been and will continue to be castigated for his outlandish behavior. I, for one, am heartened that his peers in the music industry have not made excuses or rationalized his actions. Yet, the first step toward redemption is accepting responsibility for one's actions. We've all played the fool gentlemen, however only few of us have had a public audience to witness any of our own indiscretions.

[jonmic]

Kanye West is a piece of shit. If he thinks it will bring attention to himself, he'll do it. No matter if he ****s over other people in the process.

[Deuce]

You're racist because he is black now. Congrats.

[exstatman]

How many times should the public have to forgive his boorish behavior? The guy keeps saying or doing stupid things, then does the mea culpa. Why should I have to figure out if he's sincere or not?

[Bread]

Don't act like I never told ya.

[smitch124]

I wanna see that keep forgetting...

[DwightShrute]

Never heard of him

[MartinBlank]

Originally Posted by Swinging Johnson

Kanye West is guilty of everything that has been previously said about him. I am in complete and total agreement. He is a glory hound who cannot bear to cede the limelight to anyone else. However, it would be intellectually dishonest to ignore his subsequent apologies. Furthermore, he honored a committment to appear on Jay Leno's inaugural show by not only performing but addressing the topic before he performed. Does that absolve him of his lunatic behavior and his god complex? Of course not. However, it does demonstrate his intestinal fortitude to take responsibility which is so conspicuously absent in today's society. He blamed no one but himself and understood the gravity of his antics and the consequences which resulted.

Kanye West has been and will continue to be castigated for his outlandish behavior. I, for one, am heartened that his peers in the music industry have not made excuses or rationalized his actions. Yet, the first step toward redemption is accepting responsibility for one's actions. We've all played the fool gentlemen, however only few of us have had a public audience to witness any of our own indiscretions.

Or...and this is what I would wager on...

West's PR flack said to him..."Listen....you are going to lose everything if you don't get your ass on Leno and apologize...grovel, beg, do whatever you need to do in order to make yourself look better".

I don't think West apologized because he thought he was wrong, I think he apologized to simply save whatever cash train he still has.

[Bread]

I'm building my Super Black Man.

He will have Kanye's tact.
Chris Brown's pimp slap.
Shaq's rooster.
Mofome's wrist bands.
Those kids on the bus' bravery.
Serena's muscles.
Tupac's will to live.
Jrichshow's nutz.
Michael Jackson's self-acceptance.
Rick James' cocaine.
The Buffalo KO returner's hands.
Obama's baby mama.
Andre 3000's clothes.

I can build dat mahfukka. I CAN BUILD DAT MAHFAKKA!!!

[Swinging Johnson]

Originally Posted by MartinBlank

Or...and this is what I would wager on...

West's PR flack said to him..."Listen....you are going to lose everything if you don't get your ass on Leno and apologize...grovel, beg, do whatever you need to do in order to make yourself look better".

I don't think West apologized because he thought he was wrong, I think he apologized to simply save whatever cash train he still has.

It's easy to be cynical because to be otherwise is perceived as naive. The truth is, neither of us know what his motives are and perhaps there is the very real possibility that it's a combination of genuine contrition and a public relations spin. However, I did see the Leno interview and I don't think Kanye West is capable of conjuring such visceral emotion unless he's a better actor than he is a singer. I believed him and I also believe he doesn't play step and fetch very well so regardless of what a manager was telling him, I think he lives and dies by his own decisions, which until now, have been very foolish. I don't like the man but I respect the tack he has taken since the incident.

[MartinBlank]

Originally Posted by Swinging Johnson

It's easy to be cynical because to be otherwise is perceived as naive. The truth is, neither of us know what his motives are and perhaps there is the very real possibility that it's a combination of genuine contrition and a public relations spin. However, I did see the Leno interview and I don't think Kanye West is capable of conjuring such visceral emotion unless he's a better actor than he is a singer. I believed him and I also believe he doesn't play step and fetch very well so regardless of what a manager was telling him, I think he lives and dies by his own decisions, which until now, have been very foolish. I don't like the man but I respect the tack he has taken since the incident.

Swinging...

I think you are giving Kanye just a tad bit too much credit as a deep thinker.

I don't see West as that introspective.

Remember...West is the same guy who said "readin' a book is a waste of my time".

Yeah. Sorry, call it cynical if you like. I don't see Kanye as a deep, introspective man on a soul searching path. I see him as a giant f'in tool who is trying to spin his PR.

[Swinging Johnson]

Martin,

You and I are not that far apart on this. But I will say this. I think it would take more "upstairs" to manufacture contrition than to genuinely mean it. Stupid people have the same emotions as intelligent people but intelligent people are far more capable of faking them. I think we both agree, Kanye is not that sharp. But I do appreciate your point of view and the way you conveyed it. Too many times on these boards (not singling out SBR in particular), disagreements take on a personal nature and are not discussed as honest debate. Thanks for the civil discourse and your legitimate opinion, Martin.