Is Kanye West Right, Or has the white middle class lost its mind?

Last night during the US broadcast of a hurricane relief concert, rap star Kanye West let out a torrid of criticism against President Bush's seemingly lack of response to the crisis on the Gulf Coast. West departed from his script and made the following statement:

I hate the way they portray us in the media. You see a black family, it says, "They're looting." You see a white family, it says, "They're looking for food." And, you know, it's been five days [waiting for federal help] because most of the people are black. And even for me to complain about it, I would be a hypocrite because I've tried to turn away from the TV because it's too hard to watch. I've even been shopping before even giving a donation, so now I'm calling my business manager right now to see what is the biggest amount I can give, and just to imagine if I was down there, and those are my people down there. So anybody out there that wants to do anything that we can help -- with the way America is set up to help the poor, the black people, the less well-off, as slow as possible. I mean, the Red Cross is doing everything they can. We already realize a lot of people that could help are at war right now, fighting another way -- and they've given them permission to go down and shoot us!

He then went on to say "George Bush doesn't care about black people!" before NBC, the TV network showing the benefit concert, abruptly cut to US comedian Chris Tucker. Immediately following the concert NBC issued a statement saying that "his opinions in no way represent the views of the networks. It would be most unfortunate if the efforts of the artists who participated tonight and the generosity of millions of Americans who are helping those in need are overshadowed by one person's opinion."

West is no stranger to controversy. During the Live 8 concert in July West criticised G8 politicians for riding in Bentleys and Mercedes Benzs, although he himself owns 12 vehicles. Even more controversially, West also used the global platform to make claims of "man-made diseases placed in African communities", a reference to the conspiracy theory that AIDS was created to exterminate Africans.

With his latest album release this week, West regained popularity and props from progressives for being the first rap star to come out (no pun intended) against homophobic lyrics by others in the hip hop community. With his clean-cut, Abercombie and Fitch look and socially conscious rhymes, he has become the darling of the white liberal establishment. A couple of weeks ago he became the first rapper to be featured on the cover of Time magazine and his album was even reviewed on 'the always proper' National Public Radio. But with his latest outburst he may have now lost the confidence of the same people who have propped up his career? Have white liberals who do the New York cocktail circuit been scared away by someone who turns out to be just like the other 'hip hop thugs'?

Whether or not West's statement last night was appropriate for such an event is up for discussion, but what he has said isn't far reaching from what many of the hurricane victims have already made clear. Race is a main factor in this situation, as over seventy percent of Gulf coast residents are African American. With thirty percent of the residents hovering around the poverty line, class also has an important role. The vast majority of the people who didn't evacuate the area prior to the hurricane either don't have a vehicle or had no money to take other transportation. Of course, those who did leave the area were of a certain class level and race. The real question here is would the response by the federal government been the same if a natural disaster of equal fate hit, say, New York's Westchester County or Southern California's Orange County? Critics might just be mad with Kanye West for airing out America's dirty laundry.