Kanye West has reportedly been kicked out of his bank account at JP Morgan Chase. This comes as he recently was locked out of his Twitter account. Kanye has often had problems online. From facing outrage from his comments on interviews or his Instagram posts, he is no stranger to criticism. Allegedly there were no official reasons as to why Chase is now giving him until November to find a new bank for his Yeezy empire. It does seem that it could be related to Kanye’s recent anti-Semitic remarks.
Kanye’s remarks about going death con 3 on Jewish people were wrong. Full stop. You cannot deny that his comments were anti-Semitic and dangerous. However, it is true that when Kanye says something controversial the public tries to cancel him. Instead of attacking his point they often attack him. That is far from productive but Kanye has the freedom everyone else has to speak his mind, even when he is blatantly wrong.
In no way should hateful comments be excused or ignored but in this country, we have freedom of speech. Freedom of speech is not here to protect majority speech but it is to protect minority speech. When hate speech is made we should speak up against that speech. There should be a public debate. We should offer a different take. Instead, companies, celebrities, and the media first try to cut off all contact. They disgrace the name of the person they are against and then go after how this person makes money. It's not just a Kanye problem. Sharon Osborn lost her job after defending Piers Morgan. She did not make the comments, she only defended a friend and lost her job. While Donald Trump was a sitting president he was kicked off social media. Yet, officials within the Iranian government make anti-Semitic tweets that do incite violence and actions are not taken against them. If we were suddenly unable to get oil and the only place we could get it from was Iran, these same people who are for the de-platforming and un-banking of people like Kanye and Trump would have no problem buying Iranian oil. Their anti-Semitic comments are ignored now, and in a time of crisis, it would not be any different.
Companies within America try to listen to the woke mob and go after Americans who try to exercise their full rights. It sounds good now to kick Trump off of social media. Or to kick Kayne off of social media and out of his bank. They made terrible comments and should be punished for them. They are powerful and influential people. They will be fine. The problem is that this is starting to become ingrained in American culture. The minute we dislike comments someone made we are quick to cancel them and cut all contact. We treat them as if they are the first to say something they regret or to have an opinion different from the majority. They can recant their comments but it does not matter, they are now stained with an unforgivable sin. That is not how mature adults act but this has become prevalent in our society. Instead of debating we just take away their ability to speak. Our founding fathers must be rolling in their graves right now. Presently, this only occurs to people in the public eye. Individuals like Trump and Kanye have lawyers and means to protect themselves after they get canceled. When it is no longer happening to only them it will start happening to you too. Eventually, this will trickle down to the average American. Americans will become unbanked, de-platformed, and could even lose their jobs over having the wrong opinion. This could become our new normal. Who decides what is acceptable speech and what is not? If you are for punishment when someone offers a different viewpoint than you, watch out. Eventually, even the most ardent supporters of banning or punishing speech will say the wrong thing and the penalties for doing so will happen to them too. This is what happens when social media platforms, businesses, and even the government become the arbiters of speech. Freedom of speech is not a privilege but a right, and no one should face life alternating consequences for speaking.