Race & poverty - the twin elephants in the room - censored

it appears that the only time someone can speak his mind in the u.s. these days is to sneak it by the ever-present censors...

It began, fittingly enough, with jazz from New Orleans natives Harry Connick Jr. and Wynton Marsalis. But "A Concert for Hurricane Relief," a heartfelt and dignified benefit aired on NBC and other networks Friday night, took an unexpected turn thanks to the outspoken rapper Kanye West.

Appearing two-thirds through the program, he claimed "George Bush doesn't care about black people" and said America is set up "to help the poor, the black people, the less well-off as slow as possible."

[...]

West began a rant by saying, "I hate the way they portray us in the media. If you see a black family, it says they're looting. See a white family, it says they're looking for food."

While allowing that "the Red Cross is doing everything they can," West - who delivered an emotional outburst at the American Music Awards after he was snubbed for an award - declared that government authorities are intentionally dragging their feet on aid to the Gulf Coast. Without getting specific, he added, "They've given them permission to go down and shoot us."

[...]

There was a several-second tape delay, but the person in charge "was instructed to listen for a curse word, and didn't realize (West) had gone off-script," said NBC spokeswoman Rebecca Marks.

West's comment about the president was cut from NBC's West Coast airing, which showed three hours later on tape.

i don't know about "intentionally dragging their feet" but i am confident that, if this disaster had occurred in aspen, palm springs, boca raton, westport, the hamptons, cape cod, scottsdale, las vegas, hollywood, the woodlands, boston, or any other bastion of moneyed, white america, we wouldn't be seeing what we're seeing... the plain fact is that the majority of folks suffering now simply WEREN'T ON THE RADAR SCREEN of those preparing for katrina... they didn't register... their circumstances didn't warrant advance preparation... the message is clear... if you're poor in the u.s., it's your own goddam fault... you made your bed, now lie in it...

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