Kanye West is Not a Bad Person for Asking Disabled People to Stand Up at His Concert

I am well aware that 70% of people that read that title are loading up on their Kanye West ammunition. Before you do so, let me be clear. Kanye West is definitely a bad person. There's about 300 reasons why he is a bad person. It's just that this doesn't happen to be one of them. Yeah, on the surface it sounds awful. But let's stop trying to throw Kanye under the bus at every turn. Give him a few minutes and he will likely do it himself. The reason that I have ZERO issue with this is because everyone has done something like this before.

I go back to my childhood. About 10 years old in the resort pool at Disney. This little girl kept bumping into me. In my infinite wisdom I decided to use my unrefined wit to declare to a family friend  my thoughts on the matter. "What is this girl retarded?", I proclaimed. A little too loudly, might I add. Her father, who happened to be within earshot decided to let me know that she was, in fact, not retarded but rather very, very blind. So yeah, excuse me if I sympathize with Mr. West here for a minute. He didn't know they were handicapped, even Kanye isn't that much of social misfit. 

This is a classic mixup. Ya know when you make the "your mom" joke with someone you hardly know and that person's mom is dead? Completely unintentional, and utterly embarrassing. Just bad timing all around. Every person on this planet has chosen an awful time to be liberal with their word choice. Chances are you didn't do it in front of thousands of people on a stage, but to each his own.

Should Yeezus be singling out people in the crowd? Eh, probably not. However, have you ever been to a concert that lacks full crowd participation? Fact is, it sucks. I'm not saying handicapped people shouldn't go to concerts, but they shouldn't get upset when people don't realize they are handicapped. Just ask Larry David…

Sidenote: Is there any awkward situation that doesn't have a corresponding "Curb Your Enthusiasm" clip? Fuck.And.No. 

Was Kanye sympathetic about the situation? No. Not really. Saying "Unless you got a handicap pass and you get special parking and shit" probably wasn't the most eloquent way to put it. In fairness though, he did give them an out. He didn't demand that handicapped people stood up. You just had to let him know you were in a wheelchair, is that so hard? Simple miscommunication.

When you open your mouth and embarrass yourself on such a grand scale it is tough to think of the right thing to say in the moment. I'm pretty sure 10 year old me just muttered "uhhhh sorry". Plus, he has other things to worry about in that moment, like putting on a live show for thousands of people. In his mind...entertainment of thousands is greater than the feelings of a few. I think I agree. Sometimes you gotta go quantity over quality. Especially when you are Kanye West, and everyone already thinks you're a dick regardless. 

I have been to plenty of Kanye shows. I am a fan of his music. Don't crucify him over a simple mistake. Wait a few minutes for him to go into his inevitable 30 minute rant about politics, fashion, and all things Kanye...then crucify him. There are so many things to hate Yeezy for, so let's not stretch the truth to make him sound worse than he is. He doesn't need the help.