Make Nazis Afraid Again
Kanye West recently released a song entitled “Heil Hitler.” Though it was not a chart success, it has gone viral online, sparking thousands of videos of people chanting the song in their cars—a sign that the parasitic cancer of Nazism is more alive than ever in the United States. What we see here is the terrifying conclusion of capitalist hyper-individualism: a lonely, desperate, and scandal-obsessed society that cannot take its eyes off a trainwreck. Life under capitalism boils down to consumption and vanity, while genuine morality and sincerity, are at best, a passing thought and, at worst, wholly discouraged and mocked. What is praised is the dog-eat-dog mentality of “grind” and “hustle” culture.
Nothing is considered a bridge too far, not even West’s disgusting display of Nazism. This is simply due to one factor: his pro-Nazi song does not put the capitalist system in any amount of danger. He is not encouraging class consciousness, solidarity, or even a basic awareness of our current situation. West isn’t even putting Israel in any real danger, since the same group of Nazi scum who enjoy this song are likely to also support Zionism—a racist ideology no different in essence from Nazism—alongside Israel’s genocide of the Palestinians.
The overwhelming majority of politicians cry “antisemitism!” when brave college students follow their moral compass and justly protest genocide, and many politicians have taken legal action against students and institutions who “don’t do enough” to stop these protests. Yet it’s seemingly crickets from the same group of people when Kanye West, one of the biggest artists in the world, releases a song called “Heil Hitler,” with its artwork depicting a swastika and lyrics praising Adolf Hitler. The record industry, which has also decried pro-Palestinian protesters, has hardly done anything to seriously fight back against West’s cancerous rhetoric. But when Kehlani, an equally popular rapper, was slated to play a concert in New York City recently, she was uninvited because of some pro-Palestinian comments she made. Genocide-lover Ritchie Torres smeared her online. It remains to be seen if the same critics of anti-genocide artists like Kehlani will have the same fiery remarks for Nazi West, though I personally would not hold my breath.
We are witnessing the inevitable collapse of capitalism under the weight of spectacle, sensationalism, and the cult of the celebrity taken to their absolute limits. Capitalism does not have any room for sincerity, moral consistency, or virtually anything that isn’t done for the sake of profit. Art and music are made to financially benefit shareholders and CEOs. Nothing, at least not in the mainstream, is made to reflect the times in which we are living. If West had instead released a song calling for class unity and socialism as explicitly as he was praising Hitler and Nazism, we all know that would be decried as public enemy number one in the eyes of the bosses and CEOs of the music industry. You can say anything you want, just don’t go after the bosses.
Smash Nazism. Through the overthrow of this rotten system, with worker's power, we can finally sweep this cancer into the dustbin of history, once and for all.