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When I heard of this quote that Kanye West made, I initially was like, yes, I feel you. I'm the same way. Reading is boring, talking is my expertise. And I was going to come up here on Swell and make that post and ask you guys a provocative question about books and are they as important as they were back then?
Deborah Pardes
@DBPardes · 4:09
I started a book club with adults, and it was amazing. It changed their lives. It was a passport to new lands, to new ways of seeing things. But reading is hard, and I have one of my best friends in the world who's a brilliant artist. He has absolute trouble reading, and he's not a narcissist at all. He has curiosity beyond belief. But reading is very difficult for him. It doesn't make him calm, it makes him agitated
Dewuan .
@FryedOreo · 4:36
I think that kind of is in the realm of narcissism. But to the practice of reading, the discipline of reading, it's hard to do, especially in this day and age. And I think what I was thinking of when I was hearing Kanye West and I was putting myself in his shoes, it's a very comfortable way. It feels comfortable in those shoes because I, too, don't read as often as I used to
J.L. Beasley
@Her_Sisu · 2:52
But as I say that I could say because I have my issues, as we all do, and because I don't know him intimately as a human, as a person, as a friend, I'm not going to catch a judgment on who he is and who he is not. What I will say is I used to be an avid reader
Dewuan .
@FryedOreo · 4:57
And could the danger of reading for business, as it were, only give you access to that information when it's in line with business? We can speak a bit about at least the American educational program, at least on the public school learning scale. I remember a lot of reading we had to do was for like standardized testing. It was only to get good scores. That was it
Cheryl Hill
@BkQue · 3:50
And part of what he says is a deep grief still, and a loss of his balance and anchor being untethered because she's not here anymore. A lot of that is in the mix, and he may not admit it. His mother was an educator. So this stuff about what he's saying about books not believing in books and so forth and on, I think that's a bunch of fooy. And I think a lot of times he says ridiculous things to get attention
Dewuan .
@FryedOreo · 3:45
But unfortunately, this is also the trade that Candace Owens her trade in, who also Ben Shapiro, etc. And it's very lucrative to be that way on social media, even though he was doing this for an interview. But in general, it is very lucrative to be this sort of way. And is it not that much of a stretch to where we see this happening all across the board in terms of entertainers in media, it's almost hand in hand
Eluchianna Olive
@Luchianna · 4:52
And then I'm going to put it in a business point of view. If books are not essential, how do you know what you're reading when you have to read a contract that may be a book form? I think you are surrounded by not stupid people, but people that will feed into your narrative because they want to keep a check. But unfortunately, the rest of the people that you're trying to appeal, you're only good for a season
Dewuan .
@FryedOreo · 4:49
But it's up to anyone's guess when he is medicated nowadays. You know, Kanye now is in the era of social media where people make a large living saying what's on their mind while pushing the books aside. And a lot of people tend to enjoy what people have to say, that's on their mind so much in fact, that they will take their point of view wholeheartedly, even in the face of books, of facts, of data that supports the contrary. Why?
Eluchianna Olive
@Luchianna · 4:46
No he made billions because people allowed him or supported him or paid attention to what he was saying when we really shouldn't have. I can honestly say I do not support anything he does. I just don't because I can't support or get behind somebody that will say reckless s*** for financial gain. Books are the issue. Books are the issue
Cheryl Hill
@BkQue · 4:44
As we raised them in that belief, coming from a middle class and upper middle class mindset, that we wanted our children to think that everything was going to be fine, honky dory. But it was not. And so for them, a lot of them turned that hurt on disappointment inside. When you turn something inside, turn it inward
Dewuan .
@FryedOreo · 4:22
He was on Sway's radio station, satellite radio station, and he had the famous interview worldwide. He now had come out to denounce Gap, his partnership with Gap, as well as Adidas, because they basically capitalized off of Kanye's essence of creativity and utilize that without his knowledge, going against deals that he had in the contract to which he concluded that he really doesn't need to do this with big brands. That was the whole thing
Dewuan .
@FryedOreo · 4:49
Cheryl, what amazing responses you have provided, also, to which I really am happy that you joined the conversation. You raising black men in from a well to do household. You totally, in some ways, understand what Kanye is going through from this American Dream. Right? He's living the American dream right now, but it also is an illusion, the American Dream. There are nightmares that people don't tell you about until you make it that high
Cheryl Hill
@BkQue · 5:00
Do you? I agree with you. No doubt about it. Kanye is gifted and talented. He has attained the penalty circle of success well beyond what most dream about. What I'm speaking about is his humanity. Losing his best friend since birth, someone who knew him best, losing his forever anchor, his mother, they were all salt to one another, their life's journey only known to and experienced by the two of them, up to the point of his loss of her
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