Kanye West’s threatening Twitter post

Kanye West’s recent social media post has left everyone confused and concerned.

American rapper Kanye West has been on a path of strange and threatening social media posts, coming to a head on October 7 when he posted a tweet widely regarded as antisemitic. The post appeared on his account after he was banned from Instagram for threats of violence. The tweet garnered instant backlash and resulted in a suspension. The post reads:

“I’m a bit sleepy tonight but when I wake up I’m going death con 3 On JEWISH PEOPLE The funny thing is I actually can’t be Anti Semitic because black people are actually Jew also You guys have toyed with me and tried to black ball anyone whoever opposes your agenda”

There is much to unpack there, from gratuitous grammatical errors to claims that African Americans cannot be anti-Semitic. It is also worth mentioning that (presumably) Kanye West is referring to the warning system DEFCON, which has become a popular slang term. DEFCON warnings range from one to five, one being the most pressing and the highest level of alertness, which would indicate a nuclear-war-type event is on the horizon. It seems that West picked the middle of the “death cons” not exactly sure how the scale operated.

This post was not without precedent, though, and is just the most recent in a rampage that seems to have begun with his separation from his wife, Kim Kardashian. The posts seemed to reach a peak during his wife’s relationship with comedian Pete Davidson (who West frequently referred to as “Skete” in many Instagram captions). In fact, several tweets circulating following West’s anti-semitic statement suggest that he thinks Davidson is Jewish, leading to the hate speech. Kanye West posted several times on Instagram featuring photos with Davidson edited in, or outright threatening him. While West posts quite regularly on the platform, he often deletes his photos soon afterward, prompting several archival accounts to keep a record of his musings.

Other than his most recent Twitter debacle, the most talked-about post series of his to date was about his daughter’s birthday. West claimed on Instagram that he had not been invited to the birthday party of one of the children he shares with Kim Kardashian. This rampage included text conversations between him and Kardashian, along with other family members of hers.

Fans have zeroed in on one cause for this social media behavior: mental illness. Kanye West, now legally known as Ye, revealed in 2018 that he has bipolar disorder, leading to speculation that these outlandish posts were the result of his being unmedicated. West has hit back against these claims, responding via an Instagram caption (in all capital letters) that it was “DISMISSIVE TO SAY IM (sic) OFF MY MEDS ANYTIME I SPEAK UP”.

Many have ignored West’s behavior up until this point, but his most recent anti-Semitism-laced tweet has sparked outrage. This, along with his current use of the slogan “White Lives Matter” on t-shirts, has sparked a conversation about Kanye West’s history of anti-black and anti-Semitic actions.

Post Author: Victoria Grossman