Howdy,

When Beyonce gave us her ‘Renaissance’ project, she saw it fit to involve Kelis in the venture, only, without involving Kelis in the venture. Kelis was sampled, but was not formally approached, nor was she paid. This was hard for Kelis to digest without allowing anger to mount on sadness, and perhaps feelings of betrayal. Rather than allowing this to brew on the inside while accepting what had happened, or even gush with gratitude over what could be perceived as a nod to her talents, she opted to share her distress. This led to her removal from the song, but first came something we could’ve all betted on. Some saw a comprehensive and just argument regarding the frustrations of being a working creative, or just a human being working in any field. But others saw an unwarranted attack on somebody held in high esteem by an unhinged, jealous has-been. And while a lot of things in life are a matter of opinion, this is not one of those things.

Sometimes we don’t want to understand.

We hasten to accept that, because nobody really knows when the compulsion to deny people our understanding begun. And also, it is one of those things that is as wide as it is long, meaning that it motivates so much of what we hear and see in the world. But allow me to bring it down to size— it is one of those sentiments that make the internet in particular a difficult place to be.

There is a certain level of audacity needed to ask for permission to be understood online. A similar level of audacity is required in expressing a point of view without accounting for every eventuality of its reception, Kim Kardashian:

When Kim Kardashian told us to ‘get off of our asses and f***ing work’, so that we might know a success similar to her own, it was not expressed on the internet, yet found its way there. Unlike Kelis’, Kim’s comments did not divide us. We were all brought into agreement by the absurd lack of self awareness and much needed context. Very quickly, it was decided that there was no point at all expressed, other than one of malice and unbelievable ignorance. But what if I said there was one?

Sometimes we see no choice other than to miss the point. Sometimes, the point is wrapped up in audacious, distracting gift wrap. And, rather than spending our energy on tearing it open so that we might reach the point within, we’d rather use it to observe the brashness of its packaging.

Kelis would like to be credited appropriately for her works, and essentially, according to Kim, hard work pays off. These are credits of simplification. Simplification, and in Kim Kardashian’s case, G R A C E. Grace is needed here, because rather than saying what she likely meant, Kim said something entirely different. Grace is needed in all arguments that lack the backing of context. But you should not search for the harmless point within a weaponised choice of words for the arguer’s sake, you should do so for your own. Because as much as Kim Kardashian may not need your compassion, the time will come where you will benefit from a culture you can help create. There will come a time where what you say will become misconstrued, and you will not want your identity erased for it.

As for arguing on the internet for arguing sake: the stance taken by bigots, well, I’m not talking about that. Just ignore those people.

Before this became a blogpost, it was first a video that you can watch here