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#IfSlaveryWasAChoice Gives Black Community a Comedy Outlet to Deal With Kanye’s Ignorance

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Teresa Jusino
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Published: May 2, 2018 11:57 am

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Comedy is often the best weapon marginalized communities have against the ills of the world. Being that one of the biggest ills the world is facing right now is Kanye West saying things he really shouldn’t be saying, Black Twitter has come forward in truly hilarious fashion to put him in his place.

Trump-loving Kanye has been saying a lot of nonsensical things lately, but the most egregious thing was during this TMZ interview in which he actually uttered the words, “When you hear about slavery for 400 years. For 400 years?! That sounds like a choice.”

Yeeeah, no. When I hear about slavery for 400 years, that sounds to me like an institution built into the fabric of our country that was so supported as to hold for that many centuries and still has systemic repercussions today. That’s what it sounds like. But, I mean, WHAT DO I KNOW?

ANYwho, Black Twitter was not having it, and after being rightfully pissed off decided to go the humor route. Because after all, how else can you really respond to complete and total ridiculousness? For example, check out this tweet (and the accompanying thread) from Clarkisha Kent, creator of The Kent Test:

And of course, you have the requisite checks being made:

And this is why I’m just here to laugh and amplify.

There was a lot being said about pursuing an education at Slave University:

And a lot of talk about dealing with a boss who does not appreciate you:

But also a lot about working with your friends:

Plenty of people came for Kanye directly:

And some of the biggest laughs came from different people’s take on the same meme, like using this behind-the-scenes photo of director Steve McQueen and star Lupita Nyong’o on the set of 12 Years a Slave to hilarious effect:

And you will not, WILL NOT, forget the gays:

However, there were also some people on hand to remind us exactly why what Kanye West said was so harmful:

Here’s to resilience through humor, and here’s hoping that whatever Kanye is going through these days gets worked out soon.

(image: Fox Searchlight)

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Image of Teresa Jusino
Teresa Jusino
Teresa Jusino (she/her) is a native New Yorker and a proud Puerto Rican, Jewish, bisexual woman with ADHD. She's been writing professionally since 2010 and was a former TMS assistant editor from 2015-18. Now, she's back as a contributing writer. When not writing about pop culture, she's writing screenplays and is the creator of your future favorite genre show. Teresa lives in L.A. with her brilliant wife. Her other great loves include: Star Trek, The Last of Us, anything by Brian K. Vaughan, and her Level 5 android Paladin named Lal.
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