5 Feet of Fury

Kanye West’s Confederate trappings: My NEW Taki’s column

Comments should be mostly Joooooo!-free:

Every day I thank God for making Canada too cold for cotton. Being blessedly free of all that tedious slavery (carpet)baggage means a glimpse of the Stars and Bars just makes me hum “Free Bird,” not “Dixie.”

Indeed, literally right across the street from Hillbilly Heaven, there’s a T-shirt store/head shop that’s been in business since I was a kid, still displaying “rebel” flag Lynyrd Skynyrd cigarette lighters in its front window, beside the dusty Rasta doodads and pot-leafed drug paraphernalia.

Oddly enough, Hamilton’s latter-day lunch-counter sitter-inners have never complained about that “racist” arrangement.

Anyhow, Kanye’s alibi for sticking Confederate imagery all over his pricey T-shirts and tote bags is one no liberal can argue with in good conscience, given its long and respected history: the “I’m reclaiming it” excuse.

Hey, it worked for “nigger” and “queer,” right?