Kanye West

In his defense, Kanye is more thoughtful about his reasons for embracing the Confederate flag than Jewish punks were about wearing swastikas and giving their bands names such as The London SS. Cheeky re-appropriation had nothing to do with it. They didn’t even bother trying out Spinal Tap’s “we’re making fun of it” line. Punks briefly adopted Nazi symbolism for sheer non-ideological shock value, period. The trend was about as meaningful as a pentagram carved into a school desk by a bored headbanger.

The question is: Are American blacks suddenly donning rebel-flag gear the way gays started wearing pink-triangle pins twenty years ago? Like I said, I’m too far away to be able to tell, praise the Lord, but I’m not seeing many Confederate flag accessories on display when I visit World Star Hip Hop or watch one of the “paternity test” episodes of Maury.

Is it possible that, finally, even blacks in the United States are tiring of this national cultural bulimia”€”the compulsive gorging on and vomiting up of their nation’s moldy past?

Just the other day, black actor Nick Cannon Tweeted: “If I see another damn Slave Movie…AARRRGGHHHH!!!!!”

Bad news, Nick: If you thought Django Unchained and 12 Years a Slave were insufferable, wait until you see the Roots reboot that just got green-lit. Your friends in showbiz, black and white, seem quite happy making far and away more money off slavery than those villainous real-life slave owners ever did.