Kanye West re-activated his Twitter account last week. Shortly after deleting all of his previous tweets, he went on a Twitter rant announcing new albums, future collaborations and his support for President Donald Trump. This final point caused an aggressive backlash from his fanbase, who accused him of being “racist” and “careless about black people.” Both of these claims are absurd since Kanye has produced a countless number of songs condemning racism and celebrating his race. Not only are these fans wrong about Kanye’s beliefs, but the fact that Kanye is supporting Trump is a great thing because it encourages dialogue.

After showcasing his love for Trump in a tweet, followed by an image of himself wearing a Make America Great Again hat and a video of himself freestyling with the same MAGA hat, Kanye specified that he does not agree with everything that Trump does and that he only agrees 100 percent with himself — of course, he is Kanye. The reason that a huge segment of Kanye’s fans reacted negatively is that black entertainers, especially hip hop artists, have always been seen as politically leaning to the left. This phenomenon is not true for hip hop exclusively, with the majority of Hollywood’s entertainment industry, including Kanye’s wife’s reality TV show Keeping Up With The Kardashians, being part of the contemporary culture of left-wing conformity. Anyone who tries to go against that norm automatically becomes an enemy.

This trend has been demonstrated by the numerous responses Kanye has received from his famous colleagues, some of which he decided to share on his Twitter account. One example is from his friend John Legend, who messaged Kanye to supplicate him to “reconsider aligning with Trump” because his opinions might “hurt his fans.” To his suggestion, Kanye replied, “You bringing up my fans is a tactic based on fear used to manipulate my free thoughts.” Kanye got it. He hit the point well and clearly. Kanye should have the right, like any other person, to freely speak his mind. What John Legend is suggesting is for Kanye to stop supporting Trump because it offends other people — namely, his fans. Hey John, when did the right to freedom of thought get abolished?

In the past, Kanye has taken the time to explain why he supports Trump, and if only people cared to listen, all of this negativity could have been avoided. In his 2016 concert rants, he mentioned that Trump was able to expose the many racist people that still populate America. He believes that for this reason alone, Trump should be praised, since it is only through the recognition of that racism that we will be able to eliminate it. I believe Kanye is 100 percent correct; by recognizing that racism still exists, a dialogue on the matter can get going. Additionally, having an influential celebrity like Kanye at the front line of this topic allows for a much more successful discussion to take place since most of Kanye’s fans are left-leaning, brainwashed by the entertainment industry. When these people see that their favorite artist supports Trump, they can start questioning what they have been taught all of this time and might finally break free from mass media thought control.

Of course, this does not mean that they will become Republicans, but it surely means that they will be forced to analyze the current political situation with their own eyes and not with the eyes of a one-sided industry.