Kim Kardashian, Blood Diamonds, and the Felicity of Stupidity

"See, a part of me saying, 'keep shining'/

How? When I know of the blood diamonds/

Though it's thousands of miles away/

Sierra Leone connect to what we go through today/"

--Kanye West, "Diamonds From Sierra Leone (Remix)," Late Registration, 2005.

It's always amusing, sometimes flattering, to watch overnight celebrities make a fool of themselves--without even knowing it. For years now, we've witnessed the cringe-inducing stupidity of Hollywood celebrities who, we're told, deserve more respect because they are much smarter than the parts they play in interviews. They're just playin' dumb, their handlers assure us.

It's a game played so well: 1) The stupid remark is made--preferably on camera 2) The public reacts in shock 3) Heart-felt apologies are rendered ad nauseam 4) Society moves on to the next victim.

It's fun. It's comic gold. It also reassures us of how much work we have left, to make our world as good as the promise of fairness and equality it made manifest when our mothers gave the final push.

But deep down, beneath the rage and riot, their stupidity helps us cope psychologically. The point: Even though I'm not as rich as he or she is, thank God I'm not so intellectually-challenged. Thank God I'm not the one inadvertently making a strident case for more engaging curriculum in schools. Thank God I'm not the butt of late night comics' monologues.

It's a psychological thing.

There are some other experiences, however, that don't yield exactly the same results--times when these esteemed pop culture producers take a step beyond the line of self-deprecation, and tread onto grounds less amusing and flattering; make the kind of statement that turns P.R. offices into war-zone environments.

Such might be the case with Kim Kardashian, the Reality TV show star, who went last night on CBS' Late Show with David Letterman and made a case, in the most magnanimous form possible, in favor of conflict diamonds--B-L-O-O-D diamonds.

Letterman, already having an imperfect night by himself,[1] asked Ms. Kardashian what she did this past summer. "I went to Africa," she replied. "Botswana. Russell Simmons and his Diamond Empowerment Fund sent me and my sister and my boyfriend, and we just went to Botswana. And, it was really cool to see how all the diamonds really help the country out there."[2]

Of course, the Letterman studio audience, far too intelligent to let this great moment in pop culture history slip by unanswered, roared in laughter. The deeply puzzled look of Dave's face--including teeth-sucking and cheek-puffing--said it all. She shot back, though: "I had a misconception, you know, of what was going on there."

Letterman, hoping hopelessly to salvage the last left of Ms. Kardashian's integrity, interrupted: "See, I had--and believe me I'm ignorant in most matters--a different impression, that the diamond industry, maybe on a global stage, was generating huge sums of money, but locally, in these countries were they were mined, that the people were being exploited."  

"That's what I assumed before I went there," she comforted him--and the millions watching around the world (including those in South Africa)--"and so that's kind of why I wanted to go, and it's completely the opposite. These diamonds fund the schools and the hospitals. They fund pretty much the entire country." 

Kardashian went on to explain why she was "a little bit disappointed in Africa" for not having enough "wildlife animals."

It's a shame the whole continent wasn't made aware of her visit soon enough. Perhaps we could have flown in the "crazy animals" she craved from other continents--as she chose to cast into lakes of fire the whole of Africa for the sins of the one city she toured.  

So, for that, Kim Kardashian, on behalf of Africa, I apologize. 

Of course, it would be much too easy to dismiss this second-eldest daughter of the Kardashian clan as a nitwit, a brain-dead megaphone, a lemon, an empty box, a casualty of critical thinking, a succinct example of why reading is fundamental. We can do that. Sure.

And some would rather request that knowledge be beaten into her, or books literally thrown in her direction, or sense slapped into her head. But that would be incitement to male violence against women--of which I'm principally against.

What can be established, nonetheless, is that folly comes in all shapes and sizes. No one is immune. Though, the very thought that the diamond industry in South Africa is single-handedly responsible for the country's economic sobriety is not only incredible, it's also dangerous.[3]

The conflict diamond disaster, which has claimed millions of lives, maimed millions more, mutilated families, destroyed homes, separated parent from child and brother from sister, robbed children of their innocence, excused war criminals, exploited citizens, enhanced pollution, dried-up natural resources, deepened political insatiability, and made wretched conditions even more wretched, is no joke. Apparently, Ms. Kardashian thinks so.

It's obvious she has never heard of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), which, in its 11-year brutal reign, claimed more than 100,000 lives and 200,000 amputees--supplemented substantively by its stranglehold over the Kono diamond mine in Sierra Leone. And, to her, the word UNITA probably comes off more as a delicate Chinese dish, rather than National Union for the Total Independence of Angola, which, according to Global Witness, a human rights organization, has earned $3.7 billion from blood diamond sales since 1992[4]--despite sanctions from the United Nations to halt its illegal and inhumane trafficking.[5]

In December 2000, the United Nations General Assembly unanimously adopted a resolution which "recognized that conflict diamonds are a crucial factor in prolonging brutal wars in parts of Africa, and underscored that legitimate diamonds contribute to prosperity and development elsewhere on the continent."[6]

For some, these details still fall short of conviction, as, they would insist, Ms. Kardashian was speaking specifically of South Africa, and not other countries like, say, Angola, Sierra Leone, or Liberia, which gained notoriety for their unabashed benefit from the conflict diamond crisis. Well, a recent essay, written by Michael Fleshman, a writer for the United Nations' Africa Renewal magazine, unleashed the following:

The South African diamond marketing cartel De Beers alone mines about half the world's annual diamond output. It also controls as much as 80 per cent of global diamond sales through its Central Selling Organization, which purchases and stockpiles diamonds from other suppliers to keep availability low and prices high. De Beers was known to be a major purchaser of diamonds from Angola, Sierra Leone and other African conflict zones, although such stones are estimated to make up only 4 per cent of world output. De Beers had successfully resisted boycott pressures from anti-apartheid activists in the 1970s and 1980s and there seemed little reason to believe that the UN would be more successful.[7]

As much as I would like to heap scorn and shame at the feet of Kim Kardashian, she's hardly alone in her views. R&B star Akon, who spent a substantial part of his childhood in the Republic of Senegal, disagrees emphatically with the notion that such a thing as "conflict diamonds" even exists at all. Akon, who also owns a diamond mine in South Africa, said the following in response to the 2006 Hollywood Blockbuster, Blood Diamond:

I don't even believe in conflict diamonds. That's just a movie. Think about it. Ain't nobody thought about nothing about no conflict diamonds until the movie came out. Where was all that sh** before the movie? That's the problem with people -- they believe everything they read or see on TV. Unless you go to Sierra Leone and see what's going down, don't believe everything you're reading or see on TV.

Not a racist entrepreneur. Not an exorbitantly rich, White executive. But, Akon, Black as night and African as colonialism, said that. Well, conflict is real, Brother! As real as the slave chain dangling, noose-like, from your neck!

"Over here, it's a drug trade, we die from drugs/

Over there, they die from what we buy from drugs/"

Some would suggest Akon's statement is emblematic of a Hip-Hop culture steeped in social death. But two recent documentaries, "Bling: A Planet Rock" and "Bling: Consequences and Repercussions," both Hip-Hop-funded missions to uncover some of the truths behind the diamond phenomenon in the west, have exposed a larger culprit: An international diamond industry, prevalent in Europe, which has remained loyal to rebel groups involved in crimes against humanity, including RUF, which was able to net more than $125 million annually, thanks to the patronage of big jewelry conglomerates.[8]

It is true that Hip-Hop has largely made more appealing, and chic, the unquestioning, uncritical fetish for jewelry amongst youth of color. No questions. It is also true, however, that many Hip-Hop artists have spoken out courageously against this poisonous phenomenon. A few notables include Immortal Technique ("Industrial Revolution"), Talib Kweli ("Africa Dream"), KRS-One ("Classic"), Kanye West ("Diamonds From Sierra Leone"), Pharoahe Monch ("Desire").  

So, I'm not sure Hip-Hop should get a bad rap simply for Akon's comments, just as I don't think the Hollywood industry, as a whole, should be indicted for Kim Kardashian's.

And it's also hard to ignore the role Russell Simmons, the revered spiritual guru and successful entrepreneur, plays in all this.

Russell Simmons is considered by many a Hip-Hop mogul. Co-founder of Def Jam, his legacy is pretty much unimpeachable, as a renowned force of creativity and inspiration to young Hip-Hop artists. But there's another side to Russell Simmons, which excuses blatant misogyny, social death, and mindless materialism, all in the name of keepin' it real. Russell Simmons, who assumes every rapper a "Poet," has made a career of shutting down and shutting up media stars for their criticism of Hip-Hop--right or wrong, deserved or exaggerated.

In response to his infamous volatile, if not violent, exchange with Hip-Hop minister Rev. Conrad Tillard[9] ("Whites have accepted Russell Simmons as the guru of urban black youth culture. He has sold them a bill of goods--that we are penny-chasing, champagne-drinking, gold-teeth-wearing, modern-day Sambos, pimps, and playas"), social activist Rosa Clemente asked him point-black: "What do you want?"[10]

Clemente worried that Simmons' defense of the indefensible was preventing "those of us who love Hip-Hop culture to begin to come together, discuss, debate and come up with proactive solutions."

It's interesting that Ms. Kardashian mentioned Russell Simmons' not-for-profit Diamond Empowerment Fund as the facilitator of her visit. Thus, it would appear to me that "The Godfather of Hip-Hop" has some explaining to do. We can start with whether or not he shares Ms. Kardashian's views about the South African diamond industry--part of which unquestionably supports the international blood diamond trade--"pretty much" funding "the entire country."

Are these the lies his foundation is content promulgating? Or is Ms. Kardashian merely speaking for herself, and not smart enough to decipher between propaganda and truth, not smart enough to separate fraud from fact.

Is she aware that South African's government, a far cry from the apartheid-free, populist face it presents to the whole world, is currently displacing thousands of its poor residents to make way for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, breaking promises it swore to protect in the past?[11] (A much similar fate Chicago's poor Black residents were destined for[12]--if it hadn't lost the Olympics 2006 bid earlier today.)[13]

Whether Kim Kardashian ever comes to terms with these truths is unpredictable. In the meantime, it's worth taking into account that the felicity of stupidity is more alluring than it's ever been. And some can't keep away from the high.