What is Death Con 3? Meaning of the term explained as Kanye West anti-Semitic tweet sparks widespread backlash

Kanye West recently faced action from Twitter for going on an anti-Semitic rant on the social media platform. Not only was the Flashing Lights singer removed from the app, his Instagram account was also restricted on Friday, after he made similar hate remarks there.

In a tweet which has now been removed from the platform, Kanye “Ye” West wrote:

“I’m a bit sleepy tonight but when I wake up I’m going death con 3 On JEWISH PEOPLE.”

Surely there’s no Kanye fan dumb enough to defend this.…surely! https://t.co/jnMJhkrlZk

The rapper went on to defend his anti-Semitic tweet by claiming that he can't be against Jews because he is black.

“I actualy can't be Anti Semitic because black people are actually Jew also You guys have toyes with me and tried to black ball anyone whoever opposes your agenda."

By writing “death con 3” in his tweet, the Famous singer was apparently referring to the military term “defcon.” There are five levels that indicate the intensity of a national security threat, with 5 being the lowest and 1 the highest.

West's tweet, therefore, suggests that he was either preparing himself for some kind of threat from Jewish people, or that he was himself going to inflict some kind of violence on them.

Twitter condemns Kanye West's comments

After the 45-year-old musician tweeted his anti-Semitic statement, netizens were quick to express outrage. Many could not believe that the singer was attacking an ethnic group on his social media platform, which has a reach of over 30 million followers.

Others also noted that his actions couldn't be defended on the pretext that he suffers from the condition of bipolar disorder. Several Twitter users wrote that those suffering from mental health issues do not make anti-Semitic and racist statements on social media.

Kanye West has more twitter followers than there Jews in the world. There are an estimated 14.8 million Jews and he has over 30 million followers. American Jews are experiencing a historic rise in antisemitic incidents. His actions are extremely dangerous and must be called out.

There is absolutely no room in this country or world for antisemitism. It is important to see how harmful + dangerous Kanye’s words are - not only to our Jewish brothers, sisters, & siblings, but also to our collective society at large.We must reject this 🚮 wherever we see it.

Kanye's gotta be the first man in history to announce his bid for presidency and then publicly threaten Jewish people within 24 hours

A lot of folks are probably reacting to Kanye with a shrug — it’s just Kanye; it’s not like he’s in a position to act on his anti-Semitism; etc.Don’t. His behavior isn’t harmless. Normalizing hate moves the Overton window on what’s acceptable for people under far less scrutiny.

Who thinks @Twitter should BAN Kanye West following his threatening, anti-Semitic tweet? ✋

is kanye west mentally ill? yes does mental illness generally lead people to threaten violence against women and jews? noi’m sorry for what he’s going through, but it’s not an excuse for his behavior — and to pretend otherwise is an insult to anyone with mental illness

Kanye West has more than 3 million followers. He threatened to go "death con 3" on Jewish people. I don't hear his GOP supporters coming out to condemn this. Instead, Jewish people are being told to get over it because he isn't serious.

Stop telling Jewish people to get over what Kanye said and that he’s mentally ill and not serious. Stop telling Black people his t-shirt was a joke. Antisemitism is real. Anti-Blackness is real. Words matter. Words are what start unwarranted hate towards people.

Please stop using mental illness to explain away Kanye West's anti-Semitic rants. Millions of people are dealing with mental health issues, and they don't go on anti-Semitic rants.

Kanye West’s death threat against Jewish people cannot be ignored. As much as you don’t want to amplify his anti-Semitic hate, it’s the duty of everyone with a platform, especially elected politicians, to speak out against this. There is no such thing as an innocent bystander.

Kanye West's Instagram handle gets restricted too

The Donda rapper was suspended from Instagram on Friday after making similar anti-Jewish remarks on the social media platform. He shared a now deleted iMessage exchange in which he accused rapper Diddy aka Sean Love Combs of being controlled by Jews.

Despite Diddy telling West to “stop playing these internet games,” Kanye West responded by saying that it was not a game.

“Ima use you as an example to show the Jewish people that told you to call me that no one can threaten or influencer me.”

Along with being suspended from social media platforms for his anti-Semitic tweets, Kanye West was also reprimanded for his Tucker Carlson interview, which he did on Friday. During that interview the rapper questioned the motives of Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of former President Donald Trump, who brokered the Abraham Accords.

West claimed that Kushner, who is also Jewish, brokered the declaration between Israel and other Middle East countries “to make money.”

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After West's interview went viral, the American Jewish Committee posted a video on Instagram that accused the rapper of using “antisemitic tropes like greed and control.”

In the caption, the committee wrote that Kanye West was making:

“Incoherent rants laden with racist and antisemitic undertones made on the country’s top cable news program.”

Earlier this week, the Yeezy-designer received immense flak for donning a T-shirt which read "White Lives Matter" during his YZYSZN 9 fashion show speech at Paris Fashion Week this year.

Edited by Karishma Rao

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