Kanye West's song, Diamonds from Sierra Leone, won the 2006 Grammy Award for Best Rap Song. The original song is about Roc-A-Fella, and the chorus "Throw ya diamonds in the sky" refers to the Roc-A-Fella hand sign, which is in the shape of a diamond. After making the song, Kanye West learned more about the plight of West African children who mine conflict diamonds and die in civil wars financed by diamonds and decided he would use the video to get this message across. He also recorded a remix of the song, featuring Jay-Z, where he talks about conflict diamonds. The remix was included on the album, whereas the original version was included as a bonus track. Here is the video to the original:
A conflict diamond is a diamond mined in a war zone to fund war. Even with regulations in place, you might be purchasing conflict diamonds that kill children. Don't buy mined diamonds.
Additionally, diamonds fall in the category of useless overpriced material crap that the powers that be push on us, and that we foolishly overvalue. In turn, we waste our money and often go in debt just to have a little bit of this overpriced natural resource, thus enslaving ourselves to the pseudo-capitalistic status quo. Thanks to our pathetic inability to resist commercials, while our communities live in poverty and we waste our wealth & potential, diamond manufacturers get rich by enslaving and abusing women and children.
1 comment:
Yes, the war over diamonds is something that Americans seem to not comprehend. War Lords cutting off hands of their 'slaves' is being supported by US the Americans.
But one thing you didn't mention is Conflict Free Diamonds. A series of private diamond jewelers carry only these diamonds. My brother just got married and the ring he gave his wife was 100% conflict free. The jeweler is in Everett Washington. Buying conflict free is one way to say, "hey i care about human life and i'm not going to be supporting death."
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