The CNN panel (no surprise) demonstrates what happens when class interests are erased from polite discussion and all you have left are interests based on identity...whether race or gender, these panelists are feeling a little flustered and reaching desperately for something clever to say, cause they are mostly in the same boat as Kanye....just not as wealthy!
Any Marxist or most socialists even, would not expect Kanye West to share the same goals and the same political interests as the majority of Black America cause he now has enough money to set himself at a higher level...where he can vent about how much he pays in taxes....or why his mansion isn't as big as...(insert douchebag celebrity name here!)
After the Civil Rights Act was signed and blacks who had the means, could move out of redlined neighborhoods into formerly all-white neighborhoods with better schools and better services, many in their former neighborhood would say: "you forgot where you came from!" And in post-Obama Black America, that phrase is never uttered....but I think it's time for it to make a comeback and recognize that the Kanye's live a whole different life than they do, and don't share the same goals or objectives. No one in the white majority expects millionaires and billionaires to act the same and want the same things as poorer folk. It's about time most blacks realized the Oprah's, Kanye's and lesser known black elites have more in common with other reach people than they do with poorer folk who happen to look more like them!
As for the CNN panelists, the Black Political Class, and wealthier African Americans, the main difference between them and Kanye is that they prefer to stay in a party that pretends it serves the people's interests, while Kanye and a handful of others have joined the party that doesn't hide the fact they work for the wealthy and for corporate interests.