NEW YORK—Following a social media post in which the rapper appeared to distance himself from politics, Americans nationwide commented that “Kanye West must be back on his meds” in what, technically speaking, could be called a conversation about mental illness. “That guy was always a wack job, but it’s good he’s taking his pills again, at least,” said Christine Gardner, one of millions of individuals nationwide who was kind of engaging in some sort of discussion of mental health, if you only paid attention to the strict dictionary definition of that phrase and completely ignored all of the details. “I mean, Kanye is definitely off his rocker, but now that he’s following doctor’s orders again, maybe people won’t treat him like he’s such a weirdo [which you could maybe—just maybe—say is one way that Americans such as myself have of joining in a dialogue about the daily stigma and plight faced by those suffering from bipolar disorder and other mental illnesses. Although, again, this is only true in the most charitable interpretation possible].” At press time, many Americans were agreeing that they now felt free to buy West’s most recent album, Ye, in what—in a purely hypothetical sense—could be called supporting those struggling with mental illness.

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