In a major incident, YouTube comedian Kevin Hart painted a picture of a person, Juelz Santana, who he later ridiculed using his signature wit and logic. The center of the debate was Santana’s assertion that children should first learn to start businesses before learning to read, which Hart skillfully dissected using his signature humor and sharp reasoning.
The video Hart shared contains him directly talking to a podcast clip of Juelz Santana. Santana is quoting, “Children have to learn how to generate income, but reading is not necessary for them.’ Hart pauses the video to point out a major defect in the argument—the constant mispronunciation of the term ‘literacy’ by Santana. ‘If at all you mispronounced literacy… making this argument, it would severely compromise your credibility,’ Hart proclaims, citing the great irony of denouncing reading while being an illiterate person. He imitates Santan’s way of talking, getting stuck with the words to highlight the irrationality. Hart then changes to a more solemn tone, saying that he has to ‘respectfully’ disagree, stating that even if audio books are available, reading comprehension is still a prerequisite for understanding business contracts and the world one has to deal with.
The public’s reaction on the net was quick and mostly negative toward Santana’s position. One person expressed it by labelling it as ‘the most dense statement ever’, thus encapsulating the disbelief of many people. Another user remarked on the impracticality of the idea, inquiring, ‘How are you going to teach them business literacy if they can’t even read contracts?’ This underscored the major inconsistency that was at the root of Santana’s argument—the claim that business and financial literacy do not rely on reading and understanding written language.
Another user tried to analyze the situation more thoroughly and was able to pick out some sense, saying, ‘I see what he TRYING to say ultimately…high school is more social learning… so learning a trade/skill would be more helpful down road BUT reading is def needed.’ This post recognized a potential desire behind the idea—practical skill valuing—but absolutely ruled out the reading is useless. The debate even became a little meta, with one person observing, ‘The irony is him being pro common sense, while lacking all common sense.’
Some users’ comments hinted at the consequences of this mindset regarding communication among people. One person sarcastically remarked, ‘This is just how we get people saying “mines” and “would/should/could of”,’ linking the devaluing of reading to the decline in people’s command of the language and their proper use of grammar. Another person presented a more pessimistic view of what ‘business’ might refer to in our case and suggested, ‘When he talks about “business”, he means “street stuff” subconsciously😒 which needs more math than reading… which again shows that living on the street is not smart at all lol.’
Although there was almost universal rejection of Santana’s argument, there were still a few people who attempted to support or at least comprehend his viewpoint. A commenter led a discussion, asserting that understanding might be more significant than the physical act of reading but was soon refuted by others who insisted that the two cannot be separated. This little controversy only went to fortify the agreement that Santana’s position was not only erroneous but also dangerously misguided. Kevin Hart’s humorous criticism threw attention on an odd and unpopular view, which ultimately led to a widespread reaffirmation of the irrefutable value of reading in education and life. The incident reminded many of Bow Wow‘s recent controversies. Meanwhile, Druski has also been in the news with Hart recently. In other celebrity news, LeBron James continues to make business moves.
