Kanye West -- The Opposite of Violent With Camera-Wielding Fan

Kanye West is best when Kanye is East ... because not only did he resist attacking an in-his-face, camera-wielding fan ... he summoned the guy back for the photo op he so aggressively wanted.

Here's what happened ... Kanye was in NYC, leaving a building for his van, when a random guy yanked out his cell phone and went for a cheek-to-cheek selfie.

Kanye is calm, but his hired muscle swats the fan's arm and thwarts the pic.

A few minutes later ... the fan is summoned back to the van but there are strings attached. Kanye promises to take a pic with the guy if the paparazzi turn their cameras off ... and they oblige.