Bill Cosby's Heroic Assault on the Poor

Cosby can sit on his soapbox and complain about ebonics and crime all day. It won't accomplish a damn thing. [more]

Comments

[LeMan]

Seems to me Mr Cosby is 100% right. Look at the parents or parent! If they sit in IHOP and are cussing and using the N word in a middle class community what is there to expect from their kids. BET sold out BPeople..all that hip-hop trash which prepares young kids for nothing. Must say the young girls mostly try and make it while the dudes continue to want to prove themselves are lovers, irresponsible daddies, wanting fast cars, wanting to spend precious money on ignorant movies like BarberShop crap, stupid Wayan brothers pretending to be Cgirls, can't put together a decent sentence, and spreading lies and decirtfulness to our younger sisters trying to make it. All the wprk of the 50s and 60s have been abandoned, leaders? Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, please! Lord help us in the next 40-50 years as we are going to need it!!

[victoria]

I must say when I heard Cosby's comments on poor blacks I was deeply dissapointed and appalled. I am a senior at one of the top University's in the nation, and I also happen to be poor by economical standards and black. After discussing this issue with friends and faculty, in my eyes to put it bluntly Cosbys statements were regretably a media stunt to increase viewers for his new show. Cosbys statements were not intended for the black community, which was indicative by the tone of his speech. He was speaking to white America. His first mistake was signalling out poor black people and making them a target. He never once said "my people" or "we" as black people, seperating himself, making poor blacks seem inferior. The problems that he speaks of that plague the black community are also problems that affect all communities. The numbers for children born out of wedlock have increased in all communities. Even in communities were both parents are married, the predicted chance of divorce is 50%. If Cosby wanted to help the black community he should have started by reinforcing the positives and begin offering real solutions to the problems. No one is saying there aren't problems in the black community, but to continue the stereotype that poor blacks sit around and blame the "system" for their problems is completely unfair and counterproductive. I am a firm believer that a persons intelligence is not measured by how many plaques they've received or how many degrees they have accumulated in their lifetime. I don't disagree that Bill Cosby is a smart man, but the ignorance of his statement is blatant and cannot be overlooked. It is a fact that societal and economic system contribute to many of the problems in our society. I believe that people should take responsibility for themselves, but it should also be made clear that problems in society have a profound effect on the structure of families and the way people live their day to day lives. Bill Cosby is an extremely wealthy public figure so it is no surprise that he has forgotten the obstacles poor blacks face in order to rise from their position. So to my black people I encourage us to keep striving, and keep struggling to better ourselves and move away from the negative stereotypes that continue to cripple our community. With love