I've always respected Bill Cosby, and man, this article really hit a mark. VERY well said, IMO. Talks about reading, writing, and letting CHILDREN listen to rap with n... this, and n.... that.. I wanted to get your views on this article, and I worry about this.


http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor...ts_4&printer=1

By DON BABWIN, Associated Press Writer

CHICAGO - Bill Cosby (news) went off on another tirade against the black community Thursday, telling a room full of activists that black children are running around not knowing how to read or write and "going nowhere."

He also had harsh words for struggling black men, telling them: "Stop beating up your women because you can't find a job."

Cosby made headlines in May when he upbraided some poor blacks for their grammar and accused them of squandering opportunities the civil rights movement gave them. He shot back Thursday, saying his detractors were trying in vain to hide the black community's "dirty laundry."

"Let me tell you something, your dirty laundry gets out of school at 2:30 every day, it's cursing and calling each other n------ as they're walking up and down the street," Cosby said during an appearance at the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition & Citizenship Education Fund's annual conference.

"They think they're hip," the entertainer said. "They can't read; they can't write. They're laughing and giggling, and they're going nowhere."

In his remarks in May at a commemoration of the anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education desegregation decision, Cosby denounced some blacks' grammar and said those who commit crimes and wind up behind bars "are not political prisoners."

"I can't even talk the way these people talk, 'Why you ain't,' 'Where you is' ... and I blamed the kid until I heard the mother talk," Cosby said then. "And then I heard the father talk ... Everybody knows it's important to speak English except these knuckleheads. You can't be a doctor with that kind of crap coming out of your mouth."

Cosby elaborated Thursday on his previous comments in a talk interrupted several times by applause. He castigated some blacks, saying that they cannot simply blame whites for problems such as teen pregnancy and high school dropout rates.


"For me there is a time ... when we have to turn the mirror around," he said. "Because for me it is almost analgesic to talk about what the white man is doing against us. And it keeps a person frozen in their seat, it keeps you frozen in your hole you're sitting in."


Cosby lamented that the racial slurs once used by those who lynched blacks are now a favorite expression of black children. And he blamed parents.


"When you put on a record and that record is yelling `n----- this and n----- that' and you've got your little 6-year-old, 7-year-old sitting in the back seat of the car, those children hear that," he said.


He also condemned black men who missed out on opportunities and are now angry about their lives.


"You've got to stop beating up your women because you can't find a job, because you didn't want to get an education and now you're (earning) minimum wage," Cosby said. "You should have thought more of yourself when you were in high school, when you had an opportunity."


Cosby appeared Thursday with the Rev. Jesse Jackson (news - web sites), founder and president of the education fund, who defended the entertainer's statements.


"Bill is saying let's fight the right fight, let's level the playing field," Jackson said. "Drunk people can't do that. Illiterate people can't do that."


Cosby also said many young people are failing to honor the sacrifices made by those who struggled and died during the civil rights movement.


"Dogs, water hoses that tear the bark off trees, Emmett Till," he said, naming the black youth who was tortured and murdered in Mississippi in 1955, allegedly for whistling at a white woman. "And you're going to tell me you're going to drop out of school? You're going to tell me you're going to steal from a store?"


Cosby also said he wasn't concerned that some whites took his comments and turned them "against our people."

"Let them talk," he said.

I think he makes some good points. Especially in that his messages can apply just as much to squanderous people of any particular skin pigmentation. Wasted opportunities are not genetics-specific.

However I will admit that I cringe whenever I hear the terms 'black people' or 'white people' etc... how about just plain old 'people', without the skin-colour prefix?

Yep, same here. ANYONE that cannot read or write in this day and age is sad. Reading and writing IMO is a gift, and once learned can take you as far. I see some young folks these days (12-18) and I worry they will able to make it in life. I dunno, just worries me--ANY color.

i think, personally, that bill cosby would be the perfect image for the modern civil rights expansion. i disagree, in this case, that the reference should be made to "people" as opposed to black people because we still have a volatile situation left over from a time of slavery, and oppression is being used as a scapegoat. what bill cosby is doing is trying to alleviate that sentiment by getting people to realize that it is false, that they are taking their lives into their own hands.

i would be more than happy to see Mr. Cosby continue along his current socio-political path in an effort to bring up inner city minority education levels to a level where they should be.

Bill made some great points. His attitude is the type of attitude that leads to success. Grab a hold of your own problems and not try to blame other people. Some people might say that he's missing the point, but the fact is, the sooner we can break people out of the cycle, the better. And the only way to break them out is to convince them that the have to and want to; it cannot truly be accomplished from the outside.

His comments are relevant not only to the "black" community, but also to all youth and all people in general.

This is planet Earth dude, things don't work like that overhere. It's not just skincolour, people can get in trouble for the way they dress sometimes.

True enough, but change has to start somewhere, might as well be with you. Whether or not people take notice is up to them. At least you can feel good knowing you're doing what you think is the right thing...

True enough, but change has to start somewhere, might as well be with you. Whether or not people take notice is up to them. At least you can feel good knowing you're doing what you think is the right thing... </font>[/QUOTE]An appealing outlook Hiero, but change won't happen. It's just the way people are that prevents them from taking that step forward in bettering themselves or thinking in a more positive way. The best we can do is just work at it as individuals, but when involved in the masses, people are still idiots.

That`s a very good gesture from Bill Cosby. It`s very important to know what is right and what is wrong. More people should be aware of the fact that learning and education are very important.


Young boys, you can use a lot of help, you know
You thinkin life's all about smokin weed and ice
You <u>don't wanna be my age and can't read and write[</u>

If the truth is told, the youth can grow
Then learn to survive until they gain control
Nobody says you have to be gangstas, h*es
<u>Read more learn more, change the globe</u>Ghetto children, do your thing
Hold your head up, little man, you're a king
Young Princess when you get your wedding ring

Some wise lyrics from Nas.

My good man, say not such things! [img]smile.gif[/img] You defeat yourself before you even try.

Exactly! Cultural progress stems from the individual and the individual alone. 'The masses' are, afterall, merely a collection of individuals joined in mutual mentality. All it takes is one catalyst, one voice of dissent within the ranks of the mob, spoken loudly and clearly enough, and the direction of an entire society can change. Of course there will be frustrations, of course there will be vastly contrasting views among individuals as to how the world should and shouldn't be, but so what? More power to diversity!
Decide what your morals are, and put them into practice. If you stand firm by your own code you have nothing to fear in the pressure and persecution from others. In the end, when all is said and done and you're looking back on your life from its twilight moments, you'll be all the happier for knowing that you lived as you thought you should have.

Never say never! You have more power than that! Give yourself some credit! [img]smile.gif[/img]

[ 07-02-2004, 07:29 AM: Message edited by: The Hierophant ]