If that's the way you interpreted it, I guess you're just a little thick in the head. This isn't a black/white issue, but rather a cultural issue. This cultural issue happens to be the lifestyle that many urban black youth resort to that have no guidance in life. Why do you feel that you have to be so politically correct all the time? Are you afraid people will think you're less of a hippy or something. Society is partly to blame, but at the same time, so is feeling sorry for yourself. People who put forth effort in life get somewhere. It doesn't matter if they're black or white or rich or poor. Sure, some people are at an advantage, but everyone has the opportunity to make something of themselves. Bill Cosby grew up poor!! You're making it sound like he has always been rich or something. And he never told anyone how to act. He never pointed a gun at anyone's head and said "you must like like this or act like that." Look, Cosby got to where is his by taking control of his life and not feeling sorry for himself. This is how ALL wealthy, prominent people got to where they are in life, unless they inherit wealth.
Megara, I agree; Let me elaborate a bit more your post. It was'nt just irish and italian, but everyone. Every race, when first coming to this country, faced terrible prejudice and poverty. Not only that, but when they actually made some money and got ahead, the depression came around, and knocked everyone back on their ass. It made the rich poor, and the poor flat out bums. Everyone had to start all over again, right out of an old wood shack. The poverty stricten, of any race, can do whatever they want, but I know that no one wants to be a bag boy at the market or a janitor or a garbage man for the rest of their life. Thats a load of crap if you tell me they do. And Missfontella, your right, racisim is completely ingrained in our society, but what you forget to mention is that blacks are just as rasicist, if not more. They have BET on television, NAACP, Affermative action, you tell me this is'nt racism? Exluding NAACP, the other two are load of crap. You tell me that if me and a few buddies of mine made a White Entertainment Television, we would'nt be getting our asses completely reamed out by the media? If we made a simlilar program(affermative action) for whites or an all white fraternity? What if I had a white rights meeting, you don't think I'd get angry motherfuckers at my door the next morning?
This Thread got out of hand real quick Bill cosby has a point, to which i strongly agree with Race is a minor point in this, the main focus is the culture and lifestyle which breeds criminals and the homeless Learning how to speak right is just as nesscesary as learning to walk. without proper education the only thing that one can hope for is part time jobs or living off the streets. Its as simple as that. and dont give me this alternative solutions bullcrap, urbanized citezens arent always open to the "Altertnatives", and some dont want that life style, some rather live on the streets than do something they hardly agree with. Bill cosby never condemned anybody, he just doesnt agree with the way kids are being raised these days.
I don't believe blacks are generally as racist as whites. I think most blacks have been victims of racism, so in turn, they don't want to distribute racism toward others (Of course, there are racist people of all races). To me, that's like saying that homosexuals as prejudiced to heterosexuals as heterosexuals are as prejudiced towards homosexuals. Most homosexuals (I'm sure) have faced some sort of prejudice in their lives, so in turn, I don't think they want to distribute that prejudice toward heterosexuals. What makes you think blacks are more prejudiced than whites? You mentioned BET, which all it seemingly ever does is music videos in the middle of the day. Of course, no network would call itself, White Entertainment Television. But, networks like NBC, ABC, CBS and advertisters want to reach mostly mainstream (read: white) audiences. Most of the shows on those networks feature mostly white casts. There are many organizations on college campuses that reach out to segments of the population, seemingly not in the "mainstream." Of course, organizations for blacks seem to get the most attention. But there are organizations for Latino, GLBT, Asian-Americans, vegetarians, etc. You said the NAACP is bunch of crap? Are those organizations like those who want gay rights or rights for other ethnic groups "a bunch of crap?" Just my two cents.
What does Jesus mean by "Blessed are the Poor"? Or does he have his head up his ass? What does Jesus mean by "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven"? Or does he have his head up his ass? What then does Bill Cosby mean by "The poor aren't pulling their weight"? Or does Bill have his head up his ass? Somebody here has it ass backwards.
So soon we forget that there used to be 3 school systems in america: one for whites, blacks and native americans, because the whites NOR the blacks wanted to go to school with the native americans.
Well that begs the question of "what is poor" and "what is rich" doesn't it? Cosby is not making an effort to insult but rather to challenge those who are unwilling to better themselves and their current situation. Being a productive and positive member of society, of your neighborhood, of your home and of your childrens lives is not an issue that should be seen with misgivings. Cosby spoke of some issues that are very apparent in this day and age and though you may question his motives for speaking them, none of us can dispute the fact that those same very issues are a growing problem. Children with a poor education and very little parental guidance are for the most part, doomed to a lower class of employment and wage (anyone here wish to comment on how enjoyable their Wal Mart job is?). Speaking skills are important and very few employers are going to hire a person they have trouble communicating with. There's no hard part in just allowing a person to receive a free ride and pass that same pattern of non-productive lifestyle on to their children. Thats fricking easy. Any moron can do that. The by product of that is that we create a lower class society of people who are not equiped nor motivated enough to strive to improve themselves. In my eye's, that sort of system is crimminal. Your creating a society that you vocally preach on protecting. Rich or poor? Well rich is the man or woman who takes pride in their work and pride in the raising and education of their children. Poor is the person who believes none of that stuff is important.
I don't want my taxes to go to people who are unwilling to work. If they can't feed their kids they should not have any. Welfare should be a temporary option for people to get back on their feet, not a permanent income source. They can get out of that rut if they really want to.
holy cow... i'm white (if you've seen my pictures, you'll know just how white, lol), and i grew up poor. poor as in having enough food to eat, but having to sleep on the couch at my sister's apartment for a couple of years( because we had nowhere to live), and buy my clothes from kmart. i wholeheartedly agree about poor people spending what little money they have on stupid things...an example being that my sister gets her nails done several times a month, even though she is unemployed, and can't afford to get speech therapy for my niece. i don't think that kind of poor judgement is restricted to black people, by any means. was bill addressing black people specifically? probably. having heard him speak before, i think he sort of thinks he can talk this way to "his people" (his thoughts, not mine). he's sort of patronizing, but he is still right occasionally. it is true. black people do this. white people do too, he just didn't say so. so i guess what i'm getting at is that you can disagree with the condescending way bill says things, but what he said (regarding this issue), strictly speaking is true. i hate that things have escalated to a sort of racial war here. i think a lot of things have been taken out of context. as much as we may try, it is not possible to see things through anyone else's eyes. as much as i might have in common with missfontella, being that we are both american women, of appoximately the same age, etc etc, i can't relate to what it feels like to be black. we are all the sum of our experiences, and i probably couldn't relate to many of hers. for her part, she probably has no idea what it is like to be white, specifically a poor white person. *throws a peace sign and hides*
I tried to stay away but I couldn't resist. My main point is this: Cosby's comments validate the public's already misguided view that people are poor because they want to be, that poor people don't parent their children and such. I know what people think because of the comments I get already. Sure, Bill hype people up even more to think that they are justified in judging my life and making inappropiate comments. Stuff like that starts public outcry. Public outcry creates public policy. All based on a huge generalization. Being poor is like being on a hamster's wheel, you gotta make big moves to get out. Me and people like me are already doing our best and feeling the pressure, I know that I, personally, don't need anybody else's assumptions, comments, or speculation. You wanna tell what I am doing wrong, get to know me first.
Three Steps that will take ANYONE out of poverty, and keep them out. [1] Get a Job, any Job, and Keep it. [2] Get Married and stay married to the same person. Well I guess two steps is enough.
Sorry hon, I will never automatically respect anyone. Respect is earned. And people who demand respect (i.e., rappers) can kiss my disrespectful ass. Just my 2 cents.
How is Cosby's and the publics view "misguided?" WHAT HE SAID WAS TRUE. Truth is never misguided. I see it everyday in some shape or form. I guess I shouldn't believe my lying eyes? I'm not sheltered. I'm out in it everyday. I go to the store and see "people" in really nice clothes buying steak and lobster with food stamps/ebt, and taking the bags to a new Mercedes. Bad behavior should be recognized, and the foul should be called. Don't act like an ass and then bitch about "It's sooo hard...." They make bad decisions and we (the taxpayers) are supposed to bail them out. Why? Maybe they should be forced to buy "idiot insurance."
I thought this thread would die. Anyway, I have some more things to add: it's so easy to slam the poor, and granted there are those poor people who don't help themselves. But now as I've read more opinions on Bill Cosby's speech, who really knows if everything hears. Should the government give the rich tax cuts, instead of helping the poor? It seems like the Bush government is making more of an effort to help those who need it less ("the rich") than those who most need it. If someone as well respected as Bill Cosby says damming things about the poor people will believe it. I think respect is a two-way street. I do agree it has to be earned, but if you alienate people in many ways, it will be difficult to earn their respects. One more thing about Cosby's statement. I found a piece written by African-American columnist Earl Ofari Hutchinson. I think it's worth checking out: http://www.alternet.org/columnists/story/18861/ Stereotypes Not Cosby Are the Real Problem By Earl Ofari Hutchinson, AlterNet. Posted June 3, 2004. Cosby and his supporters claim he speaks 'the truth.' But what exactly is that truth? Story Tools EMAIL PRINT BUY Also by Earl Ofari Hutchinson Comedian Bill Cosby's partial recant that his knock of allegedly bad behaving blacks was a call for action and not a broad brush stroke indictment of all poor blacks, came too little, too late. The gaggle of rightwing shock jocks, conservative black apologists and op-ed columnists have giddily embraced him as their darling, and many blacks cheer him for supposedly daring to speak what they call, "the truth." But what is that truth? A special Census report in February 1999 on black achievement and the National Urban League's State of Black America annual reports found that the overwhelming majority of blacks graduate from high school, their drop-out rates are only marginally higher than that of whites (not fifty percent as Cosby claimed), and a significant number of black high school graduates go on to college. A survey of student attitudes by the Minority Student Achievement Network, an Illinois-based educational advocacy group in 2002, found that black students were as motivated, studied as hard, and were as serious about graduating as whites. Even in the poorest of poor black neighborhoods, countless numbers of children live in non-welfare dependent, two-parent households where the children do not sell drugs, join gangs, get pregnant in their teens or mumble in unintelligible babble. Cosby better than anyone should know these things. He has spent much of his professional career battling the clown, coon and mammy image of blacks in Hollywood. He has written books touting the excellence and achievements of young blacks. He has given tons of money to charitable and educational causes whose goal is to provide resources and create opportunities for the legions of young blacks who want to improve their lives. Though Cosby is one of the best-known blacks to fan negative racial stereotypes, he's hardly the only one. Despite much evidence to the contrary, many blacks routinely trash, demean and ridicule themselves. They unthinkingly and unquestioningly spin sordid tales of ghetto car jackers, gang bangers, drive-by-shooters, and dope dealers that supposedly turn black communities into war zones and cesspools of rot. Some blacks in the rap and hip-hop world are deeply complicit in fanning this stereotype. The rap moguls have reaped king's ransoms peddling their music-video-cartoon version of the thug life. The rebellious young of all colors that shell out billions to enrich them are almost totally mindless of the social complexities, and the artistic and intellectual richness of the black experience. Even more tragic, some blacks further bolster the thug life stereotype by committing or winding up as victims of violence. The murders of rap icons Tupac Shakur, and Notorious BIG have been the stuff of cheap media sensationalism. Cosby's ill-thought-out remarks is not just grist for the mill of conservative talking heads to hammer blacks -- they certainly didn't need Cosby to do that -- they also confirm that the problems of poor blacks are self made and insoluble. Many employers admit that they won't hire young blacks because they believe they are lazier, more crime prone, and educationally deficient. Many politicians, even without the excuse of ballooning state and federal budget deficits and cutbacks, mightily resist efforts to increase spending on job, health and education programs for the poor while waging relentless war against affirmative action. During the Democratic presidential primary debates, with the arguable exceptions of John Edwards and Howard Dean, the white Democratic presidential candidates were mute on issues such as urban investment, health care for the uninsured, fixing lousy inner-city public schools, racial profiling, affirmative action, the racial disparities in prison sentencing and the racially marred drug laws. Despite the plummet in crime rates, racial stereotypes have deeply embedded the popular and terrifying belief that crime in America comes exclusively with a young, black male face. The result: nearly one million blacks are now warehoused in America's jails, the majority of them young blacks, and a significant number of them are there for non-violent, petty drug crimes. Then last but not least, there's Cosby himself. In times past, Cosby has been ripped by the same white and black conservatives that revere him for talking favorably about affirmative action, civil rights, and for his own sexual hijinks. His wife Camille Cosby was slammed for having the temerity to suggest that racism may have been a factor in the murder of their son, Ennis Cosby. Cosby didn't invent the shopworn stereotype that poor blacks, and indeed the poor in general, are their own worst enemy. This belief has been around for a long time. But Cosby is a recognized and endearing icon, and when he speaks, people listen. In this case, what they heard from him won't change their negative belief about the black poor.
I believe that Bill Cosby wants nothing more than for those people to be the best they can be. I agree completely with every word he said.
I don't doubt Bill Cosby wants the best for his people. The reason why I posted that article is to show people maybe things aren't as bad as he claims, and maybe he was wrong about some things - actually, he was definitely wrong about the 50% drop out rate.
The Cosby Show is my fav. show. Bill Cosby made a very good speech and I totally agree with him. It is true everyone here can speak their oppinion.So hopefully no arguments anywhere. FREE SPEACH!!!! Rock On Everyone! Peace.
