Reply to Bill Cosby and his racism towards his own race....

[DLD]

"They're standing on the corner and they can't speak English. I can't even talk the way these people talk:
Why you ain't,
Where you is,
What he drive,
Where he stay,
Where he work,
Who you be...
And I blamed the kid until I heard the mother talk.

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.
In fact you will never get any kind of job making a decent living. People marched and were hit in the face with rocks to get an education, and now we've got these knuckleheads walking around.
The lower economic people are not holding up their end in this deal.


These people are not parenting. They are buying things for kids... $500 sneakers for what ??

And they won't spend $200 for Hooked on Phonics.

I am talking about these people who cry when their son is standing there in an orange suit.

Where were you when he was 2 ? ?

Where were you when he was 12 ? ?

Where were you when he was 18 and how come you didn't know that he had a pistol ? ?

And where is the father ?? Or better yet, who is his father ?

People putting their clothes on backward:
Isn't that a sign of something gone wrong?

People with their hats on backward, pants down around the crack, isn't that a sign of something ?

Or are you waiting for Jesus to pull his pants up ?

Isn't it a sign of something when she has her dress all the way up and got all type of needles [piercing] going through her body?


What part of Africa did this come from??
We are not Africans. Those people are not Africans; they don't know a thing about Africa .

With names like Shaniqua, Taliqua and Mohammed and all of that crap, and all of them are in jail.

Brown or black versus the Board of Education is no longer the white person's problem.

We have got to take the neighborhood back.
People used to be ashamed. Today a woman has eight children with eight different 'husbands' -- or men or whatever you call them now.

We have millionaire football players who cannot read.
We have million-dollar basketball players who can't write two paragraphs. We, as black folks have to do a better job. Someone working at Wal-Mart with seven kids, you are hurting us.

We have to start holding each other to a higher standard.

We cannot blame the white people any longer."


Dr. William Henry "Bill" Cosby, Jr., Ed.D.


MY REPLY:

I have always spoken with ebonics, my son speaks with ebonics, obviously this is no reflection on our intelligence as we are very intelligent men. Inner city, urban families have had a unique way of speaking the English language, just as Europeans do. Making a general reference to sneakers based on the language a society uses is not only racist, it is ignorant. I am going to write to Bill Cosby and let him know how I feel as white man, from a white family with a white child and I hope he reads it. I see the entire article as racist and bias towards a generation of people, white, black and any other race that chooses to use a variation on a language.

Sneakers are a very small part of the problems that are in the ghettos. We need to address the crack and other drugs that are being brought into these places. These drugs are not being flown over sees by poor black youth with $500 sneakers, they are being brought in by political conglomerates that are permitted, by our government, to allow these things to happen. Why? What better way to eliminate a race than allowing them to kill themselves. Guns and drugs are a much more important issue than sneakers and speech. If you go to any ghetto in the United States you will find a liquor store on every corner, a gun shop on every block, a crack dealer under every lamp post and these are the things that are important not footwear. A society with no hope will grab onto any possession they can...even sneakers.

 

[MAXAMEYES]

Gotta disagree with ya here Mike...at least in part. Speaking or acting in a certain way because one chooses to do so in an appropriate setting is quite different from one who speaks and/or acts that way simply because it's the "highest" level of thought or communication that they can possibly attain and know no different. Self-induced and anti-social ignorance were, what I believe, Bill Cosby was warning against. As a man with American Indian roots I and many of my brothers and sisters have said much the same thing about our people.

"Lowest common denominator" may be a very useful math term, but as a social paradigm it is woefully lacking. Much of society as a whole really needs to more fully appreciate substance rather than appearance.

If someone can't read, can't communicate effectively and alienates themselves through anti-social or violent behavior because that's all they can possibly, actually acccomplish; and this is taking place on a society wide scale, then this is an immense problem which needs immediate addressing and a deep, permanent solution.

 

[Juggers]

I live in Bridgeport Connecticut and grew up speaking Ebonics and sometimes still say something kind of ghetto, but there is a time for everything. I wouldn't go to a job interview or speak to a client in Ebonics if I am at my job.

I guess it would depend on who you are around. I notice sometimes that my mother speaks differently when she is around different people. Also, I don't think race has anything to do with it when it comes to acting ghetto or speaking Ebonics.

 

[goldmember]

It's understandable if what Cosby said seems "racist", and you are entitled to your opinion. I respect your opinion, but I do not agree with it. I can't say I agree 100% with what Cosby said either, but he made a lot of good points. He isn't calling anyone or nigger or saying bad things about someone because of their skin color...what he is saying is that black people will be the victim of racism as long as there are people around like the ones he described. There are plenty of white trash in the US as well, but they don't get as bad of a rap as the people he described, but that's the nature of the beast that is called racism.

He's telling black people to make a stand and take responsibility for their situation. Even if circumstances put them where they are, the system is compatible with social mobility, and if someone decides to wallow in disgrace because they were put there, then they are as dispicable as the people who put them there in the first place. If more people had Cosby's mentality, there would be more successful black doctors, engineers, entrepreneurs, etc. and less drug trafficking, gang shootings, poverty, etc.

That's my opinion, and you might whole-heartedly disagree. But the truth of the matter is no matter how bright someone is, if they can't put two well-spoken sentences together and write an intelligent paragraph, they WON'T get a second look at a job interview or likely won't even be in the interview in the first place. It isn't just a "black" problem either...there are tons of people of all races (even from upper-middle class and upper class families) that destroy the English language and can't say one damn thing without saying "like, like" one hundred times before getting an idea across.

 

[stridge]

Cosby's statement was very controversial among the black population and wider social commentators.

Despite his somewhat crotchety and out of touch approach to the subject (obvisouly, Bill Cosby has been extremely wealthy and famous for decades, living at a remove from the social demographic he's discussing), he is attempting to address something that concerns most black intellectuals - cultural stagnation and self-enforced marginalization.

The problem with ebonics is not fundamental; cultural slang is common to many ethnic and regional groups, and most any kid born after 1980 is more than fluent in ebonics and street slang, including the upper class whites and intellectuals. The problem that Cosby sees is that the some economically disadvantaged blacks can only use language derived from slang and lack the literary and basic communication skills to really thrive in a professional role. Just as a Latino from the southwest would place themselves at a disadvantage in a job interview by peppering their speech with Spanglish and non-English terms and speaking very informally, a person heavily using ebonics would face the same problem. It's not racism or bias - simply put, employers of all levels and persuasions want people that can communicate clearly in normal English. By not enforcing this value, the black community is self-sabotaging.

The statement also addresses a tendency that many other black leaders criticize heavily, which is essentially that some segments of black culture don't encourage avenues of conventional success or enforce standards such as normalized speech. Academic achievement and mainstream style and approach are derided as simply being, and for lack of a better phrase, "not black enough." This interesting cultural pheonomenon has often come up in discussions of Barack Obama, who only enjoys about 50% support levels from the black community. One of the most often made criticisms among black voters in lower economic strata is that he's "too white." In this case, the reasoning by some blacks is itself racist to a degree, as they measure a person's racial or ethnic legitimacy based on attitude, language, and financial standing.

The problem is very complicated and divides the black community. Cosby's statement is just a blunt and poorly executed sounding from one side of the argument that exists on a much broader array of opinions amongst black leaders. The question isn't really about using ebonics and slang; it's about black americans addressing their ongoing problems with proactive rather than reactive thinking. The promise of the Civil Rights movement, which Cosby recalls, has largley gone unfulfilled for many, as a majority of blacks still ive around the poverty line, experience vastly higher incarceration rates, drug addicition, teen pregnancy, etc. Some, like Cosby, believe that the answer to these problems must come from black communities themselves, and holding to higher standards at a basic cultural level is a part of the plan.

I'm not totally on board with Cosby as he is pretty out of touch with the situation, but I do understand his intended point and concerns. Ebonics should be used in situations where slang and informal language is appropriate, and speaking, reading, and writing in clear english should never be passed over for slang. That's a standard for any demographic, not just blacks. Speaking with slang doesn't necessarily mean that a person is unintelligent, but if others assume that - and they will - then it is the speaker's fault, as we can hardly argue that we don't know that stereotyping and assumptive behavior don't exist.

 

[ithiel]

This mohammed shit I don't like , I'll tell you that. He aint no prophet he was insane , had epilepsy or some shit.

 

[chucky2blong]

I agree with everything DLD said in the last paragraph of his original post. The sad part is that going forward our country will not be able to compete with the Indias and Chinas of the world with a large portion of society that is disengaged. Those countries have the advantage of cheap labor now, but wages will eventually rise there just as they have in the U.S. Unless we can find a way to bring the whole country together, we're going to lose any competitive advantage we ever had. China will eventually be the richest most powerful country on the planet regardless of what we do.

 

[nelnellynelson]

I agree with bill Cosby a little bit, but when your born in a situation where your upbringing is not stable were as a kid, have to learn how to make money,in school your not concerned with learning about world history, your focus is how do i help my parents pay this rent.

I'm in college as of right now,major graphic design i would love to work for ea sports, or adult swim . I find myself struggling with english. I used to be anti social for a long time until i came out of my cave the last three years. When i was young at a local ymca
i was around alot of white kids who spoke good desent english, just being around them made me talk better. Whould you want to talk like a average joe or talk like a college professor who everytime you have to pick up a webster dictionary understand what he is saying?

Just my negro penny 2 cents.

 

[chucky2blong]

Dude, if you're in college, please pay attention in English 101. Reading your post illustrates exactly what Bill Cosby was trying to address. Nobody should be allowed to graduate from high school without mastering at least basics of the English language and grammar. I agree with your point that environment does play a role.

I can tell that DLD is the real deal. I can always spot white people who have actually spent time around black people and can relate to their struggle (as opposed to those who try to give it lip service). If Bill Cosby really wants to be effective, he should partner with other wealthy blacks (Oprah, Magic Johnson, Shaq, etc) and maybe even some whites who are willing to help create businesses to employ those blacks that he's trying to move forward. It's hard to convince someone that they should get educated and work legally for $10-20 and hour when they can make 10 times that much illegally.

 

[nelnellynelson]

I read alot,but i read more than I write. I am not that sociable,but i try.
I'm in my second year in college, trying to master photoshop,illustrator,and i hope to learn maya.

Man i would love to work for ea sports, doing the graphic for upcoming games.
Yea, you right, have to work on my english,might have to write a business paper.

 

[Baazbold]

I can see why Bill Cosby is upset. Black people of his generation and before struggled hard and sacrificed plenty to get the Civil Rights movement to where it is today. Unfortunately, certain contemporary famous black people have spit in the face of this glorifying a life on the streets and such. Its not the fault of all black people, but I suppose that when these famous rappers and athletes who portray such a negative image of African Americans are not condemned for their negative conduct, Cosby feels betrayed by his own people. Seeing people in the inner city furthering the image of non-education and ergo stupidity can't help, but I don't think the conditions of poverty can be completely blamed on black people. I think you always have to take some measure of responsibility for where you are in life, but when your parents, grandparents and so on never got a chance at a good education and therefore a good job, the economic as well as psycological effects have to take their toll. I cant speak from experience because I'm white, and cant really ever know what its like to be looked down upon by a huge chunk of the population just because of the color of my skin.

 

[nelnellynelson]

Being born black skinned(28 years out the coochie) i could not comprohend being born in that era it seems unreal to me. I considered myself just a human being.I never sold drugs, i was born in a middle class family, both parents with college degree's.
Also, my mom was a english teacher, she helps me on my papers.

 

[80sBaby]

Humanity has always been racist. It is something we all need to improve on, but unfortunately there is nothing to suggest we're figure it out, including my own faults. We're more segregated than ever. I dunno? Maybe it's a part of our survival instincts that says, "you are different than me." But today's PC nation provides a special twist: they in speech say they are not racist but actively harbor to their own kind. Self-denial I suppose.

Edit: Actually I suppose its always been that way.

 

[80sBaby]

Humanity has always been racist. It is something we all need to improve on, but unfortunately there is nothing to suggest we're figure it out, including my own faults. We're more segregated than ever. I dunno? Maybe it's a part of our survival instincts that says, "you are different than me." But today's PC nation provides a special twist: they in speech say they are not racist but actively harbor to their own kind. Self-denial I suppose.

Edit: Actually I suppose its always been that way.

That's a pretty good way to end the post. LOL! The funny thing is Cosby has a book coming out he co-wrote on the fall of black society.

 

[MAXAMEYES]

Here's an article along the same philosophy that Cosby was puttin' out....but I think Whitlock says it a LOT better, and leaves no doubt whatsoever what he thinks:

Taylor's death a grim reminder for us all
Jason Whitlock
FOXSports.com



There's a reason I call them the Black KKK. The pain, the fear and the destruction are all the same.

Someone who loved Sean Taylor is crying right now. The life they knew has been destroyed, an 18-month-old baby lost her father, and, if you're a black man living in America, you've been reminded once again that your life is in constant jeopardy of violent death.
The Black KKK claimed another victim, a high-profile professional football player with a checkered past this time.

No, we don't know for certain the circumstances surrounding Taylor's death. I could very well be proven wrong for engaging in this sort of aggressive speculation. But it's no different than if you saw a fat man fall to the ground clutching his chest. You'd assume a heart attack, and you'd know, no matter the cause, the man needed to lose weight.

Well, when shots are fired and a black man hits the pavement, there's every statistical reason to believe another black man pulled the trigger. That's not some negative, unfair stereotype. It's a reality we've been living with, tolerating and rationalizing for far too long.

When the traditional, white KKK lynched, terrorized and intimidated black folks at a slower rate than its modern-day dark-skinned replacement, at least we had the good sense to be outraged and in no mood to contemplate rationalizations or be fooled by distractions.


Sean Taylor, 1983-2007
News


Our new millennium strategy is to pray the Black KKK goes away or ignores us. How's that working?

About as well as the attempt to shift attention away from this uniquely African-American crisis by focusing on an alleged injustice the white media allegedly perpetrated against Sean Taylor.

Within hours of his death, there was a story circulating that members of the black press were complaining that news outlets were disrespecting Taylor's victimhood by reporting on his troubled past

No disrespect to Taylor, but he controlled the way he would be remembered by the way he lived. His immature, undisciplined behavior with his employer, his run-ins with law enforcement, which included allegedly threatening a man with a loaded gun, and the fact a vehicle he owned was once sprayed with bullets are all pertinent details when you've been murdered.

Marcellus Wiley, a former NFL player, made the radio circuit Wednesday, singing the tune that athletes are targets. That was his explanation for the murders of Taylor and Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams and the armed robberies of NBA players Antoine Walker and Eddy Curry.

Really?

Let's cut through the bull(manure) and deal with reality. Black men are targets of black men. Period. Go check the coroner's office and talk with a police detective. These bullets aren't checking W-2s.

Rather than whine about white folks' insensitivity or reserve a special place of sorrow for rich athletes, we'd be better served mustering the kind of outrage and courage it took in the 1950s and 1960s to stop the white KKK from hanging black men from trees.

But we don't want to deal with ourselves. We take great joy in prescribing medicine to cure the hate in other people's hearts. Meanwhile, our self-hatred, on full display for the world to see, remains untreated, undiagnosed and unrepentant.

Our self-hatred has been set to music and reinforced by a pervasive culture that promotes a crab-in-barrel mentality.

You're damn straight I blame hip hop for playing a role in the genocide of American black men. When your leading causes of death and dysfunction are murder, ignorance and incarceration, there's no reason to give a free pass to a culture that celebrates murder, ignorance and incarceration.


Of course there are other catalysts, but until we recapture the minds of black youth, convince them that it's not OK to "super man dat ho" and end any and every dispute by "cocking on your bitch," nothing will change.

Does a Soulja Boy want an education?

HBO did a fascinating documentary on Little Rock Central High School, the Arkansas school that required the National Guard so that nine black kids could attend in the 1950s. Fifty years later, the school is one of the nation's best in terms of funding and educational opportunities. It's 60 percent black and located in a poor black community.

Watch the documentary and ask yourself why nine poor kids in the '50s risked their lives to get a good education and a thousand poor black kids today ignore the opportunity that is served to them on a platter.

Blame drugs, blame Ronald Reagan, blame George Bush, blame it on the rain or whatever. There's only one group of people who can change the rotten, anti-education, pro-violence culture our kids have adopted. We have to do it.



According to reports, Sean Taylor had difficulty breaking free from the unsavory characters he associated with during his youth.

The "keepin' it real" mantra of hip hop is in direct defiance to evolution. There's always someone ready to tell you you're selling out if you move away from the immature and dangerous activities you used to do, you're selling out if you speak proper English, embrace education, dress like a grown man, do anything mainstream.

The Black KKK is enforcing the same crippling standards as its parent organization. It wants to keep black men in their place — uneducated, outside the mainstream and six feet deep.

In all likelihood, the Black Klan and its mentality buried Sean Taylor, and any black man or boy reading this could be next.

 

[Golf]

Wow, these are some real interesting points by people that have obviously been thinking about it.

"ignore the opportunity that is served to them on a platter."- I've personally never agreed with this though, if someone gives it to you you don't know what you have in front of you. But if you work for it or take (something that you want), then it has real meaning. I know that's true for me being under the "umbrella" of parent's guardianship.

Edit- I guess that would be the problem is that they (whoever) don't want it.