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Is Bill Cosby Right?: Or Has the Black Middle Class Lost its Mind?
: 0 Stars.
1000 Excuses.
Here we go again.
Black people - wake up!
Bill Cosby is RIGHT on target. Never mind that you don't like the "way he said it" (off the cuff and justifiably angry). Cosby was like my grandmother whenever she saw us grandchildren acting like a bunch of hoodlums in the street: angry, direct, to the point and righteously indignant. But she was right.
Mr. Dyson needs to really be honest with himself and the African American community: we are in trouble and unless something changes in our value system, we are doomed.
Bill Cosby has given more money, sent more people to college and donated more to the black community and has long proven himself as a true scholar and a person who speakes from LOVE and not hate. He is also the product of a TWO PARENT AFRICAN-AMERICAN HOME: MOTHER AND FATHER PRESNT AND ACCOUNTABLE, thank you very much.
THAT is why he was able to succeed in such a hard time: the 50s and 60s. And why the dumb-dumbs now have a harder time with even more obvious opportnity in the new millenium: 1 or 0 parents present and no rules or values!!Bling-Bling, et. al.
Sorry your feelings got hurt, sonny. But the break-down of the black family - by black people- is the cause of these problems -not soley white racism, slavery or the ever famous "corporations".
Until the early 1980's black educational levels and academic achievment was RISING. Then, suddenly, it started to fall as the culture of low expectations, poor values and gleeful ignorance set in.
It has been declining ever since. Mr Dyson is a one-sided "scholar" with an agenda to keep black people in the dark about the truth: You must accept some of the responsibility of your situation and not blame everyone else - including honest critics becuase you dont like their "tone" or because they didn't say the obviously implicit "not everyone, but too many". Grow up ad read more so you can understand. He is a snake oil salesman and a opportunist. He might as well be selling "You can't Touch This" tee-shirts or bootleg Star Wars DVDs on Canal Street.
I didn't always like the way my father disciplined me, he didnt mention all of the "exceptions" while punishing me.
But he was THERE and as a grown man I now understand how important that was and still is today and I get it now.
He was right too.
Thank you, Dad.
And Thank you too Mr. William H. Cosby, Ph.D., Entrepenuer, Philanthropist, Actor, Executive Producer, Director, Owner, Comedian, Pioneer,Teacher, Role Model, son and father.
We get it.
I find myself agreeing with another reviewer...it is pretty amazing how a 200-plus page book never gets around to actually addressing the question that it uses for a title.
I also thought it a bit ironic that I had just finished reading a much more lighthearted book entitled Play or Be Played: What Every Female Should Know About Men, Dating, and Relationships, and from it came an excerpt that expresses my sentiments about this book to a tee. From a section in in Chapter 5 entitled 'The Need for Immediate Pleasure vs. Immediate Pain':
"..........Being in denial often gives people immediate pleasure, and dealing with reality sometimes brings on immediate pain. So [Black community, we] have to make a choice. Do [we]: (a) want to get immediate pleasure, but suffer from long-term pain, or (b) withstand immediate pain, so that it will lead to long-term pleasure?
I look at dealing with reality and denial like trying to [derive satisfaction from Dyson airing Bill Cosby's dirty laundry in a book, behind his biting commentary at the B v. BOE anniversary ceremony]. Now, [we] can get *immediate pleasure* from [dismissing Cosby's comments out of hand, taking pleasure in knowing about his personal mishaps and indiscretions, and believing that he's no better than any of the people he appears to be criticizing]. But the *long-term* effect is that [the validity of his comments will never be given the credence they deserve, nothing will change for the better, and the Black community will continue to gradually worsen over time]. Or [we] can [take Cosby's comments into consideration, admit that there is merit and truth to every single point that he made in that speech, and begin to work to change things for the better]. Now [doing this] will give [us] immediate pain, but [we] will get *long-term* pleasure by seeing the physical results of [going back to placing a high value on education, morality, and nuclear family structure, which will bring about strong homes, neighborhoods, and communities over time].........."
That pretty much sums up this book and the entire issue in a nutshell.
The biggest reason why I hold the viewpoint of a Dyson, Sharpton, or Jesse "I just LOVE being on TV" Jackson in such huge contempt, is that many times it's 1) consistently reducing a lot of hard-earned and much-needed success in this country to the equivalent of picking the right lottery numbers, and 2) downplaying the fact that a *good many* Black people in this country have it hard because having it hard is precisely what they signed up for.
My heart goes out to anyone struggling to hold it all together in the climate that this economy has created. My heart doubly goes out to inner city youth that are left to be raised (or not be raised, as the case may be) by parents and guardians that aren't vested in their futures (or much of anything else), as none of us get to pick and choose who our parents will be. But we have to start moving away from this mentality that dictates to us that where we are in life is due largely in part to circumstances beyond our control. Or to be more specific, circumstances that "The Man" is in control of. Most of our misfortune is due to business that we have 100% control of, but simply do not handle properly.
Every single societal ill that Dyson outlines in this book is in fact, a real and eminent threat. But at the same time, Blacks in America rise above all of these adversities (and more) and make themselves successes every single day, IN SPITE OF them. Seeing that Dyson himself is one of the very successes that I'm speaking of, my recommendation to anyone that thinks this book is so full of profound truths would be to contact Dyson directly and ask him exactly how he managed to find himself in a position that affords him the luxury of telling you (in a book, no less) just how hard it is for Blacks in America to succeed. I don't know Dyson's personal story, but what I do know for certain is that where there's a will, there's a way.
At the end of the day, MED has every right to his opinion. And when he's through talking, the bottom line is Bill Cosby hit the cobweb dead-center.
Lastly, I'll leave you with a quote from the Cos himself: during an appearance on The Tavis Smiley Show a couple of weeks after his now-infamous speech, in response to the comment that some say his speech will merely give the Neo-Conservative attack dogs in this country more ammunition for their already thinly-veiled bigotry...
"I don't give a flying blank about those right-wing white people...they can't do any more to us than they've already started with. They can't try to throw us back any farther than they've tried to throw us back. And they're doing a very good job of it. But by the same token, for God's sake, turn around and let's have some meetings and say, "Brother, um, let me explain to you. You're the father of so-forth and so-on. Brother, you gotta rein them in, man. You gotta go talk to 'em." "Oh, what do I do, man? I got a son, he won't listen to me, but--" "Well hey, Brother, that's your son.""
...and yes...Bill Cosby's actions speak louder than his words.
 Many of the family values that made our nation great are under attack. They are under attack on the Western front--Hollywood(negative portrayal of families). They are under attack on the Northern front--anti family legislation. And, most important, our families are being attacked on the Home front--substandard parenting. "Is Bill Cosby Right?" Yes! I think Professor Dyson is missing the point when he dubbs Bill Cosby efforts as "Blame-the-Poor-Tour." We have to stop making excuses for not training our children.
Because you do not live in a mansion on the hill, does not mean you can't teach your children how to respect their own property or the property of others. Because you were not born with a silver spoon in your mouth, does not mean you should not teach your children to steal a piece of pound cake from the local grocery store. Being a victim of racism does not give you an excuse to teach and show your children how to hate. Being jobless does not give you permission to show your children how hang around the house all day and not doing anything except complain and blame someone else.
Bill Cosby says he is not our savior. However, Mr Cosby is like is like a general giving marching orders, encouraging and challenging us as individuals and communities to go to battle to recapture and secure our "Tour of Duty" of being effective parents. Are you ready to sign-up, enlist, or even re-enlist for this humongous conflict. Professor Dyson says his aim is "simply provoke black folk into serious self-examination." He certainly has accomplished that. Let all of us as African Americans agree to be drafted and join the fight for our children's future.
and anyone who lives in the city, who isn't wearing rose-tinted glasses, can see that. I'm a 3rd grade teacher in Newark, NJ. I happened to catch Cosby's diatribe, then Dyson's rebuttal. While Cosby is forthright and real, Dyson comes off as a man in serious denial.
i see it everyday: parents that don't care about their kids, seen as burdens b/c they 'cramped' their partying lifestyle. Now they are young(with 2-3 kids), unemployed, uneducated and bitter. Parents don't teach their kids, or reinforce at home, so these kids come into school talking all types of street slang, and can't even write a proper sentence. And before you say "well, you have 3rd graders", understand that there are high schoolers in this city who can't write or read either.
Parents are more concerned with a kid's GYM grade than their kid's reading and math grades. Parents don't come to open house, and don't discipline their kids for acting out in school.
the predominantly black administration practices social promotion, so you can only stay back in 3rd and 7th grades. Forbid we bruise these kids' egos at an early age!
But Dyson is more concerned with ridiculing Cosby's choice of comedy? Grow up, Dyson!! If it wasn't for BC, you wouldn't have a platform to whine on. Cosby chose not to be a modern day step and fetch show, like Chapelle, 50 cent and other black "role models".
He chose to ignore the color line in his tv roles....how is that a negative? He has given more money BACK to blacks than ANYONE!
How about you do some inner city research, step into the school system, interview parents, see how they're living. It would be a lot better than picking a fight with Cosby over his generalizations, when you're doing the same thing with your book.
I gave this one star because zero stars was not an option. I have to say I am sick of black conservatives, not republicans, but conservatives being called "uncle tom's" and "race traitors" And does anyone know what Cosby's political affiliations are, I don't. I wonder why those black librals who denounce Cosby because of his sexual harrasment situation came to the aid of Bill clinton. Seems there is a double standard. Dyson said on fox news that blacks need to be scared of condoleeza and clarence. this is a red flag right here people. so who should blacks look to as a guide, ludacris?, p diddy? I live in the south now, I used to live in Ca. Whenever I hear from back home I hear the same crap. Young girls keep having babies and not taking care of them. They ARE lazy. I know I used to be one of them. They dont want to go to school or work. Its funny how my husband, a black man, in two years became the first manager in his field is being groomed for another promotion. I wonder why he didnt end up in prison? Why didnt the white conspiracy to jail all black men get to him. Because he had a mother who raised him right. He went to school and worked. Its very simple. Black problems are not a product of the "system" not giving us enought handouts or white racism. They are of our own doing. I see it in the comunity to the day. We kill one another. Black fathers ditch their own children. so here is the message from black liberals. You are dumb. You cant read. You dont know how to fill out a ballot at election time. You dont know when election day is. There are no consequences to your problems. This is sad. And it is disgraceful that a black man like dyson who got a college education would spend his career keeping the rest of those down.
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