Doctor Cosby II
Don D
9,834 Posts
I just heard Bill Cosby on TV refer to 'Poverty Pimps', speaking of people like Jessie and Al who benefit and profit from the lifelong dependency of people who they want to see mired in the inability to take charge of themselves.
Of course it's a natural thing that a certain segment have 'gone after him' and are doing anything they can to 'chop his knees out from under him' and will stop at nothing to discredit the man. I agree with his comment about 'poverty pimps'.
Of course it's a natural thing that a certain segment have 'gone after him' and are doing anything they can to 'chop his knees out from under him' and will stop at nothing to discredit the man. I agree with his comment about 'poverty pimps'.
Comments
It wouldn't surprise me to hear that the claims against him are false. However, if they hold any truth, then he should take responsibility and face the concequences of his actions.
I'm sure he has upset a lot of people. But, even a liberal, sees the importance of being responsible for yourself and your choices and the resulting consequences.
He's also a great champion for those that work hard. I think I heard a news-story a few months ago about the kids he's paid for to go to college. He's not just telling people what to do, he's leading by example.
I admire that.
It would be alot easier to repair the really unfair treatment if there weren't so many out there claiming "Unfair! Unfair" falsely. We need to teach our children to take responsibility for their mistakes, and to speak up for others when they are treated unfairly.
I know, I know. I am a dreamer at heart, but...it could happen!
Did not hear Dr. Cosby's speech referred to here, but I have heard him many times, and would be really surprised if his take on "proverty pimps" would include the two people named in this thread. That would be opposite the things I know about him. There are threads of truth in the comments he makes lately about responsibility and the actions of our youth, etc. It is really not unlike what a lot of us say in our conversations with each other as we explore ways to be of assistance in our communities. However, it must be strongly stressed that solutions must include the truth about unfairness and hopelessness in our society as well. To make this about liberalism/conservatism and/or any other rigid point of view would be a disservice to Dr. Cosby's great work and position in our society.
And another thing --
One can be right (or wrong) about some things and have problems in other areas. It is about being human.
America needs to get over this "sex thing" just like we need to get over this "race thing".
But, this same genius went on to say that blacks like Cosby, Condy Rice, Colin Powell should not be trusted or followed as they are not in the ghetto, they have escaped and have become what he termed Afro-letists (long e). What I came away with is that he was saying nobody has a right to speak the way Cosby does; nobody should do that unless they are mired in it. What a foolish man.
x:-)
Michael Eric Dyson
Educator, writer
Hailed as one of a group of "new intellectuals," scholar Michael Eric Dyson is a longtime professor and lecturer, and an author who addresses issues of race and culture in such diverse publications as Christian Century and Rolling Stone. He has published seven books, including the well-received Making Malcolm: The Myth and Meaning of Malcolm X and I May Not Get There With You: The True Martin Luther King Jr. He has also appeared on popular talk shows, taught academic courses on gangsta rap and hip-hop music, and even testified before congressional subcommittees on various issues of concern to black Americans. Washington Post correspondent David Nicholson noted that Dyson "belongs to a group of young intellectuals who may yet define our view of black American culture as did their predecessors Ralph Ellison and Albert Murray."
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He was a professor at my alma mater, the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill in the early 90's. He had people knocking down the door trying to take his classes on gangsta rap and it's effect on black society.
This is not his first round at denouncing Sharpton or Jackson as he was doing this back during the Tawana Brawley (sp?) days. Back then I thought he was just trying to steal their thunder.
Gene
Well, it looks like he escaped the ghetto too. But I would not put him in the same class as Cos Rice and Powell. Thanks for the info.
My thoughts would be that Dr. Cosby is speaking systemically rather than specifically. Proverty Pimps would be those (any those) who take advantage of the poor for their own gain. You and I may certainly agree or disagree about a specific person (i.e., Rev. Jackson and Rev. Sharpton have their own value to me which you and others may not share). I would simply allow that one sees things through their own life filters.
Bill Cosby is an admirable person who deserves my respect and time to listen to his points of view. I would say the exact same thing about the other two gentlemen. Personally, I can/do have disagreements with specific opinions either of the three would espouse on various subjects. And the opposite is also true.
The time is long pass when one, or two, or three need be sanctioned as "Leaders" by virtue of ethnicity.
I have a note here to post that his name is Michael Eric Dyson (tho I see Gene did) since I just heard him on Shawn Hannidy's radio program. His current book is titled, "Is Bill Cosby Right or Has The Black Middle Class Lost It's Mind?" I won't bother to buy it. Notwithstanding the fact that he hoodwinked his way into that fine Chapel Hill instution, he is so arrogant and loud and will not shut up that I have no time for him.
And I am certainly unimpressed with the monicker "Rev.". Some people only need to be able to speak in shrill rhymes and show up for fried chicken in order to be called rev. And it does not hurt that Sharpton was an advance man for James Brown for eight years and his wife was one of the backup singers for Brown....that certainly adds to his credibility. I am amazed that people cannot recognize and reject the manipulative carnivores among them.