Cosby & Jesse
 

The cardboard sign said it all: “Bill Cosby, You Don’t Need to Apologize.”

It was a common sentiment as the entertainer appeared this morning at the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition’s national conference, held at the Sheraton Towers hotel downtown.

Cosby, who touched off a stir in May with comments at an NAACP conference about some African Americans needing to take more personal responsibility, didn’t apologize. But he did offer an explanation before he and the Rev. Jesse Jackson, his Omega Psi Phi fraternity brother, fielded questions.


Read the rest here

http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cosby01.html

Bill Cosby
 

Iconoclastic,


I don't know your ethnicity, but let me share with you that yes, had a white person made those remarks, it would have caused a nationwide uproar, for the fact that white people, or any other ethnicity lacks the ability be empathetic to what we as people of African descent experience in this country.

It's like your father telling you to get your act together as opposed to someone else's father, whom you have never met telling you to get your act together, meanwhile his past mistakes have caused your problem to begin with!

Does that help?:rolleyes:

I can't say I disagree with Iconoclastic on this one.

:D At the way you worded this.

I can say that I agree with the first part of his statement that a white person would have caused an uproar. I can also say that I agree with 20 Pearl's response. :D :D

Please forgive the long post.

I believe that Bill Cosby's barage of negativity does not help the people he berated. What is he doing in those communities to make a difference. YOu can not throw money at a problem and expect the problem to go away, you can not expect SOME people who are limited in their outlook on the world to change overnight.

Bill, when you see a problem with the children, teenagers, young adults do you just shake your head and walk away, then go before a national press and "air dirty laundry". Either step up or shut up. How is Bill helping teenage mothers so they could complete school and attend college, what about african american boys who are over represented in special education classes, and the children who are routinely medicated because they do not follow the "you sit and listen, I teach" method public schools still practice. In most public schools teachers frown upon group projects, collabrative learning, students teaching other students.

I am sick of people saying there is a problem in the African American community and can not provide a viable solution.

Striving,

You are contradicting yourself...on one hand you are saying he shouldn't throw money at folks and just walk away, and then on the other hand you ask what it is he is doing to help? What else can an individual do besides offer money to orgs who are set up to help the less fortunate? Certainly someone like Bill Cosby, or Joe Schmo for that matter would not make an impact by driving to the hood and "lecturing" folks about the mistakes they are making.

I also don't subscribe to this airing of the dirty laundry syndrome. Were you under the guise that the rest of the world is unaware that the African diaspora is in a state of constant crisis?

Yes, we were/are the victims of psychological genecide, but that aside, we at some point have to stop the apathy and stop making excuses for laziness.

I could go on for days with this....:mad:

You are barking up the wrong tree. Bill has given of his personal time and money unbeknownst to most folk. He gets his hands dirty in helping give Uplift. You are probably too young to remeber when Bill took many a young comedian and performer aside and told them that if they wanted a long career, that they would have to evolve beyond smut. Bill has worked on many a cause in inner city Philly and in Westchester county NY for the underserved. Bill has done more than you could ever dream of doing and he does so without fanfare.

What difference does that make. It has no place in this debate. What white folks say or think does not help us solve OUR problems How Jesse would have reacted if a white said it is a non-issue because it is hypothetical and argumentative, availing nothing.

You might want to quote Iconoclastic's post, buddy.

Separating the fact that Bill Cosby and Jesse are bruhz, I have no problem with when, where, are how Bill made his remarks. I do have a problem with Jesse and his photo-optness.

Bill Cosby has put his money and resources where his mouth is. Jesse has taken money and resources for his mouth.

And, I have been following Jesse ever since he used to come to SIUC in the 70s under the guise of motivating the young college students. Many of us peeped him then--enuf said on that.

Re: Jesse's a hypocrite!
 

I definitely agree w/Iconoclastic. If these remarks were made by Condoleeza Rice or Colin Powell our community would have been in an uproar. Both would've been labeled sell outs. I was at Constitution Hall in DC when he made the remarks and honestly a lot of us were stunned. I think it's very easy to make a speech criticizing poor Blacks to an audience of middle and upper class blacks. The problem that I have w/some of his comments is that they target poor blacks. The issues within our educational system that he referred to exists in our poor communities as well as our affluent communities. I live in DC and the schools in Prince Georges County (home to many wealthy blacks) are just as bad as those in DC. I wish he would have commented on that. The bottom line is in our communities, both poor and affluent, we are failing our kids. We need to stop pointing a finger and acting like wealthy black folks are doing such a great job at educating their kids and poor black folks are not. That's just not the case.

Re: Re: Jesse's a hypocrite!
 

I don't think Bill was criticizing poor black people for being poor, I think he was criticizing the way in which they are so apathetic in raising thier children and persuing the opportunities in this country. How many more foreigners have to come to this country and start from stratch and go on to become doctors, lawyers and engineers. It doesn't take money to better your situation it takes

DISCIPLINE!!!!!!! Something a whole lot us lack.:(

Re: Greater Hypocrisy!
 

I'll pass on the phone call it ain't that serious...:D
Are you Fred Hachett? If so, I heard you are a DENOUNCED Omega, if that is so, why do you say "YOUR PEOPLE":rolleyes:

Please re read my second post. And this has nothing to do with my famous or infamous sorors, please do not start that stuff up on this issue. All members of BGLO's are fallible and imperfect, so even you Minister Hachett, so chill!:mad:

Re: Greater Hypocrisy!
 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Iconoclastic
[B]"for the fact that white people, or any other ethnicity lacks the ability be empathetic to what we as people of African descent experience in this country." 20 PEARLS

It's so funny how you people want to shove this white man can't understand THEORY on everyone, and then when you all want something it's, "Mr Whitey(aka the Gov't), can we have this or that?" So what's the matter of my race? Let me tell you something about your people 20 PEARLS. The highest rate of NEW HIV infections is 50% overall and 68% among black women; 536,000 abortion per year; 70% out-of-wedlock births. Yet, you all make up so small a percentage of the population, but have the highest rates in almost every area in which your people can make MORAL CHOICES. These are not choices we make as a result of the white man's power. These are PERSONAL, MORAL choices. And look at what all of these statistics are centered around, SEX. You all are a race out of control morally, specifically sexually. Your men won't keep their pants up and your women won't stop dropping theirs. Now you chew on that for a while. I love you


people, but the problems are obvious. No self-proclaimed or accepted leader of the Black community has the courage to say what I just said on national TV, but I would do it in a heartbeat. I have done it publicly before. Call me, if you are willing.
919/278-8911- I deal with black hypocrisy all the time. And check out my website. One of your famous (infamous) sorors appears on there.
1 in every 160 black women are HIV+, while 1 in every 3200 white women are HIV+

Icon there you go again w/your pseudo stats, why don't tell the people how those abortion stats are really compiled.

Re: Good Material!!
 

Please find a mission in life besides annoying folks who are members of GLO's. I am sure there are people in need of your services. Why don't you go and minister to gang members and drug-addicts and stuff?:mad:

I never said Bill Cosby was wrong, the problem is endemic and cannot be solved with statements made in a vacuum is all.

I am not interested in calling you, or visiting your website.
I have seen your tirades on a host of messageboards and don't care to visit anymore of them. I don't find you intelligent or interesting enough to continue the discussion outside of Greekchat.:rolleyes:

Good Day!

Re: Re: Re: Jesse's a hypocrite!
 

Well, I'm flat out saying he was wrong. However, he did back off of the some of sweeping comments a few days later on Tavis Smiley so that shows that even he knows he went a little too far.
Here is a direct quote from the speech just to let everyone know what I had a problem with.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the lower economic and lower middle economic people are not holding up their end in this deal. In the neighborhood that most of us grew up in, parenting is not going on. (clapping) In the old days, you couldn’t hooky school because every drawn shade was an eye (laughing). And before your mother got off the bus and to the house, she knew exactly where you had gone, who had gone into the house, and where you got on whatever you had one and where you got it from. Parents don’t know that today.

I’m talking about these people who cry when their son is standing there in an orange suit. Where were you when he was two? (clapping) Where were you when he was twelve? (clapping) Where were you when he was eighteen, and how come you don’t know he had a pistol? (clapping) And where is his father, and why don’t you know where he is? And why doesn’t the father show up to talk to this boy?"

The middle and upper class are just as apathetic when raising their kids as the poor. These comments, rather his entire speech was directed to poor black folks. These parenting issues and education issues exists just as much in affluent households as they do in the poor. But yet he targeted poor folks. I was at Constitution Hall when he made the speech and he never once criticized the part that the middle and upper middle class play in this. Like I said in my earlier post it's really easy to make a speech condemning poor folks to an audience of middle and upper class blacks. If Colin Powell (a brother who I have personally worked with in the community a few times) had made the exact same comments Jesse, the NAACP, the Urban League, every black multi millionaire preacher along w/their 50,000 member congregations would have criticized him along w/myself because the comments were bottom line offensive. To imply that these social ills are only problems in our poor communities is ridiculous. This is an example of well off blacks being just as classist as the white republicans they regularly criticize.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Jesse's a hypocrite!
 

Ramrod,

I hear you but, the problem is the same. It doesn't take money to become involved in your children's education. It doesn't take money to kiss your child before he goes to school and to tell him that you love him...you would be surprised how much those simple acts would allieviate (sp?) some of the pain that disadvantaged children feel. I was very fortunate in that way. My mom though married, raised my sister and I alone, and she made sure we knew we were loved and she was very involved in the PTA at school. Alot of us need to turn off Maury and Jerry and visit a library or volunteer in the community. Become involved and stop spectating.:rolleyes:

Re: And!!!!!!!!
 

co-sign!

Re: And!!!!!!!!
 

I haven't seen the stats recently but let's just say for the sake of
argument that the stats are not evenly spread accross the board. Let's say that poor mothers are more likely than middle and upper class mothers to be unwed. That still doesn't change the fact that there is a problem in the middle and upper class households. It just may not be as severe. Also, even though Bill knew his comments would be made public I definitely think
the presence of more poor and working class people would have changed the tone of his speech. There is a difference between making a speech while getting booed and yelled at and making a speech while people applaud and yell, "You tell those lazy, poor unwed mothers."

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, nearly half the states in our union (24) have education finance suits pending because they claim they are not receiving enough money to educate low-income students, of whom the majority are probably black and Hispanic. Bill just forgot to mention this.

When people like Bill O'Riley and members of the Bush Administration (the same Bush Admin that most Blacks don't want to see in office again) are aligning themselves w/your comments you know there is a problem. The same conservatives that have applauded his unqualified censure of the black community are the same fellows that push for school vouchers and cuts in spending on education, after-school, job training, and other social welfare
programs. Sometime in the future, to justify their outrageous policies, these gentlemen and women will cite Mr. Cosby as an inside authority that black people are undeserving and simply need to work hard and sacrifice to improve their lot, not any governmental assistance. As a result, he should expect to hear more, “Why you ain’t…where you is,” from some black children
due to a lack of textbooks, crowded classrooms, and inadequate
facilities at their schools. He should expect continued Coca-Cola thefts due to the death of constructive activities for young people to participate in. He should expect more people to get shot in the back of the head over pieces of pound cake due to cutbacks.

On another note, it's people like the Jesse's and Shapton's who have exploited black people for years making them rich while they did nothing in return, except, "keep hate alive."


I agree with this also. I am a native NYorker and only folks in Brooklyn can actually tolerate Al Sharpton. I mean he wears a perm in the year 2004 for crying out loud.:D

Cos
 

Bill has the latitude to say what he wants on education because he and his wife Camille have donated over $30 Mil to HBCU's...

He's put his money and time where his mouth is unlike a whole heck of a lot of other Black and Non-Black leaders..

Re: And!!!!!!!!
 

I swear you and your twisted stats, if you really knew how this stats created you would know that when it comes to black people that the upper & middleclass are excluded. The stats you see come only from the bottem lowerclass to give off an illusion of the state of Black America do your homework b/f you continue to sprout off your twisted stats.