Quote:
Originally posted by RBL
I am puzzled that Mr. Cosby does not understand that if you are poor and have no hope you are vulnerable to hanging out and fitting in with language and actions just to know that you count.
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I guess this is a little off-topic, but I am wondering how it is that "poor" folks have no hope? I'm not being facetious here. I'm not a sociologist, a social worker, an educator or a researcher in this field, so I'm hoping that those who are can help me understand.
From my anecdotal knowledge of black folks here in America, the one thing we've always had, when we had nothing else, was hope. When we saw our family being sold, raped and killed, we had hope. We were spit on, attacked by dogs, strung up on trees yet we had hope. When we sat in the cattle cars of trains, drank at dirty water fountains and had to share one book in an entire k-6 classroom, still hope resounded. How is it now that we have no hope?
Do we not have hope because we don't have many adult role models in our family that hold us accountable as children to high standards? Is it because we cannot translate what we see on TV/film (interesting jobs, various locales, other options and places and things outside of our current environment) to be someone's and possibly our, reality? Is it because we have devalued education to such an extent that we no longer look at it as a tool to provide hope? Do we not aspire to be more than a young mother, a rapper/artist, an athlete, a member of the underground economy? Do we not have hope simply because we ran out of it?
Again, I'm not trying to make sweeping generalizations, although it may sound like it. I'm just trying to understand when and how the shift from "hope even in the face of hopeless situations to "hopeless in spite of hopeful opportunities" occurred. More importantly, what can we (and I do on a personal level) to help get it back?
A people without hope are doomed.