| Submit your comments on this article |
| -Short Attention Span Theater- |
| As Cos tells it, we ain’t learnt nothin’ yet |
| 2004-05-22 |
| "Why you ain’t. Where you is. ..." Ain’t these kids got no learin? |
| Posted by:Hank |
| #11 Deacon, I DID NOT go to a quality private education I went to a ROUGH public school. I DID NOT go to an Ivy League College I went to several small ones and cobbled together an education. I DID NOT know anyone in business or in civil service. But it DID NOT stop me from achieving what I like to think is a pretty comfortable life. People who are waiting for something to be handed to them will rarely see it. People who go out and make something of themselves can achieve anything. Nobody forces Black kids to drop out of school. Nobody forces Black children to use drugs or commit crimes. Nobody forces Black children to bear children out of wedlock and become dependent on the welfare system. These are all choices made by individuals. They are NOT unique to the black community. Cos (I like to call him Cos) is on the money when he said that the poor are not living up to their side of the bargain. You (Black, White, Yellow, etc.) have the OPPORTUNITY in this country to become or accomplish anything you want. Ok so you don’t go to Harvard or Yale, millions of people don’t and most of the millionaires in the U.S. didn’t go there either! |
| Posted by: Cyber Sarge 2004-05-22 9:58:52 PM |
| #10 Frank- I agree. The accountability is not there. The DC school system is an example of "Let's throw money at the problem. Maybe it will help". The opportunities are there but there is no will to take advantage of them. This was not the case not too long ago. |
| Posted by: Deacon Blues 2004-05-22 9:33:24 PM |
| #9 Deacon - where's the accountability? Teachers Unions have kept blacks under the thumb forever while crying needs for more dollars. Wash. DC schools are 3rd in per pupil spending yet consistently rank among the worst performing. It's not the education opportunity, it's the social atmosphere that resents anyone breaking the losing mold. Cosby is on the mark and can say things others believe but don't have the cred to say. My esteem for him went up a 100% - a brave man, who's going to be attacked now...can you say Uncle Tom? |
| Posted by: Frank G 2004-05-22 8:18:18 PM |
| #8 Just for this once.... The whole cycle needs disrupting Damn straight, and it needs to start with..... the desegregation of schools by economic status. Yes, we're talking bussing for Boston. |
| Posted by: HalfEmpty 2004-05-22 8:08:40 PM |
| #7 While I applaud Cosby's straight talk, it is still impossible to escape the feeling that such a successful black entertainer like him could have done more with his influence over television media than just spew out pap like "The Cosby Show." Much like Michael Jackson, who has devoted his millions to selling us overproduced Since I am not a big fan of anything beyond "I Spy" and his comedic albums, there may well be other efforts he has made that I am unaware of. It's just that none spring to mind very readily. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2004-05-22 4:40:40 PM |
#6 it reduces the urban black underclass to mere pawns in the political ambitions of those leadersPrecisely, rkb. Their political ambitions are far more important to them than the future of their fellow black people. Without an underclass (which they encourage), they'd be out of their demagogue jobs. |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2004-05-22 12:00:55 PM |
| #5 Cosby has touched a nerve ... and he has the credentials to speak on the topic, too. It's true that blacks, especially in the South, were denied quality education for a long time. But it's also true that there are now at least 3 generations of urban blacks who have very little education by choice / by example, which means they have very little job future. The whole cycle needs disrupting. Public image is only one part of it, but I think it's a part that could use some stressing by black leaders. To refuse to do so because that might let the rest of society off the hook for THEIR part is irresponsible at best. At worst, it reduces the urban black underclass to mere pawns in the political ambitions of those leaders. |
| Posted by: rkb 2004-05-22 11:38:30 AM |
| #4 Having been born and grown in Alabama I always thought the greatest injustice this country (and I mean the WHOLE country) did was deny black people an education. While Mr. Cosby's remarks do carry a lot of truth now, I think the way we got to this place was the denial of black children an education. This was not just a Southern failing, but a national one. Who remembers a few years ago when the teaching of Ebonics was touted as legitimate? Just another example of the politically correct crowd making excuses for the failure of education. |
| Posted by: Deacon Blues 2004-05-22 10:45:47 AM |
| #3 My wife once (early 90's) interviewed a distinguished "community activist" in Cincinnati for an article on the NAACP Image Awards. This gentleman said something that reinforces what Cosby said. He said that without fathers, black mothers were raising a "generation of cobras", young boys who, without the discipline and guidance provided by a father, had absolutely no chance of becoming men because they have no idea of what a man is and how he is supposed to act. He said the dissolution of the black family had robbed blacks of any hope of every achieving true equality. He said that he never truly appreciated what his father taught him until he had a son. Single moms can be everything except a father. It takes a man to show his son what's expected of a man. It's a national disgrace that so many men choose to be fathers only in the biological sense. |
| Posted by: RWV 2004-05-22 9:24:16 AM |
| #2 If a certain segment of society suffers from institutional prejugdice (sp) ala Jim Crow then you can expect a certain amount of ignorance on that part of society. But for a segment of society to willfully choose ignorance and then complain about lack of opprotunities (sp) is the hieght of arrogance |
| Posted by: cheaderhead 2004-05-22 6:20:29 AM |
| #1 I heard my first Cosby about 19...1965. I was an exceptional child, people would often remark, "hey thats a remarkably exceptional child." My mom would blush, she knew. But enough about me. Back to work. Bill, I always called him Bill, did a complete routine that was black and American. Way to go Bill. |
| Posted by: Lucky 2004-05-22 12:27:49 AM |