Posted on 05/19/2004 10:53:40 AM PDT by Pikamax
Cosby, Saying the Darndest Things
• Bill Cosby was anything but politically correct in his remarks Monday night at a Constitution Hall bash commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education decision. To astonishment, laughter and applause, Cosby mocked everything from urban fashion to black spending and speaking habits.
Bill Cosby, ready to let off steam. (Lawrence Jackson - AP)
"Ladies and gentlemen, the lower economic people are not holding up their end in this deal," he declared. "These people are not parenting. They are buying things for kids -- $500 sneakers for what? And won't spend $200 for 'Hooked on Phonics.' . . .
"They're standing on the corner and they can't speak English," he exclaimed. "I can't even talk the way these people talk: 'Why you ain't,' 'Where you is' . . . And I blamed the kid until I heard the mother talk. And then I heard the father talk. . . . Everybody knows it's important to speak English except these knuckleheads. . . . You can't be a doctor with that kind of crap coming out of your mouth!"
The Post's Hamil Harris reports that Cosby also turned his wrath to "the incarcerated," saying: "These are not political criminals. These are people going around stealing Coca-Cola. People getting shot in the back of the head over a piece of pound cake and then we run out and we are outraged, [saying] 'The cops shouldn't have shot him.' What the hell was he doing with the pound cake in his hand?"
When Cosby finally concluded, Howard University President H. Patrick Swygert, NAACP President Kweisi Mfume and NAACP legal defense fund head Theodore Shaw came to the podium looking stone-faced. Shaw told the crowd that most people on welfare are not African American, and many of the problems his organization has addressed in the black community were not self-inflicted.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
If you can cut a little slack for Michael Berg, can't you do the same for Bill Cosby? Certainly over the course of his career he has acted with dignity and sensitivity, and in his TV show he provided a very positive role-model for everyone, regardless of ethnic background.
And I have heard many of his statements. I considered him to be pro black. He hires black people almost exclusively, just like many other groups favor their own. But I always thought that his attitude that people need to pull themselves up and quit making excuses was refreshing.
The other side of the coin is that I see lots and lots of white people doing the same things all the time. People are often racist, Black, white, hispanic and the king of all racists, Japanese.
And then there was the guy who did his Doctoral dissertation in Physics on frisbee flight.
And landed an executive position at Wham-O.
Sort of balances things out.
I can see it now, he's an "Uncle Tom," right? just like any African-American who speaks out against any other African-American who isn't conservative. I'm not sure I mind much that he is a leftist as much as he shows common sense. That's what really matters.
Cosby is talented and had a good TV show-he is also anti-white. He jumped on the Tawanna Brawley bandwagon in New York City before he knew all the facts. She was a liar and so was AL Sharpton. Cosby even gave her money.
He grew up around Philadelphia and I think was an undergraduate at Temple but he got his doctorate in education at Umass Amherst. His wife got a degree there too.
But he is a different kind of liberal. His show was wholesome and entertaining --- unlike typical liberal shows. No one was sleeping around, no one was homosexual, the parents were monogamous.
This sounds like a much tamer version of Chris Rock's standup routine, "Black people versus N------".
He gets a few boos during that one, too.
I would say that many of them don't rise to the level of an MA or MS (or sometimes a BA or BS.)
You weren't either, that was his wife Camille.
Dr Cosby is his own man. He was born and raised in the poorer section of Philadelphia, PA. Served in the Navy and then attended Temple University were he played Football and ran track. He tells of living in a neighborhood where people would watch out for the children and your parents always knew what you had been up to. The parents knew that children needed correction from time to time and teachers deserved and received respect from all in the community. He is not blind to racial issues but has never accepted the excuses generally offered by black apologists.
I like Cosby's remarked but degrees in "Education" (the most dumbed down of all "academic" disciplines) are rarely earned. If his work merited a doctorate, the fact that it was granted by a College of Education made it purely coincidental.
There are some blacks --- like Cosby who really should be Conservatives --- they don't fit with the Jesse Jacksons, the Bill Clintons, the Ted Kennedys, the Al Sharptons. The Republican party hasn't reached them --- but deep down these people believe in hard work, studying --- they don't promote the welfare mentality, victimization. They're liberals but don't belong there.
Information is: "Tonto no go to town!"
What do you mean "WE" --- white man?
I started out - as a child.
Lemme see... I used to know what a 'cubit' was...
I don't know what Bill Cosby's politics are, but it seems that he has always made an effort to not assault us with more garbage TV shows.
My father owned several of his albums, I would lip sync to them. I had them down cold.
It should be noted that Louis Farrakhan and (in a rare moment of lucidity) Spike Lee have been critical of black culture and their tolerance for bad grammar, bad behavior and bad decisions.
The real problem, as I see it, is that successful blacks from either the left or the right, are shunned by a large part of black culture. They would rather be Allen Iverson than Clarence Thomas. They would rather be Jay Z than Robert Johnson. Too many would rather be cool than be smart.
Some, clearly, have seen the light and they should be applauded whether they are liberal or conservative. But far too many project an image that makes them virtually unemployable, much less someone who would be hired in a merit-based job market.
That sounds like the sermon Bill was trying to preach and I agree with that even if I don't always agree with his politics.
Bingo. I saw one of those "behind the scenes" type shows about The Cosby Show. Sounded like he set high expectations of the child actors on it, and all of them still called him "Mr. Cosby" during their interviews. Given his life and example I'd say he definitely espouses some conservative values.
I saw him years and years ago. He was the opening act for a Kingston Trio show in San Jose, CA. I'd never heard of him before, and I doubt many other people in the audience had either.
He stole the show. It was amazing. The KT even complained that their attempts at comedy weren't working after his performance. "These are the jokes people."
That is literally what one of them said. After Cosby, you can't do comedy. Better to just sing and shut up otherwise.
I saw him again many years later when he was head-lining at some casino in Reno. I bribed the concierge to get us up close to the stage. We got right in the front row.
He was even funnier then. He picked out my aging mother-in-law to mess around with. I do not doubt that she had peed her panties by the time he was done with her. We all just about had to be carried out of there.
Regardless of his underlying politics, the man is very smart and very talented.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.