Finally read Cosbys whole speech. Why would a black person disagree?

[Elle Driver]

But here's what I think is getting lost in what Cosby said. Cosby acknowledged (at least tacitly) the systematic racism that is in effect in today's society. The fact that he was speaking at the 50th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education shows that he knows why we're in the current situation. Cosby's point (or at least what I took from it) was that, despite the undeniable presence and legacy of systematic racism, many in our community haven't been doing enough since the landmark decision to help ourselves. He was basically saying, "yes, we have a bad hand but we're still playing the game badly." When he was referring to the lack of proper English being spoken by our youth, he was calling out the parents of the youth who failed (for whatever reasons) to be active in making sure that the youth take advantage of the opportunities they have (even if they're not as great as those enjoyed by the youth in dominant society). Again, we know that, unfortunately, in African American history, there's a serious disadvantage experienced by black Americans in countless ways. What I took from Cosby was that, despite that sad, unfortunate reality, the black community needs to be more proactive in achieving to succeed and that it needs to be hyper-vigilant of its behavior and mentality individually and collectively. He was imploring us to shed ourselves of the victim mentality and to just bear our cross.

I'm not going to deny that his comments were crude. And I'm not going to deny that his delivery was harsh and even judgmental. But I swear most people are missing the forest for the trees and accusing him of being short-sighted because he's turning the flashlight back at us and calling on us to take the mantle and make milestones and landmark decisions (like Brown v. Board of Education) work for us despite society's injustice. Most black people in America understand how black America got to the condition that is in today. And most black people are aware that society is inherently racist and uneven in terms of opportunities and legacy for blacks. Cosby was trying to tell us that, at the end of the day, we're responsible (collectively and individually) for how we conduct ourselves in our community.

Systematic racism has always existed and will likely always exist. But our community doesn't have to continue accepting depreciated standards of behavior and achievement.

I agree wholeheartedly. But with these speeches, we should also be encouraging the obvious which is wealth, wealth, and wealth. Period.
Cosby might give to colleges and whatnot, but we need to build wealth. Money talks. It's ridiculous that we're still waiting for the white man to put us on the same level playing field instead of just creating our own platforms.

 

[Sleepy Walker]

It's kind of like if your wife calls you out on all of your flaws, of course it stings initially but either you can accept it and make strides to change or you can be pissed they did it to you. It seems the community didn't like what was said, I didn't either until I realized he was actually correct.

 

[Lil Big Daddy]

You can't just blame the black community for it's situation without explaining why it is that way it is.

But bruhette..

I'm tired of explainin. I'm tired of excuses. I'm tired of "bu bu but look at what happened to us "


How many fukking times do we have to pass around the fukking Willie Lynch letter and all agree "mm hmm that's what they're doing to us mm hmm", but then don't do shyt about combatting it


On a public forum (such as the way Cosby's speech got delivered) yeah I would want the history of how we got here explained FIRST before the criticisms flew...

But if we amongst ourselves?, man fukk all that bu bu but this what happened shyt.

By now 2014 we ALL KNOW it's not our fault that we're like this.

We know that there's been systematic fukking-over of us at play for the past hundreds of years. We don't need to keep harpin on dat shyt.

Now is the time to look WITHIN and start fixing shyt from the inside out. fukk all that 'bu bu but the white man did this' type shyt it's sink or swim time now mothafukkas. 2015. We either improve our position, or we get eaten up like shark food while complaining about being in said position.

 

[ThatTruth777]

The only thing wrong with bruh speech is that it wasn't kept "in-house".

This. I don't even like talking about black/ black American issues online because its not anyone's business but ours. One of the things I liked about the Black Muslims from reading Malcolm X's autobiography was that they had meetings which were closed off to the public as well as some open for anyone to hear but there was exclusion.

 

[Blackking]

A lot of people are butt-hurt that Cosby called out the black community for collectively dropping the ball, especially in the time periods since Brown v. board of Education and the Civil Rights Movement. Although systematic racism and discrimination plays a huge role in the black community's current state and dysfunction, Cosby was right for calling us all out and begging us to take personal responsibility for our decisions (by going to school, speaking properly, dressing accordingly, treating ourselves with respect, etc.) instead of begging white society to change or solely relying on God.

Needless to say, this message didn't go over so well with many members of the black community (nor did it go down well with the white liberal media). A major reason why the speech didn't go down so well is because white conservatives have utilized Cosby's speech to slam the condition of the black community. To many people, there was very little difference between Cosby's speech and Bill O'Reilly's rant against minorities.

However, despite the harsh delivery of Cosby's speech, one cannot validly argue that Cosby was lying or that he wanted to attack blacks. There was a great deal of unadulterated truth in his speech and the people who continue to hate on the substance of his speech obviously had their nerves struck (or are even guilty of what Cosby was speaking against).

At the very worst, Cosby's delivery was rude and judgmental. But the most objective person would find that the substance of his speech was nothing but the truth. Some don't like the truth, though.

You obviously didn't hear or read the speech.

Some parts were generalizations, some parts were ignorant of society and economic situations.. some parts were factually incorrect.

Educated people can see this unless they have an agenda. There is a reason why the most racist white conservatives in the nation are the biggest supporters of Cosbys speech.

 

[William F. Russell]

I agree wholeheartedly. But with these speeches, we should also be encouraging the obvious which is wealth, wealth, and wealth. Period.
Cosby might give to colleges and whatnot, but we need to build wealth. Money talks. It's ridiculous that we're still waiting for the white man to put us on the same level playing field instead of just creating our own platforms.

Ohhhh OK. I see where you're coming from. And I wholeheartedly agree. Hell, if you looked my post history, you'd see that I'm ALL IN for the attainment of black power, wealth, and influence to combat the white supremacist power structure and have been trying to enlighten other posters; some have even ridiculed me for it (but that's another matter, altogether).

My educated guess as to why Cosby maybe didn't outright harp on the attainment of wealth was because the audience understood this intuitively and acknowledged that the attainment of education is the doorway to wealth. My other guess is that if we solely preach the attainment of wealth (without preaching self-respect, knowledge of self, values and morals), the youth would feel as if they could blindly do whatever they want (legal or illegal) to get money.

Ultimately, our community needs to gain power, wealth, and influence within our own independent economy and use our resources to combat dominant society's racist structure. But it all starts with the individual and how we conduct ourselves, communicate, and hold ourselves out to others.

 

[Elle Driver]

Ohhhh OK. I see where you're coming from. And I wholeheartedly agree. Hell, if you looked my post history, you'd see that I'm ALL IN for the attainment of black power, wealth, and influence to combat the white supremacist power structure and have been trying to enlighten other posters; some have even ridiculed me for it (but that's another matter, altogether).

My educated guess as to why Cosby maybe didn't outright harp on the attainment of wealth was because the audience understood this intuitively and acknowledged that the attainment of education is the doorway to wealth. My other guess is that if we solely preach the attainment of wealth (without preaching self-respect, knowledge of self, values and morals), the youth would feel as if they could blindly do whatever they want (legal or illegal) to get money.

Ultimately, our community needs to gain power, wealth, and influence within our own independent economy and use our resources to combat dominant society's racist structure. But it all starts with the individual and how we conduct ourselves, communicate, and hold ourselves out to others.

I'm curious to know why you think education is the doorway to wealth?

 

[Blackking]

This. I don't even like talking about black/ black American issues online because its not anyone's business but ours. One of the things I liked about the Black Muslims from reading Malcolm X's autobiography was that they had meetings which were closed off to the public as well as some open for anyone to hear but there was exclusion.

Yeah,

I challenge one person to state how and why it was better for cosby to give his speech this way... in a way that more white people heard it than black.. and most of the blacks he was particularly vilifying and generalizing didn't even hear the shyt.

This isn't what I had an issue with though.... I actually had issues with the simplicity and ignorance of his speech.

 

[William F. Russell]

I'm curious to know why you think education is the doorway to wealth?

Well, let me first clarify that I believe that although is not the only doorway to wealth, it's the best. Certainly, one doesn't need formal education and degrees to become wealthy. But it's certainly easier for individuals with certs/credentials to gain wealth. Quite frankly, if one is erudite and has inherent dedication to intellectual pursuit, then one is in as great of a position as anybody else to acquire personal wealth.

With that said, formal education is the most straightforward manner to gain wealth (all other factors, notwithstanding). An individual who goes to school and attains a formal education avails him/herself of resources he or she may not otherwise have, the development of interpersonal skills and values in business settings, and a considerable breadth of career options (depending on what that person pursues to studies). Having certain certifications/degrees allows individuals to attain the same skills/knowledge/education available to members of dominant society while developing wealth within that structure. Moreover, formal education provides people with the blueprint of how members of dominant society interact with others on professional and social levels.

Of course, there'll come a point where we will have to break out of the system and set up our own shops. However, in order to jump-start our own businesses and create our own economy, we'll need to gain capital. Formal education is our best and most straightforward way of doing so.

My only qualms about seeking formal education is: 1. the prohibitive costs of higher education and graduate programs (we're basically forced to go broke for a shot at being rich/wealthy) and 2. many offered degrees/certifications are virtually worthless because the degrees and the skills obtained in earning degree are worthless in today's job market.

 

[DrX]

Cosby wasnt a c00n, he was just tired and fed up, but he came @ nikkas hard and nikkas dont like that

 

[Elle Driver]

Well, let me first clarify that I believe that although is not the only doorway to wealth, it's the best. Certainly, one doesn't need formal education and degrees to become wealthy. But it's certainly easier for individuals with certs/credentials to gain wealth. Quite frankly, if one is erudite and has inherent dedication to intellectual pursuit, then one is in as great of a position as anybody else to acquire personal wealth.

With that said, formal education is the most straightforward manner to gain wealth (all other factors, notwithstanding). An individual who goes to school and attains a formal education avails him/herself of resources he or she may not otherwise have, the development of interpersonal skills and values in business settings, and a considerable breadth of career options (depending on what that person pursues to studies). Having certain certifications/degrees allows individuals to attain the same skills/knowledge/education available to members of dominant society while developing wealth within that structure. Moreover, formal education provides people with the blueprint of how members of dominant society interact with others on professional and social levels.

Of course, there'll come a point where we will have to break out of the system and set up our own shops. However, in order to jump-start our own businesses and create our own economy, we'll need to gain capital. Formal education is our best and most straightforward way of doing so.

My only qualms about seeking formal education is: 1. the prohibitive costs of higher education and graduate programs (we're basically forced to go broke for a shot at being rich/wealthy) and 2. many offered degrees/certifications are virtually worthless because the degrees and the skills obtained in earning degree are worthless in today's job market.

You bring up great points.

I agree about higher education being a double edged sword.

 

[Born2BKing]

Didn't he give this speech in front of a majority cac audience? My father told me this years ago and hasn't liked him since. It wasn't about what he said, it was where he said it.

 

[William F. Russell]

Didn't he give this speech in front of a majority cac audience? My father told me this years ago and hasn't liked him since. It wasn't about what he said, it was where he said it.

I've heard recordings of the speech and the audience sounded like it was mostly black.

 

[Born2BKing]

I've heard recordings of the speech and the audience sounded like it was mostly black.

Is this said speech?

 

[THEREALBRAND]

Didn't he give this speech in front of a majority cac audience? My father told me this years ago and hasn't liked him since. It wasn't about what he said, it was where he said it.

It was at an NAACP event honoring the 50th Anniversary of Brown vs Board Of Education, so I doubt it was a majority white audience.