Anyone watching Bill Cosby and Alvin Poussaint on MtP today?

[derby378]

Definitely worth a look, IMO. What is your take?

[MonkeyFunk]

1. Not on here yet

but I think I'll skip it.

Bill Cosby's hypocritical moralizing gets old fast.

[derby378]

3. I dunno...

Cosby's sexual dalliances aside, he's talking about what black kids often have to go through, being told that they're "acting white" if they try to study hard in school, being bombarded with gangsta rap that glorifies the degradation of women as "bitches," etc.

[MonkeyFunk]

6. He fathered a child with a woman other than his wife

then denied paternity for 22 years. He's got no business moralizing about problems in the African-American community.

[derby378]

9. Cosby's mistakes have nothing to do with...

...the "culture" where black kids are ridiculed by other black kids for trying to study and do well in school so that they might have a future worth speaking of. They're told that they "act white." And then these kids mess around with illegal drugs and get involved with guns as though they were just other pieces of bling, and they listen to all tis "gangsta" shit instead of Public Enemy, Gil Scott Heron, Miles Davis, or Queen Latifah. It floored me, however, to learn that white kids are buying more of the "gangsta" CDs than black kids are. I knew some did and started calling themselves "wiggers" afterwards, but this is just ridiculous.

[Bluerthanblue]

18. - he has as much right as anyone- and your

facts are not quite accurate-

He did not believe he was the girls father- and yet, even so, he supported Autumn and her mother financially- for years.

Autumn came forward 2wks after the murder of Cosby's son looking to make 'good'- She and a friend of hers were tried and convicted of extortion, and after her conviction Cosby agreed to a paternity test but she refused-
Why?

I don't condone his affair- but he still has a right to voice his perspective about the plight of young Black Americans today- And while I don't agree with some of what he says, I can't say that he's 'wrong' people view things in a different ways-

:shrug:

here is an article with some information-
http://www.cnn.com/US/9707/15/cosby.extortion/index.html

peace~

[MonkeyFunk]

19. I never once suggested

he doesn't have the right.

I merely exercised my right not to give a shit what he has to say.

[Bluerthanblue]

20. and you have every right to your opinion of

Mr Cosby-
but your statement:
"He's got no business moralizing about problems in the African-American community."

sounded to me like you felt he should not be speaking out with his opinion.
guess I take you to literally.
peace~

[Thothmes]

22. Moralizing

Any more than FDR, who was born rich, had no business moralizing about the plight of the poor in the United States.

[watercolors]

7. Sorry you feel that way

Cosby is speaking the truth and trying to wake up this country to its basic problems, whether it be black or white. I applaud and respect his views on racial issues, and this country needs to start paying attention! It is a moral issue, get?

[stellanoir]

2. Yes I am

I think they both are making some really important and insightful observations.

[malaise]

4. I'm watching but the Atlanta station interrupted to post a

missing child alert. The driver of the car is a 'black' man. :shrug:

[Retired AF Dem]

11. What is the problem with that?

[malaise]

13. Just the odds and the irony n/t

[Retired AF Dem]

16. I don't understand the irony

I get a kick out of newscasts that say "the suspect was a male in his twenty's" That is a worthless description for police to use while looking for somebody. I don't know if you have noticed or not but there are black males, white males, hispanic males, oriental males and so on.

[emilyg]

15. I think the baby is a 1mo. old black infant.

[PDittie]

5. CBS Sunday Morning for me.

Sanjay Gupta of CNN guest-hosted the Health edition. Levon Helm talked about his cancer, Dorothy Hamill talked about her depression.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

8. He's got a right to believe what he believes

As a black man who appears to be concerned about the status of his fellow African Americans.

What I am concerned about, however, is that there will inevitably be white conservatives who will attempt to parrot what Cosby is saying, not for the value of what it is worth, but rather as an excuse to get their repressed racist jollies off. Nothing like an opportunity to talk bad about black people and then hide behind a black man making legitimate statements of self-reflection.

It's what I call "racism laundering."

[derby378]

10. I think that's just dodging

When blacks make up 12% of the general population but a whopping 44% of the prison population, something is horribly wrong. Part of the problem, as Cosby and Poussaint have said earlier, is with disparities in sentencing for drug crimes - this powder cocaine vs. crack cocaine standard is fundamentally broken. And mandatory sentencing? Please, that should be one of the first things to go when the Democrats really take over. This cannot be dismissed by alluding to white racists seeking to hide behind an "Uncle Tom."

[Tommy_Carcetti]

14. I'm not calling Cosby or Poussaint an "Uncle Tom"

And I think their points are valid.

I'm just saying it is inevitable that some will try to co-opt Cosby's and Poussain'ts words for their own malevolent purposes.

That isn't to say Cosby or Poussaint shouldn't say what they've been saying. I'm just saying be careful as to who tries to use them to make their own point, especially those of white conservatives.

[ellacott]

23. I was thinking the same thing

I was just imagining him going on O'Reilly's show and how O'Reilly would be eating it up. It definately will be used by those who already racist and are looking for anything negative about blacks.

Cosby does make valid points.

When Cosby first made these comments he got a lot of criticism. All of the criticism was not because he said those things but that he offered no solutions or acknowledged those groups that are currently working to make things better.

He acknowledged this with an interview with Tavis Smiley and said that his future "call out sessions" would also be focused on solutions.

[ellacott]

24. Unfortunately the Democrats are complicit in this stat

The crime bill which included the mandatory 3 strikes penalty is part of Pres. Clinton's legacy.

[ChazII]

12. The interview was insightful and

both men made excellent points. Their views are valid no matter what skin color a person may have.

[fortyfeetunder]

17. Actions of a few defining a community????

but the questions I want to hear answered when I read this broadcat is -- is Cosby and Poussaint trying to present an archetype or a stereotype of the African American community? And do they make the distinction these are actions of a few but not definitive of the entire community?

What bothers me hearing more about the social ills in the African American community and paying little to no attention to the good works being done in the community. And the negative actions of a few "seem" to define the entire community.

I am not denying there are problems among individuals in the community. But when these negative characterists remain the predominant subject in the mainstream media, it reinforces and perpetuates stereotypes about the African American community.

[NOLALady]

21. ITA!