Redstate

that socio-economic status is the best correlation to explain infection rates among different racial groups.   The poorer you are the more likely you are to come into contact with high risk groups such as I.V. drug users.  You are also less likely to use proper precautions when engaging in promiscuous sexual activity.

Bill Cosby was an icon in the black community. You would figure that if anyone could speak honestly about the problems facing the black community, it would be Bill Cosby.

So what happens when Bill Cosby speaks honestly about the black community? The black community lashed out at him and tried to bring him down.

The 'black leaders' in this country will not accept holding the black community accountable for it's problems. I put black leaders, especially men like Jackson and Sharpton in the same category as Yasir Arafat; they are leading 'their' people down a path of destitution for their own economic and political gain.

In his speeches he constantly refers to the black community needing to pull itself up by its bootstraps and stop looking for others to help them.

Ok, up front, I'm not black, so maybe I don't have a right to an opinion on this, but here's my $.02

I'm not usually one to quote Jesse Jackson, but in my lifetime, I've found myself in agreement with him on two things.  The first was the idea of the Chocolate Rainbow.  The media loves to talk about the "black community" as if it where a monolithic block of people who all think and vote exactly alike.  These are the same people who think that all Christians are robotically linked to thier ministers, all businesspeople are fat, old, white men who belong to the same country club, and all other conservatives have implants controlled by Carl Rove.  

The reality is that there are black people in all walks of life, just like with any other racial group, and the differences in environment, lifestyle, occupation, incomce, and personalities far outweigh skin color.  Bring a middle-class black engineer into a room with an inner-city gang member and see how much they have in common in terms of attitude, outlook, hopes, and dreams.  Outside of voting against a white supremacist, there's not a whole lot these two will agree on, and assuming that they think alike simply because of skin color is one of the most blatant examples of racism I can think of (and the irony of this remains lost on most liberals).

I suspect that the "black community" reaction to Bill Cosby was largely fabricated by the media, which also did it's best to discredit him with a smear campaign.  He didn't say a thing that I haven't heard from most of the black professionals I've worked with, and I suspect that a lot of inner-city black people are secretly in agreement as well.  If there's any real resentment, it's not with what he said, it was that he aired dirty laundry in public.

Oh, by the way, the other time I agreed with Jackson?  That was the statement to an audience of black high school students that "having babies doesn't make you a man, RAISING your babies makes you a man".  Who could argue with that? Brilliant, absolutely true, and to the point.  Of course, I didn't know that at the time he made the statement, he was paying a woman to secretly raise his own illegitmate child, but the statement itself was STILL brilliant.

no matter how many brilliant statements he has made.

The reality is that there are black people in all walks of life, just like with any other racial group,

Yet they vote Democrat 85 to 90% of the time. Republicans aren't white supremacists. Robert Byrd is.

I suspect that the "black community" reaction to Bill Cosby was largely fabricated by the media

Didn't some woman level a charge of sexual assault against him right after he started speaking out?

If there's any real resentment, it's not with what he said, it was that he aired dirty laundry in public.

How do they ever expect to correct the problem if they won't even acknowledge the problem? That is a poor reason for resentment.

And here's why it is quite clear that this was something that was fabricated by the MSM. When Cosby talked about the need to clean up the Black community, the need to parent our own children, the need to stop blaming whites for our problems and search for solutions he was interupted several times-with standing ovations. Cosby's speeches were overwhelmingly well received by most Blacks and echoed sentiments that Blacks have been saying for years-the only way we will achieve progress is by taking control of our problems and coming up with our own solutions and not waiting for the government or anyone else to implement suggestions for what Blacks need to do to become successful. I would agree that there is no monolithic Black community and yes, there is the problem of the 88% Black vote. However, as the Civil Rights generation dies out, we will begin to see a different political pattern-young Blacks in my generation (college aged) call themselves conservative or Republican by a 1 in 3 margin and not to mention the fact that more Blacks in my generation are likely to consider themselves independent than Democratic. The problem is the old generation that grew up when there were Republicans that were racist (this is not to excuse the fact that there were racist Democrats as well) and that the Republican party was welcoming with open arms former segregationists. Though now we condemn the David Dukes that claim they are Republicans, it really was not until the election of Ken Melhman that the GOP has attempted to really address the race issue in the party. I've got to say, Melhman struck me immediately as someone serious about breaking the monolithic 88 percent and the way to do that is not to pander to Blacks with liberal like policies but to appeal to conservative Church going Blacks who fit the Republican mold and to appeal to Blacks who are dissatisfied with how far left the Democratic party is going. I think the GOP is doing a good job with Lynn Swann, Steele and Blackwell who are loudly beating the drum that the Democrats take the Black vote for granted. Blacks are slowly realizing the Democratic Party has left us in its attempt to appeal to radical pro abortionist feminazis and the PC movement that completely contrasts the values of Black Americans, who are by and large socially conservative.

... that lots of blacks responded positively to Cosby's comments. To the extent there was criticism, it tended to be over the issue of "airing our dirty laundry". I've heard some blacks say that by calling out fellow blacks in such a public way, Cosby gave fuel and comfort to the racists. But if I'm not mistaken, the speeches were to black audiences. So, frankly, I find that argument a tad thin.  

Bottom line: You can't have a decent public debate about anything without discussing it -- well -- publicly.

The problems are acknowledged, the solutions are addressed to the appropriate people...  See there isn't just one solution, there are many.  

Cosby told Black folks what they needed to do, and he has told white people what they needed to do.  The anger and resentment in this case stemmed from the fact that Cosby's statememts addressed to Black people were played up in the media and brought to the folks outside the Black community rather than the intended audience.  The problems of the Black community are complex, and the solutions have to come from inside and from the outside.  Most of us recognize that and tailor out messages to the audience hearing them.  The 'what you need to do' type stuff I direct at white people is obviously different from what I direct toward say, my younger brother.

Most Blacks weren't objecting to what he said, he wasn't saying anything different from what any of our parents, grandfathers, ministers, etc have said.  We were angry because it 'got out', and was being used by Whites, especially conservatives, to get a pass (so to speak), on the things that they are responsible for.

I think that's a valid criticism, whether it should have been directed at the media, whites, conservatives, or whatever, rather than at Cosby is a different question.

that is attractive, until a second later he starts taking hits of the same pipe as his senior senatorial cohorts.

while he's a smart guy, he won't come into his own for years.  He's being influenced by too many race baiting, rabid senior senators.  He'e letting them determine who he can be.  IMHO

We were angry because it 'got out'

It has been out there for everyone to see for a long time. Cosby didn't break any news.

being used by Whites, especially conservatives, to get a pass (so to speak), on the things that they are responsible for.

What are whites and conservatives responsible for?

Then why all the surprise?  Clearly what Cosby said was new for a great many people.  Why all the talk from certain conservatives quarters about black people finally waking up, or black people finally acknowledging their responsibility?  Are you really going to argue that Cosby's statements weren't new to many outside the Black community?  I heard tons of surprise, and glee, and delight, and smug satisfaction from a great many places that "Black's were finally acknowledging their problems instead of blaming whitey."

And you can't honestly be be asking me that second question...