Come on People, No, Come on Cosby

Comedian Bill Cosby is the walking and now writing proof of the ancient adage that good intentions can go terribly awry. That's never been more painfully true than in Cosby's latest tome, Come On People. Cosby and his publisher boast that the book is a big, brash, and provocative challenge to black folk to get their act together. That's got him ga ga raves, and an unprecedented one hour spin job on Meet the Press. In the book, Cosby harangues and lectures, cobbles together a mesh of his trademark anecdotes, homilies, and personal tales of woe and success, juggles and massages facts to bolster his self-designated black morals crusade. Stripped away it's the same stock claim that blacks can't read, write or speak coherent English, and are social and educational cripples and failures.

Since Cosby's much touted tirade at the NAACP confab a few years back, and on countless talk shows, and at community gatherings, he has succeeded marvelously in getting the tongues of blacks wagging furiously and their fingers jabbing relentlessly at each other's alleged mountainous defects. They stumble over themselves to hail Cosby as the ultimate truth-giver.

He isn't. While Cosby is entitled to publicly air black America's alleged dirty laundry, there's more myth than dirt in that laundry. Some knuckleheads in black neighborhoods do kill, mug, peddle dope, are jobless untouchables, and educational wastrels. They, and only they, should be the target of wrath. But Cosby makes a Grand Canyon size leap from them to paint a half-truth, skewed, picture of the plight of poor blacks and the reasons and prescriptions for their plight. The cornerstone of Cosby myth-making is that they are crime prone, educational losers, and teen baby making machines.

Here are two choice Cosby whoppers from the opening pages of the book:

"There are whole blocks with scarcely a married couple, whole blocks without responsible black males"

This is a big, sweeping unsupported by any survey, stats, or factual data to back it up. And:

"The problems start early for black boys, and we can all see it. Call it ADHD or learning differences. Young black males can act up a Level 5 storm in class."

Here's another big unsubstantiated statement and there's those broad brush indicting words "all" see it" (who is all?); "young black males" (all young black males?); and they act up a level 5 storm (all black males are disruptive in class?)

The heart wrenching and much played up news shots and specials of black-on-black blood-letting in Philadelphia, New Orleans, and a handful of other big cities and the admission that blacks do have a much higher kill rate than young whites tell a tale of out-of-control, lawless blacks. The truth: homicides and physical assaults have plunged among black teens to the lowest levels in the past two decades. The rate of drug use among young blacks is no higher than among young whites. Blacks are more likely to be arrested, convicted and imprisoned than young whites who if arrested at all are more likely to get drug rehab, counseling, and treatment referrals, probation or community service. This horribly distorts the racial crime picture.

Then there is the black teen girls as baby making machine myth. The truth: the teen pregnancy rate among black girls has sharply dropped during the past decade. And they continue to fall.

The biggest myth that young blacks empty out the public schools, fill up the jails and cemeteries, and ridicule learning as acting white has risen to urban legend rank. The truth: the U.S. Dept. of Education found that in the decades since 1975, more blacks had enrolled in school, had improved their SAT scores by nearly 200 points and had lowered their dropout rate significantly. It also found that one in three blacks attended college, and that the number of blacks receiving bachelors and masters degrees had nearly doubled. A survey of student attitudes by the Minority Student Achievement Network, an Illinois-based educational advocacy group in 2002 and confirmed in other surveys, found that black students were as motivated, studied as hard, and were as serious about graduating as whites.

Cosby publicly bristles at criticism that he takes the worst of the worst behavior of some blacks and publicly hurls that out as the warped standard of black America. Cosby says that he does not mean to slander all, or even most blacks, as derelict, laggards and slackers. Yet that's precisely the impression he gives and the criticism of him for it is more than justified. Even the book title, Come on People: On the Path from Victims to Victors (a hint they're all losers) conveys that smear.

He did not qualify or provide a complete factual context for his blanket indictment of poor blacks. He made the negative behavior of some blacks a racial rather than an endemic social problem. In doing so, he did more than break the alleged taboo against publicly airing racial dirty laundry; he fanned dangerous and destructive stereotypes.

This is hardly the call to action that can inspire and motivate underachieving blacks to improve their lives. Instead, it further demoralizes those poor blacks who are doing the best to keep their children and themselves out of harm's way, often against towering odds, while still being hammered for their alleged failures by the Cosby's within and without their communities. Worse, Cosby's blame-the-victim slam does nothing to encourage government officials and business leaders to provide greater resources and opportunities to aid those blacks that need help.

Come on People, intended or not, continues to tar the black communities and the black poor as dysfunctional, chronic whiners, and eternally searching for a government hand-out. Come on, Cosby.

Earl Ofari Hutchinson is an author and political analyst. His new book is The Latino Challenge to Black America: Towards a Conversation between African-Americans and Hispanics (Middle Passage Press).

Comments

[1will]

The author made claims of murder rates dropping among blacks and also claims of illigitimate birth rates falling. No statistics were given. No links to statistics were given. When the author appeared on O'Reilly the same claims were made with no numbers to back up the statements.
Are these numbers real or just some statistical blip that the author is too embarrassed to even cite?

[acanthus]

1will, something tells me you have your fingers crossed in hope that those stats are not true. Go back to Stormfront.

[1will]

I actually hope the author's statistics are true. I've just read enough columns on the Huffpost to suspect liberals that don't provide statistics and links. If I was proud of improving numbers I would actually give you those numbers instead of some vague talk of improvements.

[lizawell]

I watch Meet the Press from time to time, but am I right in assuming that the show's audience is predominantly white? If Cosby's tirade--I mean--crusade is about reaching errant black people, what the hell was he hoping to accomplish by an hour-long whine fest in front of the Meet the Press audience? I couldn't care less about the whole airing of dirty laundry complaint, because I'm not biting my fingernails, worrying about what white people think about black people, and I don't know many black folk who are. What annoys me is that the man is obviously over his head when discussing these issues. As Mr. Hutchinson points out, he cares nothing about facts and he doesn't understand the simplest fact of all--all human lives are shaped by both choice and circumstance. He rages against and then makes generalisations about choices made by some black people without any regard for circumstances--historical or otherwise--which determine the range and quality of choices available.

[TS]

In my experience, it seems like what Cosby is ascribing to race is actually an economic/class issue. Put in the same situation, we see similar rates of crime, drug use, etc. among most groups of people.

More interesting to me are statistics showing the relationship of race to incarceration. From what has come out of recent studies, we see lower per capita drug use by blacks and hispanics, yet much higher rates of incarceration among those populations. Poverty and hopelessness is the crux of the issue, not skin color.

Hey, that's just my opinion.

[nihilon x]

I have constantly pointed out that these issues are more about class than race.

A poor, inner-city black kid is much more likely to drop out of school and/or become a drug dealer than a relatively wealthy, suburban black kid -- the racial issue only enhances the problem; it does not create it.

Ironically enough, Cosby is now of a different class (and has been for quite some time) than those he criticizes, so that may have a lot to do with his (somewhat elitist) perspective.

I don't dislike Cosby, nor do I think the kids who live in the inner-city deserve a free pass for criminal or anti-scholastic behavior.

Still, this issue is far more complex than Cosby seems to be articulating in his comments and while I don't blame him for being angry, I'm not certain that his anger will do much more than make those whom he is criticizing equally angry with him.

If his goal is to change things, there are better ways to go about doing so -- such as addressing it as a class issue, as you have pointed out.

[suki21693]

"A poor, inner-city black kid is much more likely to drop out of school and/or become a drug dealer than a relatively wealthy, suburban black kid -- the racial issue only enhances the problem; it does not create it."

By the same token, a middle class white kid can play at being "gansta" during his teenage years without the same lasting effect.

[Overd0g]

Sorry. Poor whites aren't nearly as violent. It's a cultural thing, not a "class" thing. Clearly poor blacks have it tougher than poor whites. The young poor black male is far, far more prone to violent crime than his poor white young male counterpart. Try again, Karl.

[deleweye]

Crowding - such as in urban slums - has been shown to increase violent behavior, as well as making it more noticable.

Country boys going out in the woods blowing away anything that moves tend to be seen only by the other squirrels.

[tbone99]

OH thats BS - lets see who most of the serial killers are.

[cachukis]

I am a reading teacher.
I went to an NCAAP event, sponsored by its education committee, last Saturday. It was advertised in the local African American Newspaper and a flier sent out to two local high school parents. Attendance was dismal.
My high school rated D? I questioned the lack of urgency in education among the community.
Many of our students cannot read. I mean across the entire spectrum. They can read words, but not the meaning. They copy others' work and slide through the system.
Try to understand Stanley Baldwin's comment, "The attainment of an ideal is often the beginning of disillusion."
If you do then you'll appreciate my level 2 student who understood Pip in Great Expectations.
Most young black males (70-80%) want young adult Bluford Series stories or books about killing, murder and the hood; the stuff they listen to in their music. 6th grade stuff. I teach sophomores to comprehend FCAT challenges.
Our problem is endemic. We compete with entertainment; an exasperation in communities with few opportunities outside that lure.
Many of my kids have no example of real life escape from the quagmire besotted by the stoop. They know of the stoop. Yet lifelines are few; deleterious.
"Lost Patrol" Flynn, knew his game and proceeded. His altruism afait accompli.
Cosby can not go unresponded.
He addresses the black community; the problem pervades America. As go Blacks so goes America.
In discussion with one of my black colleagues I suggested the greatest untapped resource in the world was young black American males. He challenged. He saw the successes of his fellows. I responded that his forbears, under the most intolerable conditions, built the western hemisphere, perhaps the world. He realized the genetic disposition, unguided, festering, has yet to claim its prominence as the progenitors of humanity.
Where is the leadership in the Black community that understands this. The world needs a real counterbalance to the WASP.
You guys started it. The challenge to number one unseated you. Time to get it back.
Your lessons learned might save the planet.

Cachukis

[nihilon x]

"He addresses the black community; the problem pervades America."

Which is exactly why this shouldn't just be seen as a "black" problem.

You talk about leadership in the "black" community -- where is the leadership PERIOD.

I swear, everytime I think we've moved a step forward, boards like this remind me that we've taken two backwards instead.

[nihilon x]

"We compete with entertainment; an exasperation in communities with few opportunities outside that lure."

And here we come to another issue...

Who runs these companies which constantly promote these "gangsta" attitudes? Who makes all the money off of the 50 Cent's, the T.I.'s, the Snoop Dogg's of the world? Who finances and profits most from the endless parade of "n*ggaz and b*tchez" across our video screens and on our airwaves?

Moreover, who purchases the vast majority of this music, keeping the vicious cycle alive indefinitely?

Hint -- its not black people.

If we're going to criticize, let's criticize EVERYONE who is responsible for making such behavior "mainstream" -- not just the black kids who look on the screen and get sucked into the self-same lie that whites, asians, latinos, and nearly every other culture supports with their dollars.

[lizawell]

"If we're going to criticize, let's criticize EVERYONE who is responsible for making such behavior "mainstream" "
That will never happen. People who go on and on abt the problems with rap will never ever acknowledge the role that white people play in making it a phenomenon. They will never face the fact that a largely white audience continues to create the demand or that white radio and record execs control which rappers get record deals and which do not. They don't know and don't care that forces within the black community have criticised this stuff for years before Cosby got a clue. Hell, in 1994, black women brought their complaints abt so-called gangsta rap before the US Congress. To these people, Sharpton and Jackson comprise all of black America, so, it's no surprise that they don't know that black churches, organizations, radio djs (Michael baisden, Steve Harvey, Tom Joyner, etc), colleges, "old school" and "underground" rappers (who are underground precisely because they don't conform to the industry formula) have all protested images in the music. We can argue that more should be done, but as you point out, it is not the responsibility of black people alone, especially when black people don't have the buying or decision making power in rap. But pretending that this is merely a "black" issue strokes the ego of certain types of people, and allows them to continue to live in their racial bubbles. It's truly pathetic.

[suki21693]

The 50 Cent's, the T.I.'s, the Snoop Dogg's of the world who are allowing themselves to be used in portraying this sort of anti-social behavior have to take a portion of the blame on themselves. Even if the whole rap culture is driven primarily by the white middle class, black people who cash in on the stereotype shouldn't get a free pass for selling their souls.

[NAU2010]

Thats funny. Most of the rap I hear is coming from a piece of shit car that has better wheels than the car is worth. And the drivers are not white. Maybe they are ripping off the music they listen to and there is no sales record.

Please provide facts instead of assumptions.

As far as who is providing the money to the rappers. If they didnt they would be guilty of not giving blacks a break. Like all problems blacks have, it's always whitys fault.

[JimR]

Wow, so Dr. Dre and Suge Knight (founders of the now-defunct, but once extremely popular gangsta rap label Death Row Records) are white? Well, waddya know.

[moderationsmuse]

If there is no merit in his comments, then what's the fuss? If people see a mirror to life in his book, I think the real question is "What is to be done?"

Time to look to the future, to making life better for future generations.

Time for less arguing over who struck John.

It's the future and the belief that things can be better for another generation. That, I think, is where wisdom is to be found.

[acanthus]

If there's a mirror to life in his "message", it's a warped funhouse mirror.

[tbone99]

The problem is most of that people looking in that mirror are white people who made up their minds along time ago without even getting off their couch or putting their newspaper down.They're nodding their heads and saying "i think I'll get Dr Poussaint" to speak at my next Rotary Club get together"

[bronceye]

I remember when cosby was funny(ha-ha), now he seems funny (strange).

[pfc1369]

The ancient adage " that good intentions can go terribly awry."
Don't know that one; do know the one where hell is paved with good intentions.
Maybe Cosby has a point, after all.

[Bobzmcishl]

Cosby may not be 100% correct, but enough of what he says is close enough to the mark to be correct, which is why conservatives like Bill O'Reilly get away with saying how surprised he was that blacks can act normal in a soul food restaurant in Harlem. Perception is reality in America, based on the overwelming evidence we see every day in our newspapers, on television, in the movies, and in real life situations. If enough blacks are acting in ways that Cosby describes then he is right in speaking out. Most of us know, that many blacks are responsible citizens, but we don't get the true picture that might counteract the negative images we see everyday. Profanity in music is not a good thing, nor is glorification of pimps, and drug dealing. We also see the images of Michael Vick supporting dog fighting, and other high profile black athletes still hanging out with their thug friends from high school. Bill Cosby is very courageous in speaking out on a subject that only a black person would be able to comment on. He has left Al Sharpton and Jessie Jackson speechless and that is no easy feat.

[nihilon x]

Cosby and Jackson -- and Farrakhan as well -- have said the same thing COUNTLESS times.

Sharpton actually organized a boycott of vulgar rap music long before the Imus issue came up and Jackson invited Cosby along to speak on this topic many times before.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/07/02/national/main627156.shtml

Its pathetic that so many people seem to try to act as if Cosby is some good guy while Jackson and Sharpton do nothing to address these issues.

If you are truly "ignorant" about how many black people out there are doing postive things for the community, blame the MEDIA, not Jackson, Sharpton, or the black community as a whole.

[acanthus]

Good point. To all the Cosby supporters- if you are going to support Cosby, support Farrakhan, as well. He's been saying the same thing for a much longer time, and has been quite a bit more effective, not to mention well-received.

[lizawell]

"Perception is reality in America..."
No perception is not reality, especially when that perception is as distorted as yours. You see Michael supporting dog fighting, I see Dick shooting ducks, and other white men shooting deer and chopping off their heads for fun. You see black men saying bad words in music, I assume you've never seen white men degrading women in the multi-billion dollar porn industry they control. And if you think glorification of pimps and drug dealing in music is a bad thing, maybe you should tell white people to stop buying it, distributing it, and disseminating it on the radio (70-80% of rap consumers are white, and the overwhelming majority of record company and radio executives are white. Believe it or not, some of the harshest criticism of rap has come from within the black community and even within hip-hop itself. The problems in rap are not reflective of problems with "black" culture, they are problems reflective of American culture and corporate greed). If I thought the way you did, based on what I learned in school and popular fiction, I'd think Native Americans were savages, and all eskimoms were whale-fat chewing round-faced midgets. But because I have a brain and a heart, I assume that all human beings are as complex as I am. People use stereotypes to process the world to make up for a lack of brain power.

[mrcontinental]

And what do you suggest Earl? From where I'm sitting we have more than enough critics which seems to be your specialty.

You have a forum and do nothing but criticize and offer no solutions so as far as I'm concerned you are no better than Cosby.

Get back to us when you are looking to make a difference instead of being a professional critic.

[dictatortot]

Cosby rules. He has guts and brains. He also earned a PhD (not an honorary one) in education when he was already a very rich man. Now he's taking all kinds of heat in a courageous attempt to force us to confront pathologies that plague the black community. He knows what he's talking about.

Damn him!

http://www.newsprism.com

[VideoHammer]

Mr. Hutchinson, thank you for shining a light on Cosby's continued Jihad against members of our culture that are least likely to be able to respond to his attacks.

Whatever his motivations, books sales certainly amongst them, the use of broad stereotypes to push his message is disgusting. Our society is full of specific instances of fault, that do not validate our assumptions, i.e., all white students do not take guns to school for mass killings.

Cosby's blanket assertions seem more a confirmation of the differences between the haves and have not's, than an attempt to address America's ills.

[der Alte]

mainly we see here, not a rebuttal to Cosby's claims but a critique of them. So if the raw material is just waiting to be molded, how come Opah decided to build a school in Africa?

or maybe we should compare Cosby's book with Clarence Thomas's. moaning about how he was discriminated against while tallying up his gains. he evidently offers nothing to help black people follow his example.

in other words, black people could use more spurring on & less example from those who made it by cutting corners.

[Balzac]

Bill Cosby is another out-of-touch rich person.

[NAU2010]

Really? What about poor people that feel the same way Mr Cosby does. I'll bet you live in a nice part of town, have health insurance, and eat well.

Try using more than nine words to state your feelings.

[LittleBrother]

I have no way to ascertain the level of respect and affection Bill Cosby has in African-American communities; his career climaxed with "The Cosby Show". But IMO he's hardly a charismatic cultural icon in his role as self-appointed social critic.

Social Critic Bill's authority and message are in the tradition of Booker T. Washington: a self-made man who became a phenomenal success by dint of hard work and ambition, and who champions conservative values centered on self-reliance and ceaseless self-improvement.

All of this is problematic, but taken at face value, it's a conventional orthodox formula for success. However, it's a sermon beloved mostly by the choir. It's square in the Reader's Digest Zone of practical common-sense dogma.

But in the persona of the Angry Elder flinging hortatory jeremiads at the recreant, Cosby abandons the gifts that made him such a well-known public figure: humor and charm!

In his capacity of social critic, the Muse of humor abruptly deserts Cosby; he seems only able to work as Mr. Hyde-- the stereotypically Cranky Old Man who gruffs, grumbles and self-righteously finger-wags at Wayward Youth to pull the pants up over its collective ass, conk down those cornrows, lose the piercings and tattoos, and get a polished shoe into the boardroom door! The nuance, keen observation, affection, gentleness, whimsy and wit displayed in his comic genius is shut off like the light when the refrigerator door closes.

Sure, he wows the like-minded. But I'm reminded of General Patton slapping the soldier suffering from "battle fatigue"; like Patton, Cosby sincerely feels that his tough-love approach is a tonic to bring around the dysfunctional. The use of shame or humiliation as a disciplinary tool was once commonplace, and persists among the less thoughtful; it may seem as reasonable as giving an ass-whuppin' to a contrary kid still seems to some parents, but it's an approach whose time has passed.

Whether spontaneous or contrived, Cosby's judgemental, bullying, and belittling style ultimately trivializes his message and is self-defeating.

[nihilon x]

Cosby gets no respect amongst the younger crowd because he seems to give no respect.

It can be argued that the youth should respect him just because he's an "elder" but what has Cosby done for these kids to make them respect him?

Is he out there in the inner-city speaking directly to them? No -- he's out there preaching to the choir instead.

If he wants to address these people directly then he needs to SPEAK to them directly.

Right now, its like he's trying to spank a bunch of children that aren't his -- just because both he and the people he is criticizing are "black" doesn't mean that understands their situation; he comes from an entirely different generation when things were a lot more "black and white".

Unless he plans to take off his belt and start using it on every black child in America, he needs to reconsider his approach and stop alienating the same people whom he is trying to reach and change.

[JudyGee]

That you think Cosby's message is trivial, is what's self-defeating.

[acanthus]

Judy, the point is that what Cosby's message, in a very basic way, is not his message. He didn't originate it, he didn't sustain it, he doesn't own it. For instance, the SCLC mounted a campaign to get black Americans to save and be frugal back in the early 90's. It got no attention. Many, many black activists have said what Cosby is saying. They just didn't seek to humiliate people while they did it. As a result, there was nothing in it for white conservatives, so the media didn't highlight it.

[metamorphosis]

Actually, what he said was that Cosby's DELIVERY of said message trivializes it. Not that his message is trivial.

[metamorphosis]

This is actually the most erudite and common sense comment I have seen so far. I really didn't look at it this way - that Cosby deserted is true self in an effort to pick up his cause. Perhaps his message would have been better received had he remembered to use wit and humor in an effort to influence. Great thoughts.

[acanthus]

How can he be witty and humorous when what he's really doing is expressing his anger about how he is being made to "look" in front to white America? Any time anyone uses the phrase "airing dirty laundry" in a positive way, I immediately stop listening. What does that term really mean? Just who is this dirty laundry being aired to? Other black people? I think not. Anyone who sets out to "air dirty laundry" wants to "expose" the failings of and "shame" black people (and than includes almost all black people, because one characteristic of the Cosby-type person is that they hunger to be seen as one of the few good ones)to the group of people they see as the ultimate authority in the world- whites. There is nothing more pathetic than that.

[bertisbert]

Earl:
I watched Cosby on MTP last week. I was very impressed by his message and agreed with most of what was *meant* by him. Some of it may not be 100% backed by evidence or studies, but you don't need a study to convince me that a two parent household is better than a one parent household. I'm no conservative, but I strongly believe in that. One thing that is very hard to swallow when reading your piece is that you accuse the Cos of doing:
"nothing to encourage government officials and business leaders to provide greater resources and opportunities to aid those blacks that need help".
But if there is more positive than negative in his mission, then what exactly are YOU doing to make strides toward what I think you would agree is a problem worth addressing?
And, damnit, I think it's time we all take as much personal responsibility as possible in order to improve our lots as Americans, regardless of our race, religion, or political affiliation. His point about voting was probably the most important. To vote your best interest is the first step toward taking more personal responsibility!!! YAY!

[BamaRainbow]

But is a "two-parent household" where both parents have to work long hours, leaving the child(ren) unsupervised, any better than a "one-parent household"?
How about the fact that when a same-sex couple is brought up, THEN, to "conservatives", the "every child needs two parents" adage becomes "every child needs both a mother and a father"?

[Overd0g]

Yes, it is better.

[tater202]

I don't understand your argument. If you are guilty of what Cosby is implying then he's speaking to you. If you don't do those things, he's not. Where's the confusion? Your argument is also contradictive. If things are so peachy in the black community, why are you always complaining? If your compaints are valid, then maybe someone needs to step up and point it out, and maybe you shouldn't be so defensive when they do.

[acanthus]

I'm black, and I'm not guilty of any of the things Cosby is implying. But he's still talking to me, or I should say he's still talking about me. He's slandering me to those whites who want to say that racism no longer exists, either because they're tried of hearing about it, because it puts a dent in their group myths about themselves, or they want to practice racism with impunity. He's doing this consiously. I think a lot of it has to do with an attempt at character rehabilitation after all the allegations of sexual misconduct that were made against him.

[Overd0g]

He's doing the same thing Chris Rock did with his "niggas" vs "black people" routine. Both men hit the nail on the head. BTW, the same would apply to "redneck" vs "white people".