Why does Bill Cosby get to decide what the measure of blackness is? Seriously, why is this guy's opinion forced upon me?
I had a very heated discussion with a conservative friend the other day about the responsibilities of rappers to the Black community. My friend thought it reprehensible that Jay-Z isn't building schools in Brooklyn or giving significant amounts of money to charity after "making money off those poor Black folks in Marcy projects." Word?
Don't get me wrong I think it would be a beautiful thing if Black people would actually grab the reins and take hold of our destiny as a collective. However, why is the burden always placed on rappers? Why are rappers always held up as a plague on the community for sharing stories of their lives? During the discussion my friend bemoaned Black young men who won't get civil service jobs but will instead hustle because they want fast money. Sigh, really that's the only reason brothers hustle?
I am bewildered by people who have these attitudes. Do they not know that Reagan basically eviscerated all programs that served the inner city in the 80's? Are they unaware that Clinton's welfare reform essentially purged welfare roles of mothers trying to feed their kids? Perhaps they don't understand that Guliani's Stop and Frisk program ensured that Black boys couldn't grow up to be bus drivers because piling on misdemeanors eventually creates a felony record.
I'm all for personal responsibility, but we must acknowledge that the game is fixed.
I was reading a blog and someone mentioned how much money Mr. Cosby gives to Spelman. Aren't there any community colleges or community based college prep programs in West Philly where he is from? I'm sorry where is the school Bill built again?
See, people like my friend and Bill they complain about Black folks. They say we don't raise our children right; we give them silly names, but they never look pass the stats at what's really happening. Jay-Z doesn't control what the corporate-owned radio stations play. Maybe that's why people like me who own the CD's love him and people who have only heard the club bangers hate him. There are jewels there if you listen. There is regret for how fame and fortune were attained. I have issues with his liberal use of the word bitch but I don't like everything about Quentin Tarantino either.
I wonder if Bill Cosby will suggest Barak Obama change his daughters' names given his disparaging parents that name their children Jamal or Sharonda.
Aah Black conservatives...hypocrites wrapped in denial.
I'm not watching him on CNN or MSNBC or wherever he'll be spouting his bullshit. Please email me though and let me know what he says. Maybe a few cabs will drive by him when he leaves the hotel to go to the studio and he'll have an epiphany before he goes on air.
One can hope.
Peace & Blessings
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
No dear, you're asking for a little too much; afterall the man is 79 yrs old and as we all know, some people never wake up and smell the coffee. (WHAT!?)
You can't come down on someone for speaking the truth. That's the reason so many of us hold out tongues today. What do we say "Don't put our business out in the street like that." Our business is already in the street in the form or racially biased news reports on tv and in newspapers. Of course what they repport isn't all true, but there is a lot of truth in it. If you commit a crime and you're black, guess what, you're going on the news, while the white guy commiting the same crime doesn't. It sucks, but you did it. You gave them exactly what they wanted. Bill is telling us as a people to stop feeding into these stereotypes and better ourselves. We can't turn a deaf ear to that and tell him to shut up about it. I know the truth hurts, but the truth is that he is right. Rappers, athletes and other fellow black people who have the ability to help others or better their community, should do that in more ways than toys at christmas. It is the responsibility of every Black person to try and better the life of another throughout their life.
I'll discuss the state of rap music at a later date
Your first paragraph laments one man seemingly speaking for a whole group, and yet you slam people for being conservative who happen to be black. Do you speak for all blacks and say they cannot be conservative without being hypocrites? I would hate for someone to judge me as a second-generation Mexican by holding up George Lopez.
I truly do not understand why being black automatically means you cannot be a conservative.
Thanks for commenting y'all!!
I'm slamming the belief by conservative blacks that one lives in the ghetto and remians in a circle of poverty by choice. Of course there are lazy trifling folks in the world but that's a very small minority that somehow became representative of 39MM people. Furthermore how dare Bill Cosby who has never created a scholarship program or pledged to put a kindergarten class through college lament what I name my child. Does he know what Jamal means?
There's nothing wrong with being conservative or demanding that we as a people be more responsible. However I have a huge problem with conservative blacks who are perfectly aware of the trapdoors in the system acting as though we all don't want out of the cycle.
Post a Comment