How Bill Cosby got it Wrong

Bill Cosby got it wrong. His many speeches regarding the plight of poor blacks in this country and their lack of personal responsibility were not only off the mark, but completely irresponsible.

Cosby failed to take into account many mitigating factors, in what became his regular rants on poor blacks in this country. For example, the last of the civil rights laws was passed in 1965, so it's been forty years since the physical signs of government sanctioned racism have been in place. Please explain to me how in forty years we are to undo centuries of terror and government sponsored segregation, emasculation and murder?

While I don't believe blaming the white man for your problems is the answer, preaching to a roomful of upwardly mobile blacks who are probably doing nothing to help those who are less fortunate then they are is pointless and doesn't do anything to help the cause of those you're complaining about. Poverty is a hard cycle to break; especially if you're black and suffer a history where, in the not to distance past, if you dared to assert yourself as an entrepreneurial, educated black person you could find yourself hanging from a tree.

This is a country that used to burn blacks alive for fun. That not to long ago raped a man with a broom handle and two years ago sent a young black boy to prison for having sex with a white girl. This is a country where there are several states that have never sent a white man to death row for killing a black man but routinely send black ones to death row for crimes that they may not have committed, look at Illinois, and that is not even a southern state.

Now as a young black woman who was raised by a single mother, one who was welfare and who only has a GED, I could so easily be one of those non English speaking, uneducated loud dressing, black folk he was talking about. But I'm not. I'm well educated and I am quite familiar with the English language. But guess what, I've been denied jobs and treated horribly because I am black and for no other reason. And if Cosby or anyone else thinks that that doesn't have an effect on those who are not blessed to have a parent who recognizes the value of an education and who adequately prepares you for the racist country in which we live, then he and everyone else who feels that way are sadly mistaken.

Cosby failed to mention the sorry state of secondary education in many of the poor neighborhoods in this country and how that impacts the lives of the poor and black in this country. Our tax based system for supporting public schools leave many in poor areas with inadequate buildings, teachers, textbooks, and curriculum. Can someone explain to me how kids get to high school without the ability to read or do simple math? That isn't simply their fault, or their parents fault but the fault of a system that will simply pass kids along and believe them incapable of learning and not really caring whether they learn anything or not.

How about a high school system that offers classes that are useless for entrance into college? Or where kids graduate and haven't taken a single algebra class? High school is supposed to prepare you for college, regardless of whether the teachers or administrators believe the students are capable of a college education. You can be a very responsible person but if you were never given the proper building blocks for success then that responsibility will get you nowhere.

America and apparently Bill Cosby has a short memory. And while blaming the white man is pointless, and waiting for racism to end is pointless, personal responsibility alone isn't the answer. You can take all the personal responsibility you want but if you're born black and poor in this country, then you have a lot of odds stacked against you and more then likely will succumb to that environment. Poverty alone is a hard cycle to break, add being black and the weight of a history that has routinely stripped you of your identity and self worth and you've got what can seem like, and for many people are, insurmountable odds. Forty years and a ranting, wealthy black man isn't going to change that.

To read more articles by Tamika Johnson or to have you book, music or film reviewed visit http://www.prologuereviews.com

---

Battling Societys Cancer: Unemployment

The official figures are staggering: 35% of the workforce -... Read More

MUD

MUD ? Much Unnecessary DisclosureThe Federal Trade Commission recently asserted... Read More

Government Overregulation of Broadcast Content Could Backfire

Rush is right! The government's stepped up bid to regulate... Read More

Mexican Trucks in the United States; NAFTA Trade and Problems

Expected new applications for Mexican trucks to enter the US... Read More

Environmentalists Say GM Seeds are Bad News

Environmentalists say GM Seeds are bad for the environment, dangerous... Read More

DC Lawyers; Have I Got a Case for You?

This is no time for the Black community to sue... Read More

The World of Diplomatic Backstage

De-classification of official documents have been a routine practice in... Read More

Politicians Will Save Civilization

Most politicians are completely out to lunch and totally Machiavellian... Read More

FTC Franchise Rule Making Sound and Fury in the Sand Box of Free Markets

Today we have a new franchise report from the Federal... Read More

Simple Middle East Peace Plan

I. WARS ARE BASIC CONFLICTS OVER LAND. II. BOUNDARIES. THE... Read More

Sweet Lies, The Aspartame Issue

Aspartame activists are constantly being attacked because all data are... Read More

How Futuristic Is Anarchy As A Way To Organize The State (I)

When organising a country or a group of people in... Read More

Mexicanizing America

A friend of mine, who lives in the thick of... Read More

Faith in Our Government

Many have lost faith in the government and are completely... Read More

5 Years in Prison for Satirical Flash Films About the President of Belarus

They do not allow the criticism of the president in... Read More

Restoration in Russia: Much Needed and Inevitable

Handing over power to Vladimir Putin in 1999, Boris Yeltsin... Read More

Is This All There Is?

In today's Rants from Lance session I address the question... Read More

CBM?s Indo-Pak Peace Process

Will a bus running across the borders bring cordial relations... Read More

An Environmental Voting Guide for US State Elections

In these times when states are suffering extreme downward pressure... Read More

News Media Misguided or Just Plain Liars?

Last week, the media coverage called the airplane crash in... Read More

Retirement Age Will Have To Be Raised Since People Are Living Longer

With people living longer we have some problems as those... Read More

Tax Attorney? You Might Need One; The City of Portland is Going After Small Businesses

The City of Portland is going after any small business,... Read More

Fuel Prices and Trucking; A Reality Check On What Drives America

It appears we are having a terrible situation with the... Read More

Self Destruct Strategies in UAV Construction

All UAVs Need a Self Destruct BLOS DeviceWhat do you... Read More

Victims of Child Support

"Similar to Medieval Inquisitions, judges have been given the authority,... Read More

Double Standards for Regulators?

Elliot Spitzer, recently said he wanted to drive a stake... Read More

Dont Trade Rights for Security

"Those who sacrifice essential liberty for temporary safety are not... Read More

America Needs an Education Reinvention Bill NOW!

In order to build a stronger, more self-sufficient America, America... Read More

Proven Risk Youth Vs At-Risk & High-Risk Youth

In the fields of juvenile justice policy and programming, there... Read More

The British Sikh Army

Britain has a proud tradition of valiant armed forces and... Read More

Patriots and Parrots: Imprisoning Tongues in America

It can be dangerous to engage in free speech. This... Read More

How to Tell When Government Regulators are Shopping You

In this day and age of tattletale, whistleblower heroes and... Read More

The Elephant Roared and Brought Forth a Turd: A Case Against Democratizing the Middle East

The original vulgarity was bylined: ?The Constipation of America's Mid-East... Read More