Garvey's Ghost: Black Talk

More Cosby Hate

Last week Black Commentator republished a post from yours truely entitled "Cosby on the Brain." BC's response was that if the media ceased to put Cosby in our faces then they woudl no have Cosby on the brain. fair enough, I agree that Cosby is getting way more press than he should. I will also agree that the purpose of such press is undoubtedly to try and sour the population on "traditional" black leadership. That being said, There still has not been a detailed, fact based rebut to anything Cosby has said, except his waaaaaaaay off remark regarding black names. Cosby, if you are reading this: It was wrong and you should apologise immediately!!!

Anyways today i glanced at the BC and foudn that Margaret Kimberly, blogger and regular contributor took a swipe at Cosby. She points to Bill Cosby's recent remarks at a CBC event:

quote:
The continued appeal of the certifiably disturbed Bill Cosby results from the particularly noxious combination of triumphant right wing ideology and black self-hatred, but is also the latest example of the unwritten law that says blacks must support prominent blacks, even when they make statements that are both useless and mean spirited.


Cosby’s latest rant, performed at the Congressional Black Caucus annual conference, was part and parcel of his new comedy routine. He legitimized the worst, most offensive assumptions about black people, in this case telling stories about immoral black women exposing their children to abusive relationships with men who are “…lower forms of life.” Speak for yourself Cosby. Even the black caucus has abetted turning a villain into a figure of hero worship, all because he is black, successful and famous.

Certifiably distrubed? Ms. Kimberly must have caught the same disease as the Swift Boat veterans. As proof of her claims she offers a link to MSNBC found here:http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5962283/

The "offending" quote:

SCARBOROUGH:  Hey, welcome back to SCARBOROUGH COUNTRY. 

Now, Bill Cosby speaks his mind and he‘s at it again.  And this is what he said last night at a conference sponsored by the Congressional Black Caucus. 

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL COSBY, ENTERTAINER:  When a mother brings in three different men in the course of about 12 years and all of the men coming from some low form of life, when a child witnesses helplessly the mother being battered and then making love to the man and then being battered and then putting him out and taking him back in, then this child is helpless and scarred forever. 

Now someone needs to explain to me how the above statement makes one "certifiably disturbed." Is ms Kimberly saying that what Cosby said is untrue? Is she saying that there are not women, mothers out there who enter into brutal relationships? Is she saying that children who witness such brutalities are NOT scarred for life? Exactly what is wrong with that statement? How useless is that statement? Maybe Ms. Kimberly does not know of people who exhibit such behaviour but I do. I know plenty and maybe they'll listen this time. Maybe Cosby's words will embolden someone to step in and help a mother in such a situation.

But of course this isn't the case, What this is about is perception. This is about people having knee-jerk reactions to critiques of segments of the black community. Ms. Kimberly is in the same boat as Malik Shabazz, an otherwise intelligent person, and member of the New Black Panther Party:

quote:
SCARBOROUGH:  Malik, let me ask you the same question.  What did you make of Bill Cosby‘s speech last night? 

MALIK ZULU SHABAZZ, BLACK LAWYERS FOR JUSTICE:  The reason why I disagree with Mr. Cosby is because he may have some genuine concerns, but he uses so many stereotypes.  Not all black people and mothers are sleeping with three men in the black community.  Not every black man that gets with a black woman comes from a low form of life. 

There are many black children that come out of impoverished areas and ghettos like berry farms that have gone on to get their degrees.  So I really think that sometimes Bill just has sipped on a little bit too much Remy-Martin and may have had a little bit too much Jell-O pudding.  And he just gets up there.  I‘m starting to call him big-mouth Bill.  Sometimes, he doesn‘t make any sense to me. 

...SHABAZZ:  Absolutely.  He‘s broad brushing and overstereotyping the conditions in the black community.  And he‘s taking them out of context, out of the context of racism, oppression and their legacy of slavery. 

Now, in terms of doing something for ourselves and taking care of our community, our children, I can support that, but I think Bill is on another sense hypocritical. 

Now looking back at Cosby's statements I don't see anywhere, where he says all black women are involved in bad relationships. only an idiot would assume that he meant all. But we all know of the type that Bill talks about. Ms. Kimberly cannot deny their existance and neither can Mr. Shabazz. And regarding doing for self, there was Cosby in Newark NJ talking with Gang members to urge them to put down the guns and pick up the books. To be better men, husbands and fathers. There was Bill in Newark talking to the audience and telling them how he nows how nasty we all can be to each other. So for those of us informed on the topic, the image that ms.Kimberly, et al. want to project of a callous and confused Cosby does not stand up and is as bad as the swift-boat veterans lying for Bush.

So exactly is being mean spirited here? Who the cap fit.

links:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5962283/
http://www.blackcommentator.com/105/105_freedom_rider_race_pride.html