Thursday, May 18, 2006

And So We Commence

Aptly titled, this was episode that was the swan song, the final foray into the series that rescued sitcoms from the depths of despair, the Cosby Show. Needless to say, he should have waltzed off with Clair Huxtable into the sunset and kept his ass there, because now he's getting on our nerves the same way OJ Simpson does. Sit.The.Fhuuck.Down!

Usually, I don't delve into the social commentary sector. Not because I don't enjoy it or cannot express myself accordingly, I just leave it to the celeb-couture social commentary expert who has it on lock.

But this mutha fucka (thanks Phoenix for letting me borrow the term) is getting on my nerves. I want to break down his commentary as he gave the Keynote speaker address for Spelman College's graduation. The Title of the Speech (as interpreted by KPAT): "Black.Men.Ain't.Shit."

You know the routine - Black is Cosby, Pink is K-PAT FM.

"It's no time for you to play any more" (WTF? Who says that they ARE playing? Obviously they are not, if they are standing in front of you for a commencement exercise).

Instead, he urged them to become entrepreneurs, to fix what's wrong in their communities and to properly raise and protect their children. Fix is a bad, bad, word. It is not a woman's job to FIX anything. That's like telling the parent of a drug addict to fix the drug habit. It is the job of both women and men to seek out the help that they need in order to make a change on their own. Change comes from realizing your possibilities, and leaving the past behind you. The core of it comes from so many other variables. He all but said fix the socio-economic, anomie-strain issues that lie in the forefront of disadvantaged communities. SIDEBAR: That doesn't mean that everyone who is from a disadvantaged neighborhood can't make it happen, so spare me the details).

"I want you to spread the word," "It's your time. You can't back away from it." ? It's whose time. Why does there have to be a 'time' for anything. Does he believe that anyone that goes through the trouble of 4-6 years of a collegiate education is going to squander it? Of course there are always exceptions to the rule, but exceptions prove the rule. Everyone talks about education, education, education, and if education is the key, and we are smarter than we ever were, why is the world worse off than it was socially fifty years ago?

African-American women college graduates, he said, have no choice. The continuing plight of black men makes it necessary for them to take charge. "Men as young boys are dropping out of high school, but they can memorize lyrics of very difficult rap songs and know how to braid each other's hair," Cosby said, drawing laughter and applause. It's nothing funny about this, so I don't know why this everyone laughed, and worse off, applauded. And why is he showing out in front of company? He all but sliced off a black man's balls with a machete, and ground them up in a Jack La Laine Juicer, and served it up to the graduating class of women, some who already have classist mentalities about our men.

Cosby's remarks echo others he's made around the country urging African-Americans to assume more responsibility for fixing the problems that plague their families and communities. (Fhuucck you, Dr. Huxtable. You need make sure you sweep up under your rug and handle your own current state of affairs)

With that said, let's talk about the elephant in the room.

I, by no means, am a male basher. Never have been. I would have to say that the generation of my fathers, in some respect, failed their families. For whatever reason. Whether it was machismo attitudes, drugs, violence, infidelity, irresponsibility, or any combination thereof, there are some things that were lacking and lost. But there were also men that were just that, men that didn't allow for excuses, and financial acumens, and other variables to take away from their manhood, and did the best they could with what they had. (James Evans, anyone?)

But what disturbs me about Cliff Huxtable's comments are that when he talks, I think about this child, and this one, and this one, and this man, and this one, and I know that some of our men are in a bad state. But MOST of them are not in prison. He didn't verbalize that right. There are disproportionate amounts of minorities in prison based upon the population percentile they occupy in society. That's a bold faced lie.

He talks too.damn.much. I don't see him opening any facilities that are dedicated to supporting and guiding the male to be in a leadership capacity. I don't see him contributing financially to:

- 100 Black Men
- Morehouse (Though he gave a substantial (20 million) amount to Spelman
- Boys and Girls Club

So, put your money where your mouth is, bitch, and run us some money.

(PS: My anger was actually triggered not by me, but from a discussion that I had with my friend, who agrees that he should have said it. Three years ago, she would have thought different, but now she has a hair up her ass and is 'graduating' from college in two weeks and thinks her sheeat doesn't stink). And any one who knows me personally, knows how I feel about THAT school!

Live, and Pissed from LA, this is P reporting to you from K-PAT FM, the Pattyopolis Network.

30 comments:

tia said...

Yep, he was so very wrong for that. That was simply the WRONG audience for much of what he said, for another thing. On part of it, I could see if he was talking to pregnant teens or somebody. But what I really want to know is HOW LONG ARE PEOPLE GOING TO KEEP ASKING HIM TO COME SPEAK!?!

P said...

@ Storm:

Sista girl, Holla! WTF was THAT all about?!?

Wrong audience. And coming from a brother, too?!? How embarassing is THAT!

Let said...

I didn't really hear his speach but from the looks of it, he said some stuff that was very wrong. I agree that he should spread some of his money and help "fix" the problems that he thinks is so wrong.

Hey P where is the blog from yesterday's event????? I will get you those pictures I promise!

P said...

@ J:

That's the next post. I'm excited.

A.u.n.t. Jackie said...

My boy Will and I had a heated discussion over this the night of. Two lower middle class kids hashing it out. From a black male point of view he agreed with allot of what Cosby had to say. Let me correct that, as a black male and a father whose trying to raise his daughter to go down the right track, he agreed.

Personally I am over Cosby, have been from waay back! The best he ever did for me was providing the Cosby show at a time when black professionals were highly under represented in television.

Historically it's always been the bourgois who held the biggest threat in times of revolution...read:cosby is a coon in sheeps clothing!

i over posted~sorry!

P said...

Miss Ahmad:

Your opinions are always valued and are NEVA less than we expect from you, that's why we gave you love in the first paragraph of this post!

And you are dead on. . .Like I said, why is he showing out in front of company. He might as well have called His Speech:

Black.Men.Ain't.Shit.

i like liquor and tv said...

Thanks for the breakdown!
haha, Cosby is a fool. The dude went in hiding for a year or so after the rape allegations. I don't even want to call them allegations, because he knows he did it. After he paid the women off, he chilled for a bit...tested the waters with a little dumb comment here and there...now he's back in action.

I don't think people even take him seriously anymore, and he knows this.

Did you see the video of him, obviously drunk and/or high:

http://jackiedaniels.blogspot.com/2006/05/this-dude-has-officially-lost-it.html

P said...

@ Sup:

Preach, Preacha! You said it all as only someone from "The Wood" can do. . .

Supa said...

INGLEWOOOOOOOD! (always up to no good)

:)

That Girl Tam said...

I just wanna know who made him the authority on what women need to do to raise their children? When was the last time HE was a woman raising children? *sigh*

HOE.SIT.DOWN!

P said...

@ the Phoenix.

Good Point. I didn't think about that. I was looking at that sentence like "Something's wrong with this picture?"

And why is he acting like a bitch putting his hand and mouth (but not his wallet) where his mouth is.

James Manning said...

P,

What Bill has failed to see is that the plight of the black man is nothing something that requires fixing but something that requires illumination and intervention from those of us that have the means to reach back and provide tools to compensate for disparities in our family structure, education, employment and judicial systems.

And to stand in front of all of those sisters and emasculate black men is sickening. I'm going to have to blog about that bastard. It's a shame because I use to really respect Bill Cosby. I think he's just getting mean and bitter in his old age.

By the way P, thanks for visiting my blog. I've notice that not many folks from Jaimie's circle venture my way.

P said...

@ Cocoa:

Re: Your "It's like his son was murdered by a thug white boy and now anything stereotypically associated with thuggery is the cause of his misery."

I never thought about that, but since then, I don't think he has ever been the same, mentally. Not that losing your child, your only son is not traumatic, but it appears as if everything has escalated since Ennis was murdered. . .

He very well may be a functionally, raving lunatic, literally, at this point. . .

A.u.n.t. Jackie said...

Many of my peers, and family members agree with Bill and apart of me agrees with apart of what he's saying.

I do think it's time that someone stood up and said that it not cool to be undereducated, unemployed and falling prey to what has become the stereotypical image of the black man!

I don't know that i want Bill Cosby to a be a leader per say but at the same token don't we need a father figure for those wayward men who do exist?

Just a thought!

P said...

Miss Ahmad:

It's just that. It's the stereotypical image of the black male. I can count an equal amount of black men in my family that are like the ones that he mentioned, as well as counting an equal amount that are NOT at all what he mentioned. . .

This is not really about what he said, versus the venue he used to say it? Is there a reason why he could have not addressed this at a forum at Morehouse, or some other men-oriented social/education setting? Its not appropriate to tell women to lead, and that they are the only ones that can 'fix' a problem. That's like telling a teacher to make a student act right and do their homework.

That's like a man going to Morehouse and telling all the men that women ain't about shit, and that they need to put the women in line, can you imagine what kind of ruckus that would have caused.

To that I say, if he wants to indeed be a quasi type of father figure for this generation, then he needs to put some action behind his words. We don't need to hear any body else's friggin mouth with no action behind it.

What would all those kids in Africa had done had Oprah not put them through school? Help a brother out, why don't you, Bill?

By the way, I'm not making any excuses or justifications for anything that the black man (or woman for that matter) does to get their asses in a jam.

It's hard to hear a lecture from someone when you're trying to figure out whether or not to check the box "Have You Ever Been Convicted of a Felony (Or Misdemeanor)". Damn It's a Mess! (Kudos to Ice Cube).

It's like bad credit. Can't get a loan to clear up the problem because the credit is bad. Catch 22.

No, it's not cool to be unemployed and uneducated, but tell that to a 15 year old boy see 50 cent paroled out of prison having more money, and less respect than our forefathers. And this is probably a FATHERLESS 15 year old boy.

This is just really complicated.

Still, all in all, I don't like the fact that he showed out in front of company.

A.u.n.t. Jackie said...

I am in agreement with you that he showed out in front of company, but don't young women about to embark upon womanhood need to be reminded to keep the fox out of the hen house?

As a philanderer and pretty creepy guy all around, perhaps he as a man, can speak about manhood.

I mean I learned from my father, uncles, grandfathers, and extended family members the value of making sure that the men in my life met some kind of standard. When I was young rebellious I may not have paid much attention, however allot of what they said was right...

I dunno I would like for Bill to go away for a long long time, but I'm trying to hope that he has something worth while to pass on.

Perhaps I'm overly optimistic!

P said...

Oh, Nisa.

Okay.

:)

PS: Yo sangrias are the bomb, yo.

Rashan Jamal said...

I came late to this discussion so everybody has already expressed my opinions on the Cos. I think he keeps getting a pass b/c of who he was, not who he is. I agree with Storm, please stop asking him to speak at your events!!!

chele said...

Yeah we got problems. We know that. When is he going to stop talking about them and actually do something? And 'showing off in front of company' wasn't acceptable when we were kids and it's just trifling as an adult. WTF? It's almost as if he's trying to prove to the 'company' that "It's them, boss! Not me!" He makes me tired.

The Sarccastik Variable Why said...

that's what i'm talkin' bout...i know you're going to bring the heat everytime....i'm in the middle of something...i'll read what crazy azz cosby has to say...i'll come back and post...

mrs.tj said...

Crazy...bill is still a comedian!
Holla!

i like liquor and tv said...

All I know is that he made a comment about black men in prison when he's the one that needs to be in prison. OK I'm done..lol

Mark Wentlandt said...

p

Great post. First time to lurk on your site. I shall return.

tia said...

Girl, Michael Eric Dyson and another of the speakers on the Town Hall panel at the Black Enterprise Entrepreneurs Conference mentioned Cosby. Cosby is so under fire it ain't even funny. I posted my notes in my blog regarding the discussion on the Young Black Male Crisis. Go check it out when you get a chance.

Mark Wentlandt said...

Threadjack. Sorry. But, P, you are now one of my faves.

"My girl likes to potty all the time.."

Anonymous said...

This is good stuff.

This is a classic case of the wrong messenger giving a relevant message poorly.

This is a topic that begs addressing. I would go so far as to say a Spelman Graduation is a perfect place to do it. Bill Cosby, on paper would not be a bad person to deliver it, either. But we ALL know Bill hasnt existed as he does on paper in many years. He is in a place and time which is just plain old weird. I would LOVE to know what Camille says when he gets home from these rantings and ravings.

P said...

DP & No Age, No Sex, No City:

This is not about the point that this issue needs to be addressed; this is about the venue in which it was done, and whether or not he (or the women he addressed) are planning on putting some actions behind his words. Because words don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing. . .

Women can't solve this problem. They can help, but they can't solve the problem.

Period.

Telling women at a college that men ain't shit is not appropriate, in my humble opinion.

What is he doing besides talking? Is he putting his money where his mouth is? Telling an addict to stop using crack is going to do no good if you don't get to the root cause why somebody is using crack in the first place.

Every cause has an effect. Every action has a reaction. Everything negative is a by product of something else.

I think I speak for everyone that this is a serious issue that requires addressing. It's just the venue is questionable, in my humble opinion.

See this link for additional information/details. . .

http://www.tiastyle.net/personal/town-hall-young-black-male-crisis/

Postscript: Do you think that Oprah would talk about the plight of women at Morehouse?

P said...

PS: I am not disputing the fact that all men and women have conscious choices and that we are all responsible for our own actions; I am just saying that talk means nothing if you are not planning on assisting in doing something about it.

D-Place said...

You know I agree with pretty much everything that everyone said on here in some aspect. The thing that everyone has touched on but not really said is that those that can do for others are not. That is where the problem was. The media helps to perpetuate any negative stereotype about black men everyday. What are the Cliff Huxtables and Oprah's too for that matter doing to celebrate the positive images of Black men. Nothing! What are the Black Professionals, from CEOs, Presidents, Vice Presidents, Directors or even Managers doing for anyone other than themselves. Not a dayum thing!

So why in the world would anyone that is less fortunate listen to some rich mofo who is telling the world that they ain't sheet!

I don't think we need a Black Leader as we did in the past. However, we do need the village to do what we've always done. SOMETHING!

Thanks for visiting my blog P. I got my raincoat. :-)

P said...

Preach, COCOA!