Race

Warning: This is not a nice post. These are my unfiltered thoughts about someone I truly cannot stand exhibiting behavior that I genuinely detest. Read at your own risk.

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In Chris Rock’s comedy special “Bigger and Blacker” he talks about the complicated relationship black Americans have with the United States. He said, “If you’re black, America’s like the Uncle who paid your way through college…but molested you.”

I would say that black people share a similar relationship with comedian Bill Cosby. Cosby, a man who’s as known for his contributions to the black college fund as he is for making millions of people laugh for most of the 70s, 80s, and 90s, has repeatedly gone on unintelligible and often racist rants about black people that finally stretched my admiration of him until it snapped.

I have absolutely no tolerance for people, especially older ones, who promote stereotypes and use anecdotal evidence over facts under the guise of “helping people.” They’re just like all those guys who write blog posts about how women are too fat, but they say they don’t care about how we look, they’re just worried about our health.

10 Years of Ignoring Bill Cosby’s Entire Existence Comes to A Screeching Halt

For the past 10 years, I’ve ignored Bill Cosby as much as possible. He’s on Charlie Rose? I won’t watch that night. Someone’s tweeting about him? I’ll mute them. He’s speaking at commencement when I graduate from Temple. Fine, I’ll focus on my big day.

But yesterday my streak was unceremoniously broken!

According to various twitter timelines, Cosby spoke at the National Action Network Keepers of the Dream Banquet. I refer to such events as BPOs–Bougie Pontification Opportunities. Apparently, he used his speech, again, to touch on one of his favorite subjects–Welfare Queens. I saw a tweet that quoted Cosby as saying something to the effect of  ”you got mothers who are having more babies just to get an extra $270 a month.”  I flew into a rage.

To be clear, I wasn’t at the banquet. I didn’t hear, nor do I need to hear, the complete content of Cosby’s speech. Why? Because the fact that Cosby thinks that in midst of recession, with 14 million people unemployed, many of whom are black and haven’t worked since the recession began, that welfare abuse is worth mentioning PERIOD shows you the degree of delusion he operates under. That alone is enough to make me write him off forever.

Not that I hadn’t already written him off.

Cause I had.

In 2005, a woman (who worked at me and Cosby’s alma mater Temple University) accused him of rape. Cosby settled the case when 10 other women retained legal counsel and promised to testify against him in court. Of course, that wasn’t the first time Cosby was accused of sexually assaulting a woman. Fortunately for Cosby, he receives the benefit of the doubt, a luxury he does not provide poor African American women when he’s out on the speaking trail.

For someone who has been allegedly falsely accused of being a rapist, Cosby sure has little sympathy for black men who may find themselves in precarious positions for whatever reason. And absolutely no empathy for the the 18% of black women, many of whom are poor and powerless, who will experience rape in their lifetime. It’s that lack of empathy that makes him so utterly and completely repulsive.

Cosby’s Often Hypocritical Amen Crowd

I’m also frustrated by the level of education and access to information afforded to him that deliberately rebuffs in order to continue to seek praise by what I call the “Amen” crowd.

The “Amen Crowd” doesn’t need facts, figures, or evidence to agree with something. All you have to do is repeat tired trite stereotypes about black people–preferably ones developed and established by the late fear monger and alzheimer sufferer Ronald Reagan–and stand there while they hoot and holler and co-sign. Quite frankly, it’s embarrassing. But it explains why black people have been unable to repair the damage done to the image of blacks by those like Cosby who take behavior exhibited by few and strut across the media attributing that behavior to the many.

You may be familiar with the White version of the Amen crowd. They had the worse week ever this week when they found out Glenn Beck would be off the air soon.

The “Amen” condition results in an irresistible urge to applaud when some generalizing self-righteous deliberately uninformed geriatric creeper like Cosby condemns certain behaviors such as receiving government assistance, having multiple children with multiple fathers, or overspending on jewelry, cars and rims. Ameners get to denigrate others’ choices while they conveniently forget about the pell grant they got in college, the secret abortion they had when they got pregnant by their last boyfriend before they got married and got pregnant a second time, and the house they’re living in that they can’t really afford and might have to enter into short sale.

But hey, as long as it’s a jumbo house loan with an adjustable rate and not a gold chain, no harm no foul! I’m amazed at how some people believe that as long as they aren’t using Food Stamps they’re not a part of America’s social problems.

Intellectual Laziness and Complete Lack of Effort

At first I wanted to write this post because I get so angry when the media covers empty words as though something profound has been communicated, and I assume that whatever is written about Cosby’s vapid statements at this latest BPO will be treated with a seriousness they do not warrant. But when I thought about Cosby’s implication that there is a problem in the black community with general laziness and lack of effort, I found that I couldn’t disagree.

Intellectual laziness and a lack of effort toward challenging common beliefs is a problem across America with all races and both genders. It’s the reason the government may be headed toward a shut down. It’s the reason that stereotypes, half truths, and whole untruths are allowed to fester and spread. And it’s also the reason that organizations continue to ask Cosby to speak to anything unrelated to entertainment that requires a thoughtful response.

This post serves only to communicate why I **strongly dislike Cosby. If you want facts about why his statements are so offensive, there’s a whole google out there for the intellectually curious. I encourage you to indulge. A great many people have broken down the error of Cosby’s ways better than I could especially since I have a heavy distaste for debating concepts I believe are excruciatingly obvious.

**my dad told me to always say you “strongly dislike” someone instead of saying you”hate” them. To respect my dad I used his preferred terminology but I’m pretty sure my feelings for Cosby are consistent with that of hate.