Althouse: "I’m sorry but I don’t have time for Bill Cosby’s so-called social commentary..."

June 11, 2013

"I’m sorry but I don’t have time for Bill Cosby’s so-called social commentary..."

"... based on diddly-squat he made up in his head today or any day."

67 comments:

gerry said...: Yep. The truth hurts.

How in Hades does being polite on a subway constitute "looking down" from a privileged place?

Goofy.; 6/11/13, 11:00 AM
SteveR said...: Stinging criticism from starfishcoffee on Twitter. That'll learn you Bill.; 6/11/13, 11:01 AM
KCFleming said...: They're barbarians mocking and living off the fag ends of civilization.

But don't you dare point it out, or mention how they've destroyed every major city they controlled.

All is well, all is well.; 6/11/13, 11:03 AM
AustinRoth said...: Yes indeed, being personally responsible, polite and giving up your sense of entitlement is all so yesterday.

And racist, too, I am sure.; 6/11/13, 11:03 AM
Scott M said...: Personal responsibility requirements decline with increasing melanin. To say otherwise is dog-whistle racistspeak...apparently.

Calling Cosby, who was born poor in Philly and clawed his way up, classist and elitist...I'd really like to know the writer's personal background and know what sort of situation she grew up in.

At the very least, living better in general as Cosby suggests cannot be bad for someone. For anyone.; 6/11/13, 11:04 AM
Sorun said...: Other exciting articles from The Root: "What Blacks Are Saying on Twitter" (because it can be summarized, apparently) and "Trust Eric Holder's Wisdom."; 6/11/13, 11:06 AM
Kevin said...: I can't vouch for whatever the man says at any given moment (in the end, he's just a celebrity spouting off, just with different content than the other spouters), but I have greater sympathy for his side than those twitterers.

I think about the black people who stood up to real racists and marched into those segregated schools at the risk of being murdered. I think about their clothing and their posture and their demeanor and how they were willing to risk their lives for an education to raise themselves higher.

Then I think of blacks today, who have thrown all that sacrifice and courage away and complain that they don't have more to throw away. It is the saddest story of my lifetime. Possibly the saddest story in American history.; 6/11/13, 11:06 AM
rhhardin said...: Black leaders make money on keeping big grudge going among blacks.

They're black leaders because the MSM says so.; 6/11/13, 11:07 AM
Ann Althouse said...: I get my social commentary from Prince and If U set your mind free, baby, maybe U'd understand and draw a happy face on every wall, in every school, it's alright, it's 4 a worthy cause.; 6/11/13, 11:08 AM
edutcher said...: Shorter, I got my Obamaphone, got my ObamaCare, anything I ain't got is because of racism, and I believe in the Messiah Obama

...until a new one comes along who'll give me more stuff to make me comfy in my poverty.

PS What Scott M said. Cos grew up in the projects in North Philly (the worst part of the city) and made something of himself. No scholarships - he enlisted in the Navy, served as a corpsman (not corpseman), and used his benefits to go to Temple.

Anything he has, he earned.

A foreign concept among the Affirmative Action crowd.; 6/11/13, 11:12 AM
Colonel Angus said...: Calling Cosby a classist and elitist is pretty funny.; 6/11/13, 11:16 AM
Scott M said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 6/11/13, 11:17 AM
Chef Mojo said...: Cosby continues to be a Kassandra to a soon-to-be burning Troy.; 6/11/13, 11:19 AM
Scott M said...: I get my social commentary from Prince

Here's a much more recent bit of social commentary from ol' whatshissymbol.

Fixurlifeup

Featuring wonderful lyrics such as the following:

When you’re just another brick in the misogynistic wall of noise
When the leaders learn how to follow
And then all the people lead
Instead of everybody getting what they want
They can get what they need

As a Prince tune, it's too hard rock. As a hard rock tune, it sucks. And that's said as a Prince fan.; 6/11/13, 11:20 AM
Methadras said...: Blacks do not like being told the truth. That's why they are democrats. This is not shocking.; 6/11/13, 11:21 AM
Methadras said...: I did like reading the tweets and the commentary over there. It was like watching low hanging fruit trying to fall off the tree. The black on black bigotry and self-hate is astounding.; 6/11/13, 11:23 AM
edutcher said...: Chef Mojo said...

Cosby continues to be a Kassandra to a soon-to-be burning Troy.

Too late.

Aeneas left the building long ago.; 6/11/13, 11:23 AM
RecChief said...: so, the author says that he is sniping at leaves instead of striking at the root? what is her definition of the root cause?; 6/11/13, 11:24 AM
Eric the Fruit Bat said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 6/11/13, 11:24 AM
Eric the Fruit Bat said...: If Tracy Clayton is merely pretending to be painfully dumb and earnest, she's very good at it.; 6/11/13, 11:26 AM
Amartel said...: The writer really wants to call this racism. DISAPPOINTED that she can't so defaults to classist and elitist. Which is code for pay no attention. Anything to block any light from seeping into the status quo of black America.

The author's background: Parrot College, majored in group think, minored in situational ethics. Obama voter and opportunistic selective bullshit quoter.

Cosby also spoke of Muslim traditions, that blacks should emulate the tradition part, stay in school, mind the parents, prioritize family, dress like an adult, not necessarily the Muslim part. Which only demonstrates that he's not really in touch with how most U.S. Muslim kids actually live which is pretty much like the rest of the rudderless slobs.; 6/11/13, 11:27 AM
virgil xenophon said...: The comments section at "the root" was much more even-handed with many thoughtful comments siding with Cosby. Whether that say anything about short-form twitter vs long-form blog comments and the types of people who comment or not, it gives one pause to ponder the differences in the formats and the sort of people they attract.; 6/11/13, 11:27 AM
test said...: Coming from a white person, his "stop being a victim and pick yourself up by your bootstraps" rhetoric would be decried as racist just as soon as it reached our ears

A clearer admission of their own racism could not be imagined.; 6/11/13, 11:27 AM
Scott M said...: A clearer admission of their own racism could not be imagined.

That would make an excellent tweet.; 6/11/13, 11:30 AM
cubanbob said...: If you are going to do the time might as well comit the crime.
Abolish welfare for the able-bodied and in one generation most of the social pathologies resolve themselves.; 6/11/13, 11:31 AM
The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...: One of the the commenters nailed it when he wrote that whites are not so much racist or angry as bored with black pathologies. Even liberals, as much as they may like to prate about racism when it can be used to their political advantage, have given up on the ghetto.; 6/11/13, 11:39 AM
Balfegor said...: Re: RecChief:

so, the author says that he is sniping at leaves instead of striking at the root? what is her definition of the root cause?

Well, obviously it's "institutionalized poverty and racism," no? You racist! (hahaha)

That said, though, even people who complain about "institutionalised poverty" mostly just seem to want institutionalised poverty to be more institutionalised. Bigger welfare programmes and all that. Some people think the solution to every problem is just to throw more money at it.; 6/11/13, 11:42 AM
Simon said...: Cosby is right. Quit whining about how gauche it is for him to be right and get about fixing it.

And by the way: White folk, we have to have a talk, because most of what Cosby says? It goes for you, too.; 6/11/13, 11:42 AM
jr565 said...: as Jack Nicholson said:
"YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH".; 6/11/13, 11:43 AM
Scott M said...: Jack Nicholson is classist and elitist.; 6/11/13, 11:45 AM
Balfegor said...: Re: Marshal:

'Coming from a white person, his "stop being a victim and pick yourself up by your bootstraps" rhetoric would be decried as racist just as soon as it reached our ears'

A clearer admission of their own racism could not be imagined.

Well, it might not be racism on their part but it does explain an awful lot about the economic and educational gaps between American Blacks and foreign immigrants who come to this country penniless and unable to speak a word of English. Sad, really.; 6/11/13, 11:45 AM
Strelnikov said...: Worth bearing in mind: Cosby was the spokesman for New Coke.; 6/11/13, 11:47 AM
George M. Spencer said...: Scott M...refers to Cosby being born poor. I don't know about that, but his comedy albums make clear that he came from a loving home, stable, even if his father threatened to take out "The Belt," an unseen 7-foot-long instrument of parental chastisement that would take the meat 'clean off your bones.'

A magnificent story teller.

Who today is like him?; 6/11/13, 11:47 AM
LordSomber said...: What's sad is that most of his critics just use lazy ad hominem arguments.; 6/11/13, 11:48 AM
Methadras said...: Balfegor said...

Re: RecChief:

so, the author says that he is sniping at leaves instead of striking at the root? what is her definition of the root cause?

Well, obviously it's "institutionalized poverty and racism," no? You racist! (hahaha)

That said, though, even people who complain about "institutionalised poverty" mostly just seem to want institutionalised poverty to be more institutionalised. Bigger welfare programmes and all that. Some people think the solution to every problem is just to throw more money at it.

I am not one of those people. I believe the poor are a giant waste of time and an ever growing money sink to the tune of 15 trillion and growing. It will never end until we cut them off and tell them to stand on their own two feet like the rest of us have to.; 6/11/13, 11:52 AM
Balfegor said...: RE: St. George:

He was born in 1937, so he was fortunate enough to grow up before welfare and the Great Society.; 6/11/13, 11:53 AM
Tank said...: Cosby, the oldest of four boys, grew up in Philadelphia's Germantown neighborhood. At first, the Cosbys were able to get by, financially, but the family's money began to slip when Cosby's father, William Cosby Sr., began drinking heavily. After his father enlisted in the U.S. Navy, Cosby became like a parent to his brothers. Cosby's mother, Anna, worked cleaning houses. He and his family ended up living in the Richard Allen Homes, a low-income housing project in his neighborhood. At the age of 8, Cosby suffered a great loss when his brother James, the second oldest of the boys, died.

With money very tight for his family, Cosby started shining shoes to help out when he was 9 years old. He also later found a job at a supermarket. Despite their hardships, Cosby's mother stressed the value of education and learning. She often read to Bill and his brothers, including the works by Mark Twain. A gifted storyteller himself, Cosby learned early on that humor could be a way to make friends and to get what he wanted. Cosby excelled at making things up. As one of his teachers once noted, "William should become either a lawyer or an actor because he lies so well.''

Working poor/lower middle, I'd say.; 6/11/13, 11:59 AM
Balfegor said...: re: Methadras:

I don't think that's quite sufficient to break the destructive cycle triggered by the Johnson-Nixon expansion of the welfare state. Better education and more comprehensive or more effective policing are essential to create opportunities for advancement and to allow the poor to live safely in their own homes. And those aren't free. Well, with the amount of money we blow on ineffective public schools, maybe better schools are a wash, but police aren't free.; 6/11/13, 11:59 AM
Peter said...: Translation: I Can't HEAR YOU-- NAAA-NAAA-NAAA-NAAA-NAAA-NAAA-NAAA-NAAA-NAAA-NAAA-NAAA-NAAA-NAAA-NAAA-NAAA-NAAA-NAAA-NAAA-NAAA-NAAA-NAAA-NAAA-NAAA-NAAA-NAAA-NAAA-NAAA-NAAA-NAAA-NAAA-NAAA-NAAA-NAAA-NAAA-NAAA-NAAA-NAAA-NAAA-NAAA-NAAA-NAAA-NAAA-NAAA-NAAA-NAAA-NAAA-NAAA-NAAA-; 6/11/13, 12:01 PM
Anonymous said...: adding to Tanks listing:

Born 37. Pop likely didn't come home till at least '45.

He dropped out of HS after failing 10th grade. Got a GED in the Navy, then a full scholarship after 4 years in the Navy to Temple in Philly.

PS: I would not call a single parent house, whose breadwinner was a maid, maybe with a Navy allotment from Dad, to be lower middle...

hard working poor is more like it; 6/11/13, 12:06 PM
Levi Starks said...: There is a poverty in America today,
It is not however a poverty of material possessions and wealth.
It is a poverty of the heart.
Until there is a change of the heart in both the "victims" of poverty, and the "left" who keeps insisting that improving the material condition of those in poverty is the answer, there will be no real reduction in poverty.
To sum it up- get used to the status quo because it's going to be the norm for many years to come.
Cosby's only shortcoming is clinging to the Idea that he can make a difference.; 6/11/13, 12:07 PM
ricpic said...: Abolish welfare for the able bodied and in one generation most of the social pathologies resolve themselves.

You do know what the immediate response would be? "But they'll riot!" As long as that blackmail - pun intended - works, nothing will change. I daresay the majority of non-black Americans are already at the point of "Fine, let them riot, let them burn down their neighborhoods and then let them sit in the result." But our elites, Althousians to the man, abhor the UGLY. Which means the obscenity of supporting able bodied blacks will continue to the point of systemic economic collapse. Only then will it stop. And THEN they'll riot.; 6/11/13, 12:11 PM
Sigivald said...: Cosby is a lot more right than his critics are.

(When I start hearing "classist" and "elitist" it's a good heuristic for "I'm out of actual counter-arguments".); 6/11/13, 12:13 PM
Tibore said...: "We might not call this racist, but we can definitely call it classist and elitist. When you're at the top looking down, it's probably easy to mistake institutionalized poverty and racism for laziness, apathy and professional victimhood."

Translation: 'Cosby's truth-telling doesn't allow me to use my normal buzzwords to create the illusion of critical thought behind my excuse making. So I shall denounce it and continue with my quest to weave the narrative that people are trapped and should blame others for their personal circumstance, despite the fact that people rise above their situation all the time, and do so on their own merit. But ignoring that allows me to feel superior, so I can lecture others on why my view is correct.'; 6/11/13, 12:20 PM
David-2 said...: Scott M said...
Fixurlifeup

Fixurlifeup == Fix URL ife up == WTF?

Oh wait.

(I think I've been surfing the internet too long.); 6/11/13, 12:20 PM
Dante said...: Translation: We all know blacks can't take care of themselves. How dare you suggest it.

Plus which, it would change our world view if blacks actually did pull themselves up by the bootstraps.; 6/11/13, 12:37 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 6/11/13, 12:46 PM
Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...: Ignore Bill. Much easier to be an angry welfare recipient saggy rap panted victim.; 6/11/13, 12:51 PM
Methadras said...: Balfegor said...

re: Methadras:

I don't think that's quite sufficient to break the destructive cycle triggered by the Johnson-Nixon expansion of the welfare state. Better education and more comprehensive or more effective policing are essential to create opportunities for advancement and to allow the poor to live safely in their own homes. And those aren't free. Well, with the amount of money we blow on ineffective public schools, maybe better schools are a wash, but police aren't free.

It's that very notion of more comprehensive and better education that has us here in the first place. More education will not solve their problem. It's a cultural one. One that needs to be changed by shocking the very system and culture of poverty. When you have to begin fending for yourself, things take on a different tone. When you have money and entitlements handed to you, the incentive is gone along with the spirit to thrive.; 6/11/13, 1:43 PM
Methadras said...: ricpic said...

Abolish welfare for the able bodied and in one generation most of the social pathologies resolve themselves.

You do know what the immediate response would be? "But they'll riot!" As long as that blackmail - pun intended - works, nothing will change. I daresay the majority of non-black Americans are already at the point of "Fine, let them riot, let them burn down their neighborhoods and then let them sit in the result." But our elites, Althousians to the man, abhor the UGLY. Which means the obscenity of supporting able bodied blacks will continue to the point of systemic economic collapse. Only then will it stop. And THEN they'll riot.

An EF5 2.5 miles wide and packing nearly 250mph winds brought down an entire large town in Oklahoma. Are they rioting over what they've lost?; 6/11/13, 1:46 PM
Scott M said...: Back when I used to read Coates at the Atlantic (who says black men don't deserve credit for making the right choices), every time Cosby would come up in the news, it would start the debate about non-native blacks.

He viewed it as a false comparison and hurtful to American-born blacks because those coming over from Africa (he never mentions the Caribbean in this context) are highly motivated simply because they are here.; 6/11/13, 1:59 PM
MrBill said...: Interesting (and heartening) to see that many commenters at the original post agree with Cosby.; 6/11/13, 2:20 PM
Crunchy Frog said...: We might not call this racist, but we can definitely call it classist and elitist. When you're at the top looking down, it's probably easy to mistake institutionalized poverty and racism for laziness, apathy and professional victimhood.

Quoth the professional victim.; 6/11/13, 3:36 PM
Baron Zemo said...: What black people fail to realize that it is not just white people who are tired of their bullshit.

I don't the Mexicans or the Asians or the South East Asians (Indians and Bangle Desh types) give much of a shit.; 6/11/13, 3:54 PM
Baron Zemo said...: Those are the fissures that an astute Republican candidate might exploit. Just sayn'; 6/11/13, 3:54 PM
Baron Zemo said...: What black people fail to realize that it is not just white people who are tired of their bullshit.

I don't the Mexicans or the Asians or the South East Asians (Indians and Bangle Desh types) give much of a shit.; 6/11/13, 3:54 PM
Balfegor said...: Re: Methadras:

It's that very notion of more comprehensive and better education that has us here in the first place. More education will not solve their problem.

No, but it's a necessary condition to making the poor employable.

It's a cultural one. One that needs to be changed by shocking the very system and culture of poverty.

I don't disagree, but if you cut them off cold, without (a) making them employable, and (b) strongly disincentivising criminal behaviour with increased policing, that's just a recipe for riots and miscellaneous criminal mischief. There might be a housing and transportation issue too. A lot of the poor do work, or try to. They just aren't able to make enough to afford rent, or aren't able to manage what they do make. We might need flophouses.

When you have to begin fending for yourself, things take on a different tone. When you have money and entitlements handed to you, the incentive is gone along with the spirit to thrive.

Sure, I'm with you in that the culture of urban poverty needs to be suppressed, stamped out, and eradicated utterly. But there's a transition that needs to be worked through. The transition is not immediate, and I'd prefer to avoid excessive human cost.; 6/11/13, 4:00 PM
James Pawlak said...: Another Black not self-enslaved to the DNC.; 6/11/13, 4:35 PM
Carol said...: I can recall some outspoken older blacks in my life who would have chimed in with Cosby in a heartbeat. Where are they now? dead or shamed into silence?

About 30 years ago I attended a trade school in Dallas, and I had an older black classmate, a WWII vet, who laid into the young ones daily. They'd been dragnetted in by the school for their student loan money...He'd tell them they should join the service, get their shit together, because they didn't have anything better going on, just petty hustles. Then he'd say, forget it, you couldn't cut it. Heh. They never talked back to him either.

God he was funny. Bless you Charles J, wherever you are.; 6/11/13, 4:45 PM
Sam L. said...: There are those who cannot learn, and those who will not learn. And those who just really, really want to remain stupid, or just continually do stupid stuff.; 6/11/13, 4:51 PM
Revenant said...: The author is whining about "institutionalized racism" that ended, judging from her photo, long before she was born.

Yawn.; 6/11/13, 6:58 PM
dreams said...: Our descent/destruction continues with increasing momentum and that could be the Althouse theme of the day.; 6/11/13, 9:39 PM
Baron Zemo said...: I thought Reconstruction ended a long time ago.

How long is the transition period supposed to be anyway?; 6/11/13, 9:59 PM
Largo said...: Because the KIDS don't know the JAZZ is all ABOUT!; 6/11/13, 11:46 PM
Largo said...: Also,vKodak Film went the way of New Coke.

Think about it.; 6/11/13, 11:48 PM
Brian McKim and/or Traci Skene said...: As I tried to comment on theroot.com, It's a tough haul to make the case that Cosby is "classist" or elitist. He grew up in the Richard Allen Homes in Philly... I usta pass by it, on foot, in my car, on a bus... desolate place... perhaps a bit less so when Cosby played Buck-Buck there, but public housing nonetheless... not sure why folks would want to discount his experience entirely... unless they wish his words would just go away.; 6/12/13, 3:13 AM
Fernandinande said...: "Coming from a white person, his "stop being a victim and pick yourself up by your bootstraps" rhetoric would be decried as racist just as soon as it reached our ears."

Because the author is a racist.

Tom Sowell sez:
"In today's climate, too many teachers think they are doing black students a favor by feeding them grievances from the past and telling them how they are oppressed in the present — and how their future is blocked by white racism. These are the kinds of friends who do more damage than enemies."; 6/12/13, 8:03 AM