What do you think of the Cos Controversy?

[DrummerDeanna]

I don't if it's even PC to talk about this...ahahhaha....but have you any thought on the recent "controversy" caused by Bill Cosby in his speeches??

http://entertainment.msn.com/tv/arti...px?news=162979

There's a link to one article that I've read....in case you've heard nothing about this....

[strandinthewind]

I think he is saying what he feels and there is truth in it. He is not talking about everyone, but a significant number of people are exactly as he describes them. Interestingly, as a black man (he uses black ) he is allowed to say it and receive minimal backlash. If a white celeb said it, they would be persecuted until the send of time. In any event, I am glad he is addressing these issues, I think and hope it may make some people see the light and want to better themselves instead of staying where they are

[dissention]

There's a lot of truth to what he says, even if I disagree with some of it. It's always hard to hear the truth, after all. The statistics agree with what he's saying to an extent. In the end, I think it's his generalizations that bother people the most.

I saw some radio host named Lizz on TV last night and she was rabid as a fox. A truly frightening individual who went so far as to say to a black reverend that they weren't Americans, they were Africans. I find that type of thing much worse than what Bill Cosby said. We're all Americans and we're all in this together, for better or for worse, and I think we should stop with "it's a black problem" or "it's a white problem" and just deal with it together. It isn't "black children" that are in bad situations, it's the children of America.

[darklinensuit]

I think Arthur Ashe delivered a similar message without being so publicly insulting to the black community. But Cosby has a right to voice his opinions. It's interesting that Jesse Jackson is right up beside him. I was about to say that as he has sought to be something of a politician, I'm surprised that Jackson hasn't distanced himself from this kind of controversy, but then I remembered that he has never tended to shy away from controversial speakers, I suppose.

- Jake

[DrummerDeanna]

Originally Posted by dissention

We're all Americans and we're all in this together, for better or for worse, and I think we should stop with "it's a black problem" or "it's a white problem" and just deal with it together. It isn't "black children" that are in bad situations, it's the children of America.

I agree....I liked his speech, and I agreed with a lot of what he said. BUT I don't think it's only a "black problem" I know the hispanic community has the same issues and I'm sure every racial community or whatever does...

Interestingly I grew up in a very diverse area, yet there was never any emphasis on race, it wasn't always an issue....but this summer, here in DC, I literally cannot make it through one day without SOMEONE bringing up racial issues...it's such a big deal here...and I'm like...WTF...who gives a ****....it's something I've never dealt with...and I find it sad that's it's still such a big issue....

[strandinthewind]

Originally Posted by DrummerDeanna

I agree....I liked his speech, and I agreed with a lot of what he said. BUT I don't think it's only a "black problem" I know the hispanic community has the same issues and I'm sure every racial community or whatever does...

I agree, but BC was commenting on these problems and how they relate specifically to the black community. So, while yes, it is a multi-community problem in general, the specific instances BC commented on were pretty much exclusive to the black community. I mean he talked about the hypocrisy of the black community using the N word and then getting pissed off when a non-black person uses it. That topic is related mostly to the black community

Also, here is an article related to this issue that was on CNN's website this morning.

A focus on the 'N Word'
Trio has documentary on cultural changes
Sunday, July 4, 2004 Posted: 8:00 AM EDT (1200 GMT)


NEW YORK (AP) -- While music shopping one day, author Stanley Crouch heard a group of people behind him toss the N-word around in casual conversation -- with familiarity, not contempt.

Annoyed, he turned around to see four or five friends dressed in baggy shirts, huge pants nearly falling off and baseball caps turned backward.

They were white.

"I said to myself, 'Something's not correct at this moment," Crouch recalls in "The N Word," a documentary that doubles as a social history and proof of the dynamic, evolutionary force of language.

The film premieres Sunday on Trio at 9 p.m. EDT/PDT, the centerpiece of a week where the cable channel hands over programming to Chuck D, leader of the groundbreaking rap group Public Enemy and a radio host on the liberal Air America network.

At his behest, Trio will also air a documentary about the 1990s rap wars, "Biggie & Tupac," a Public Enemy concert special and the movies "A Rage in Harlem," "Cooley High" and "Nothing But a Man."

"The N Word" also prominently features Chuck, a New Yorker filmed incongruously with palm trees in the background.

For many blacks, the N-word can never be anything other than a slur. Others believe that appropriating the word is like defusing a bomb. Some young whites are ignorant of the word's history and, hearing it on their favorite rap songs, even feel it's fashionable.

Chuck leaves no doubt where he stands. "Us accepting it is like somebody catching garbage and loving it," he said in the film.

In an interview with The Associated Press, he said white people have used the word with him as a term of affection, or to show they're cool.

"They don't know any better," he said. "I have to be aware of their intentions and put them in their place. It's like somebody throwing a rock at you. Are you going to sit there and have someone throw a rock at you and you're not going to say anything?"

If Crouch had heard white people use the word in the same store 40 years ago -- if he'd even be welcomed there to shop -- there's no doubt malice would be intended.

Several black celebrities are asked, in the documentary, the first time the word was used against them. Chris Rock remembers instantly the second-grade setting, the little girl's name.

The word's origins are traced back to the 17th century. Ugly footage from the 1950s and 1960s shows whites using the word to make blacks appear subhuman.

Fast-forward to the 1970s, and the peak of Richard Pryor's career. The comedian uses the word liberally in his routines.

Pryor's use of the word gave some blacks a sense of empowerment. "No one can use the word more beautifully than Richard Pryor," Whoopi Goldberg said.

But Alvin Poussaint, an associate dean at Harvard University, said there have always been some whites who enjoy watching blacks make fun of each other.

"I don't know if we gained any respect from the white community," Poussaint said. "In fact, probably the opposite."

Less remembered is that near the end of his performing days, Pryor renounced use of the word.

In the early 1990s, the word became commonplace in rap songs. Chuck laments that it was only a few years between Public Enemy's "Fight the Power" and Snoop Dogg's "Gin and Juice." He lays more blame on music executives for encouraging its use than on the artists themselves.

Ice Cube, formerly of the rap group NWA, said that to him, the word has been used so much it doesn't affect him at all.

"We've taken this word that's been a burden to us, we've been able to digest it and spit it back out as a badge of honor, as defiance," he explained in the film.

Writer-director Todd Williams unearthed some priceless footage of the end result of the N-word being used repeatedly in pop culture, with Japanese actors using the word over and over in a television comedy skit.

Stripped of context, what did the word mean?

Any moral confusion over the word's impact today isn't cleared up by the film.

"I have a psychological problem with our sanitizing the word," former presidential candidate Al Sharpton told AP. "I do understand these young people who feel they are taking a negative and using it as a hammer back. The ultimate comeback is to take a word that's an insult and use it as defiance.

"But on the other level, are you giving license to anyone to use it and take away the ugly history of how the word was used for generations?"

Chuck and Crouch both have no tolerance for debate. They compare it to other derogatory terms such as any number of ethnic slurs that still sting when used.

Chuck averred that the N-word "is not a word of love. It's a word of hatred that is thrust upon us."

http://www.cnn.com/2004/SHOWBIZ/TV/0....ap/index.html

[DrummerDeanna]

Originally Posted by strandinthewind

I agree, but BC was commenting on these problems and how they relate specifically to the black community. So, while yes, it is a multi-community problem in general, the specific instances BC commented on were pretty much exclusive to the black community. I mean he talked about the hypocrisy of the black community using the N word and then getting pissed off when a non-black person uses it. That topic is related mostly to the black community

I know was specifically commenting on the Black community, but what he said can also apply to the Hispanic community....I mean where I come from the exact problems he talked about face Hispanics as well as Blacks...including the use of what are considered racial slurs by "our own"

The acceptance of the "thug" style....that is also happening in the Hispanic community...

use of horridly improper English...a Huge problem in the Hispanic community....and it can mostly be linked to the parents...

I know he was addressing one group of people, but what he said has really resonated to other minority groups in the US.

[dissention]

Originally Posted by strandinthewind

A focus on the 'N Word'
Trio has documentary on cultural changes
Sunday, July 4, 2004 Posted: 8:00 AM EDT (1200 GMT)

Sorry, the N-word is pure filth. I don't care who supports its use, it's a derogatory term, nothing more.

I find it incredibly hypocritical of African Americans who use it. They lecture on how they've been unfairly treated, then turn around and adopt the single most derogatory term thrown at them in history. It's baffling and outrageous.

[estranged4life]

being that I have a ethnic background of Cherokee, German & Irish that I have heard all types of racial slurs, But I have yet to hear one like the N-word used so liberally by others.

Growing up in the town I was raised in (Muskogee, OK) which has a large Black population I saw racism upclose. I never participated in it because nearly most of my friends during all my school years were Black, They NEVER used the N-Word in a conversation towards one another in all the years we knew one another, Because it was considered extremely disrespectful and very low-class.

But nowadays it (The N-Word) is tossed around in the younger crowd as a word that is not considered offensive, Which I think is utter BS. Even worse is when these "Wanna-be Urban" white kids (Just like the ones mentioned in the article above) use the N-Word in the same fashion without knowing that word has a more negative effect on older generations where it is not widely acceptable.

Brian j.

[GypsySorcerer]

Originally Posted by dissention

Sorry, the N-word is pure filth. I don't care who supports its use, it's a derogatory term, nothing more.

I find it incredibly hypocritical of African Americans who use it. They lecture on how they've been unfairly treated, then turn around and adopt the single most derogatory term thrown at them in history. It's baffling and outrageous.

*stands and applauds* I totally agree with you there.

[Gwillaker]

He's making some good points.

[sara1998]

I admire Bill Cosby for saying this outloud. If some of the black folks take offence to it, maybe they need to sit and think a little about it.

I was raised in the inner city. I've been around it all of my life. It was'nt the best place to be raised, but it sure gives you a first hand account of what it's like to be the minority. I was the minority at school.... every school, every year. I don't care much for rap, I never acted "black", I was never a "wanna be urban white kid", because I am. I grew up with lots of black friends, and not all black families are like that. Some of them are, though. I completley understand where Cosby is coming from. And these wanna be white kids? They are the suburban kids. They are the ones who never had to deal with it first hand. They probably can't say they have any black friends. And, if the suburban kids ever seen some of the **** I've seen, they would be scared ****less. The urban kids really can't stand the wanna be's.

Anyhow, I just wanted to share my background real quick. I guess my point is, my parents did the best they could. They taught me right from wrong, they didn't listen to derogatory music, they taught me never to say the N word because it's disrespectful. I came out of the inner city OK, so the people Cosby is talking about have a chance to do the same if they really want. It is up to them.

Maria