by Matthew Lynch

Created on: March 12, 2007   Last Updated: April 19, 2007

Over the past two years Bill Cosby has been subjected to whirlwind of backlash stemming from his famous "Pound Cake" speech in May 2004 and various other comments that he has made about the Black community. He has been accused of being inconsiderate, haughty, and uninformed. Even though "Mr. Huxtable's" sociopolitical views about the plight of the African American community have some validity, they have largely been dismissed as being nave and simplistic. This is mainly because he has not taken into account the complex social problems of poor blacks. He has attempted to use sophistry to convince African Americans to restore morality in Black America to its pre Civil Rights state.

Let's analyze his comments. Mr. Cosby has been very vocal of his disdain for African Americans who turn a blind eye to the high crime rates, the academic failure of black students, and poverty. He has encouraged blacks to take a more proactive approach to the myriad of problems that plague their communities. He has been depicted as "picking on poor folks," but he has targeted all classes in his infamous tirades.
What really takes the cake is the fact that within the African American community, there is a "Silent Black Majority," that knows that in their heart of hearts, there is some validity in his comments. The problem that most blacks have with Cosby is that they believe that by airing our dirty laundry, he is letting white folks off of the hook for centuries of oppression; Not really. He is simply asking blacks to step up to the plate, and face the fact that some of their friends and family are their own worst enemies. When reporting Cosby's comments, Commentators have been slow to report his excoriating comments about Christians, the police or his praise of Black Muslim organizations. I think that most of distracters are largely upset at his unapologetic style of speaking.
African American's exacerbate a "Cult of Victimology," that blames racism for the social ills of Black America. Although I do believe that there are a lot of factors that can hinder the success of African American's, we most shoulder some of the blame. Racism and bigotry will always be present in the world, but in the words of the late great Arthur Ashe, "Racism is not an excuse, not to do the best you can."
Although Cosby's comments were meant to be constructive criticism, he seems to have managed to alienate the very people his tirades were intended to empower. In closing, it must be pointed out that his comments were lamentable at best. He uses his celebrity as a pulpit to attack the very people who need a voice. His vitriolic tirades have essentially done more harm than good.

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