On Racism: The Lost Nuance of Bill Cosby

I've seen over the years mainly(but not only) conservative folks trot out a famous person of color's musings about racism in this country in a nascent way to counter charges of racism in an event, political dust-up, Pundit brain fart,

etc.

These 'esteemed' chosen ones have been people like Dr. Ben Carson, Juan Williams, Morgan Freeman, Allen West, Herman Cain among others.

The 'protest too much!' cudgel I want to talk about for this post is Bill Cosby.

You know him right?

The one whose declarations on the subject so pissed off Eric Dyson he wrote a whole book on the subject.

Yes that 'Bill Cosby'.

The Bill Cosby that protested CBS for airing the 'Amos and Andy' sitcom due to its extremely stereotypical nature and was also interested in pulling 'Our Gang' off the air . . .

Yes that 'Bill Cosby'

And he's done other things of the sort . . .

The man has shown himself to be highly sophisticated and always steeped in nuance . . . which always seems to get lost on those that would trot him out as a counter to a charge of racism.

See This Facebook Link that accompanies this pic:

Please take a moment and peruse the ghastly ignorance of the folks in that thread under the link about Cosby saying  . . .

"We can't blame White Folks anymore". 

They make some assumptions about blacks being lazy and the word 'hand-out' is spat out like pigeon 'guano' all over the accompanying thread. 

It was so breathtaking that an initial retort to these folks has grown into something too long for that medium . . . So I want to say a few things:

Most blacks you meet, whether they are blue collar, white collar or in between, are honest, proud, kind-hearted and hard-working people.  That goes for blacks from whatever 'stripe' - African American, West Indian(from the Caribbean) or African immigrant; we adore an honest day’s work and take pride in our compensation and are proud to do with it as we wish . . . just like every other American

The trope that we are just looking for a hand-out is frankly getting really tired right now!

For Pete's Sakes, when Barrack Obama won, the 'intimation' was that he was going to 'give away the store' read 'white folks hard earned money' to lazy, 'undeserving' 'brown folks' . . . hence the charge of socialist and this

frothing at the mouth, intractable sort of opposition to 'stop him' at all cost.

Blacks by and large DO NOT lack the mental heft to build generational wealth, adequately support their families, excel in education, and subsequently be stellar bosses and employees.  We were STOPPED for centuries from DOING ALL OF THE ABOVE legally, socially and via terrorism when all else failed.  It's only within LIVING MEMORY have we finally gotten the legal right and some of the social barriers lifted to actually do what was ALWAYS within us TO do:

Chase the American Dream.

We're late starters in the race . . . but we're competent runners in this race.

Please realize that this knee-jerk 'reaction' many of you have to a person of color making a fuss about racism, is a sophisticated, age-old grandchild of white supremacy, that our media and our politics, have pervasively battered the

Populace with until it has permeated the collective subconscious.

It is pretty obvious that taken collectively blacks are behind whites in terms of property ownership, generational wealth, net worth, etc.  Some of those that raise the specter of 'look out for Them' use this fact as fodder for their scare campaign by intimating that it was so long ago(a few decades vs centuries of slavery and segregation!? But let's continue . . .) and they still can't 'get it together'.

The only explanation is that we must be intrinsically sub-par and lazy.

"Look out for the Food Stamp Melbourne Steak . . .!"

. . . is the cry.

Simply disgusting.

It's a whole nefarious 'package' about people of color's proclivities, habits, capabilities and desires, that has been inseminated into the womb of our national intellect.  Your chance to help abort this, is at hand when you stop and listen when one of us decides to publicly air our grievances on this subject matter.

I frankly don't understand the hostility I sometimes get . . .

Unless . . . you've got issues that need purging and examining.  In that instance you need to ask yourself why you are feeling so 'attacked'.  That is not my responsibility to 'calm down your hackles'.  It's yours.  You need to search yourself and excise the remnants of that ugly supremacist's, grandchild's hegemony within you.

If you're upset at me for raising the issue . . . maybe you should thank me:

I'm helping you discover a sickness or contagion you didn't realize was there.

Last I checked, getting rid of viruses within the body was a good thing.  I assume the same is true for the psyche, for the mind . . .

The automatic 'shut down' about 'why is it always about race . . .?' and using Cosby's nuanced and targeted statement, or I should say excerpt, to 'shunt' this touchy subject away . . . is offensive and it delays the vital conversation about race that needs to be had in this country!

Back to the much-trumped Cosby utterance:

There are lowlifes, moochers and lazy, good for nothing's in all cultures, ethnicities . . . and yes I know many black folks that fit that mold.

Does that make ALL blacks some pariah to be scorned, watched, and despised?

No. 

It makes us NORMAL.

When Bill Cosby was talking about not blaming Whites anymore he meant:

We now have the OPPORTUNITY to pursue that which we were barred from pursuing.

He is talking DIRECTLY TO a rather minuscule sliver the total black population, who are actually good for nothing blacks who never even tried to to do anything, but hide behind the specter of the still existent racism as a reason why they haven't or can't 'try'.

Bill Cosby is saying, if you haven't even TRIED, if you haven't even moved . . . how can you blame White Folks.

Bill Cosby is saying we have the chance NOW, make moves and LET 'Them' try to stop you . . .

That is what that statement TRULY MEANS.

I see nothing wrong with it frankly.

Bill Cosby, like myself and many of my friends and family members, took advantage of this 'embargo' being lifted and we go about our business, head held high, NOT MAKING EXCUSES, but overcoming all obstacles, justified and unjustified, to keep going for our families and loved ones.

Bill Cosby was NOT talking to someone like me who perseveres but who may occasionally decry racism, because a person like me doesn't sit back and do nothing!  So don't throw that crap at any otherwise professional black or person of color that complains about the persistent racism in this country, talking about . . .

"Well Cosby said you can't blame Whites anymore . . .!"

. . . because that's the pinnacle of a sort of seemingly guilt-ridden cowardly tact, of not wanting to face up to the reality that White Privilege is real.

That's Society that has imbued you with that.

It's nothing You 'personally' did.

So stop acting like when a person of color complains about racism around you they are attacking you personally . . . because they aren't.

And furthermore when we make a fuss about racism . . .

We're not making an excuse to 'get something again'.

We aren't asking for your tax dollars

We aren't looking for a freebie

We aren't looking to live high on the government's dime

We aren't looking to 'get over' at your expense

We aren't asserting some sense of ill-deserved, sloth-like entitlement.

All we expect of you with the 'extra credit' to do is listen, try to learn, try to understand and fight WITH us against this ugliness.  Are we correct 100% of the times when we say something was racist?  I can guarantee we're as fallible as the next human being on any other issue.

But just like a man can't dare tell a woman who is experiencing a bad menstrual period that she should be quiet and stop complaining because . . .

". . . It can't be that bad.  You're overdoing it!"

. . . you should defer to the person making the charge of racism, at least initially until you find out more.

Why?

Like a man can never be a woman . . . if you're a member of the majority you cannot truly know what a traditionally-maligned minority's life is like.  You're born with that 'blind spot' that you won't be able to totally negate - you can diminish it . . . but it will never be gone.

Learn to truly 'listen'.

The scope, history, and pervasive persistence of racism in this country and worldwide is well documented and discussed now.  There are volumes of material you can ingest to aid you in becoming more aware, as well as the invaluable, real-time, meaningful, organic interactions with people of color; All can be quite instructive and help to further close that 'blind spot' you were born with.

It's when you're allergic to nuance and perspective . . . you break out in hives of pure ignorance like what is spreading in an ever-growing thread under the initial link.