The American Spectator

Reader Mail

(Page 3 of 12)

br> -- Joseph Baum br> Newton Falls, Ohio /p>

Jimi "Hendrix" Izrael, in his criticism of Bill Cosby's views regarding the state of the poor black youth of America, falls into the same trap that the liberal apologists, both black and white, in this country always do. For a political block that considers themselves so much more enlightened than their slovenly uneducated conservative counterparts, their myopic view on how to address this problem boggles the mind.

Bill Cosby, and Tom Sowell for that matter, are refreshing voices that take the "black" out of the equation and examine the causes and effects based on the destructive behavior they witness. Like most conservative postures, it's not about excuses (there are no opportunities for poor urban blacks) but about creating opportunities. That is difficult to do when the family has been blown apart from it's traditional role. Instead of making excuses like the traditional black leaders, Cosby logically points out the flaws in the fabric that the typical black urban child is raised under, and to address the bigger issues of achievement, we must first fix the attitudes that begin at home.

How does Izrael square his observation that Cosby is out of touch -- "Like so many of his generation -- people who obviously never been young, poor, or made a single bad choice--....while failing to see the broken legacy he and his kind have left behind" -- with the fact that Cosby did have a poor urban upbringing in Philadelphia?

Furthermore, I think the opportunities that exist today, in a much wealthier economy than the one existed in the '40s and '50s, makes the ability to escape this plight relatively easier than what Cosby had to endure. Cosby's parents would have never wasted the 1940s dollar equivalent of a $500 pair of sneakers because they didn't have the money or the choice.

Interesting that this comes the same day I read a Associated Press piece on the Education Trust who recently completed a study of 772 colleges and universities where only 63% of all freshmen enrolled achieve degrees within 6 years of entering these schools. Unfortunately, the number is only 46% for African-American students. The left loves the idea of affirmative action in school admissions procedures, but wouldn't the numbers suggest the policy doesn't work?

p>What Mr. Izrael and his type need to do is stop with the excuses and work to perpetuate a message of accountability, not just for African-Americans but everyone. Cosby's wisdom has a fantastic message in it -- if one is willing to listen and has the ability to access their own circumstances honestly. br> -- William H. Stewart br> Boston, Massachusetts /p>

I beg to differ with Mr. Izrael's "other perspective". He cites the movies Mr. Cosby appeared in, Uptown Saturday Night and Let's Do it Again, which are made-up, scripted forms of "entertainment" -- not a primer for Black Americans. There was a great column today at Townhall.com by Jay Bryant that hit the nail on the head and begs a question I have often wondered myself: "if something like what Cos was calling for were to become conventional wisdom among African-American families, there might not be a reason for an NAACP Legal Defense Fund..." or many other current so-called Black "leaders."

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