Bill Cosby: Blacks can't speak English

WorldNetDaily ^ | 5/20/2004

[mhking]

strange? has this guy gone off the deep end?

Deep end? I'm figuring that he's maybe finally starting to have some "off the plantation" thought.

He's not completely off, but the mindset he's got here is more like the "old (as in 60s & 70s) Cosby" than the mealy mouthed handwringer we've been saddled with the past 20 years or so.

Black conservative ping

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[Leisler]

I tought it was Bush's fault.

[rabidralph]

Don't be alarmed, folks. It was Karl Rove in black-face.

[Blue Jays]

Hi All-

For you technology buffs / IT workers out there, Bill Cosby can next be seen at Computer Associates World. Here are the details according to this name search:

CA World 2004

~ Blue Jays ~

[Einigkeit_Recht_Freiheit]

I am not sure whether or not you are correct on the point that blacks in their 30s and 40s can speak proper English (this is what you implied by saying they could do so in school in the 60s and 70s), and it would be difficult to prove one way or another. I would be interested to hear the observations of others.

Moreover, I honesly find that most Americans can barely speak "proper" English without consistently making grammatical errors of one sort or another. One need only compare the eloquence of American to British politicans to understand the much lower standard expected in the US when it comes to the use of the language. (not a criticism, just and observation).

Tht much said, it is still fundamental for a populations progress to be able to speak the language in a semi-intelligent manner. If young blacks now find it impossible to do so, then something needs to be done in terms of education.

If they can and refuse to, well that's a choice they make, but I find it hard to believe that is the case.

[Skooz]

I don't agree with much of anything Jackson says, and Sharpton comes across as a buffoon, but one thing King, Jackson and Sharpton have in common is a mastery of the English language. Cosby is also a superb communicator who uses the language well.

To succeed at all in this country, one must possess a grasp of the language, and I think Cosby was venting his frustration that so few poor blacks, in his experience, have that grasp.

[Wonder Warthog]

"I am not sure whether or not you are correct on the point that blacks in their 30s and 40s can speak proper English (this is what you implied by saying they could do so in school in the 60s and 70s), and it would be difficult to prove one way or another. I would be interested to hear the observations of others."

I grew up in the South, and in the fifties and sixties, poor, relatively uneducated blacks (I'm talking about sharecroppers and field hands in south Louisiana) spoke FAR better English than today's "Ebonics-talking" black youth. Sure, there was "some" dialect, but nothing like what exists in the inner cities today.

I suspect the whole "black dialect" thing is an outgrowth of the whole "black is beautiful" empowerment movement, in an attempt to be "blacker than thou".

[demlosers]

All I can say is that it's about damn time that Cosby spoke up.

Yes, wow!

[guitfiddlist]

Bill Cosby will now join Clarence Thomas, Ward Connelly and Condaleeza Rice in the Uncle Tom club. For they have dared to speak the truth, and the NAACP won't stand for that.

[johnny7]

Cosby is just saying what he's thought for the past 20 years but never had the courage to say amidst his lib buddies. A lot of things get spoken when you get into your twilight years.

[Graybeard58]

But, I would be willing to make the case that the reparations we owe blacks for slavery should be made by teaching their children how to speak proper English.

I give up. If I owe reparations as you say, should I just send the check to you? Let me know how much I owe.

Get real.

[Carcharodon]

It depends what you define as English. Those of us from the Commonwealth often don't consider what is spoken in the US "English" in any real sense. Similarly, the English spoken in Dublin or Glasgow differs greatly from what you'd find in Auckland or Capetown.

That said, Mr Cosby certainly has a point. I cannot help but laugh when I see some of the spellings that black mothers use for their kids names - Anfernee etc etc.

[7thson]

Even though he proved himself a flake, remember when Ross Perot was talking to a black group in 92 and said "you people." No N word, nothing derogatory, just "you people." He was nearly crucified!

[Einigkeit_Recht_Freiheit]

You are welcome to send a check to me, but I was not really making the case for reparations, rather saying that recognizing the need to teach blacks high english was a good way to give them the tools they need to succeed on their own. Rather than looking for handouts. Perhaps this was too nuanced for you to understand.

[CSM]

"But, I would be willing to make the case that the reparations we owe blacks for slavery should be made by teaching their children how to speak proper English."

What reperations do we owe? Do you owe reperations to the world wide Jewish community?

[Freebird Forever]

the reparations we owe blacks for slavery

Take a good long look at the living conditions of West Africans.

The privilege of being an American citizen already belongs to the descendants of those brought here as slaves.

The only reparation needed is one already possessed, the freedom to improve ones own lot in life.

The exploitation of that opportunity remains the responsibility of the individual.

[speedy]

As some others have stated here, this is not the first time Cosby has spoken this way -- I recall he gave a very similar talk at a Howard graduation ceremony about 10 years ago that was broadcast on C-SPAN. I think Cosby is as much of a liberal as he ever was, but he is too intelligent and too accomplished to fall for the victimization angle. The liberalism is a part of his emotional make-up that he can't seem to shake, despite the fact that his values and the way he has lived his life should put him in Freeperville. I have also seen Jesse Jackson talking this way -- saw him in fact in person in Wilmington, DE maybe 15 years ago saying essentially what Cosby said. It proves to me that these guys DO understand the difference between right and wrong; it's just that in Jesse's case, he makes his living out of doing what is wrong. Cosby is another situation altogether; in many respects an admirable man, his logic just can't trump his emotions.

[sgtbono2002]

Bill Cosby knows the problems blacks have and tells it like it is. Bill Cosby should be heading the NAACP. Bills Cosby is a role model Not Kweasy Mfume with his 7 illigitimate kids, or Jesse Jackson with his,.

[Graybeard58]

the reparations we owe blacks for slavery

Nothing "nuanced" about that statement.

[Graybeard58]

It's way to "nuanced" for us. - see post #54