Bill Cosby-At It Again

Bill Cosby is right.

And he is wrong.

Sounds contradictory, doesn't it? It really is not. Because nothing happens in a vacuum, one must look at the whole picture that is being painted. And Bill Cosby is not focusing on the entire canvas, just a part of it. Admittedly, a very important part of the picture, but not the whole picture. I know that Bill Cosby has done some tremendous things for Black youth and continues to do so. I also recognize that Bill is a Dr. with a degree (not just honorary) so he is speaking not only from the heart but also as an academic. But to focus his comments on Black youth alone is just wrong. And he is finally addressing the root of the problem. He is speaking to their parents. Because children can't raise themselves. So what we see in our youth (Black and White) is a result of parents taking a time out from parenting. Disrespectful, arrogant, violent, lazy kids with questionable morals are the result. All of us of Bill Cosby's generation and the generation which came after him must share in the guilt for what our children have become. Even though most of us tried to do the right things by our own children, everytime we saw a small child who was cursed out in the grocery store line and did not speak up we were guilty. Everytime we saw a parent who was out of control with their child in public and said nothing we were guilty. And every man who had an out of wedlock child and did not spend quality time with that child is guilty. (Even Bill Cosby has had some problems with this issue). Children need fathers in their life. And mothers cannot teach boys how to be men. So the children that Bill Cosby talks about took a long time to get to this terrible place they find themselves in today. The village failed them.

And Bill Cosby might want to go through a reconciliation process when he talks about the language that our kids speak today. As I recall, the cartoon characters which Bill created all those many years ago did not speak or dress like Harvard graduates. They could even be said to speak their own version of Blackspeak or ebonics, etc. Which of course is not unusual in any ethnic community. But as the saying goes, when you know better, you do better. So there was a world of difference in his Cosby cartoon characters and the Huxtable kids. And many people embraced the cartoon characters but never liked the Huxtables. So guess what their kids heard at home?

The thing that really troubles me is that Bill Cosby appears so angry when he talks about these issues. I don't see the love. And as of yet I have not heard him say that this is a national problem with all kids-Black and white. There are a lot of irresponsible, lazy, and educationally challenged parents who fail their kids and they do not all wear Black faces. I would like to see him reach out to white parents groups. I would like to see him go to schools that are majority white and give the same speech/lecture to them that he gives to Black parents. Because we all know that white kids have issues too. Can we say Columbine? Georgia is still in shock over a case where two white girls killed the grandparents of one of the girls because they basically did not want to follow the rules of the house. And Rockdale County Georgia was in the news a few years ago because almost the entire teenage (white) population there had every form of STD imaginable because they were engaging in every form of sexual union imaginable. Juvenile courts have White and Black kids on the dockets. And let's face it, Bill. White girls have abortions, not babies. The point is: We are all in this same boat that we call America. If those that fail for whatever reason continue to increase-we all go down.

A Holy Man

I believe there are people among us who have sat at the feet of the Master and have learned from Him. There is such peace surrounding them that they stand out as special people. We are often so busy in our day to day activities that we sometimes don't recognize these special people. I was blessed several years ago to have seen one of these people with my own eyes. I almost missed the experience, because at the time I was wrapped up with worry about some drama happening in my life. And it is true that we oftentimes only see what we are looking for.

On one of my marathon Greyhound Bus trips I saw a man who I now feel was one of God's prophets and almost dismissed him as just another one of those interesting/strange people one observes on bus rides. It was not until almost 500 miles into the trip that I recognized that he was indeed a special person. In appearance he was pretty ordinary looking. He had a monklike haircut and was dressed all in black. Early on in the trip he had sat in a seat where someone had left some chewing gum in it and had subsequently gotten gum all over the back of his coat. He did not get the least bit upset when he discovered the gum. Instead, he very calmly and methodically picked the gum off his coat with his hands. His patience in dealing with this situation should have been my first clue, but as I said, I was not looking for a person like him. And even if I had been looking, I would not have thought he would be riding a Greyhound bus.

Anyway, the thing that finally got my attention was overhearing a conversation he was having with a fellow passenger. As I was listening to him talk, I was somewhat amused because the fellow he was talking to was a Chicano and I was not sure they were connecting because of the obvious language barrier, as he was speaking English. After a little while the Chicano got up and went to use the bathroom. So I was right, I thought somewhat smugly to myself. I have often used that ploy myself to get out of similar conversations. The fellow was probably tired of pretending to understand what was being said.

But wait-the good part is coming.

After about fifteen minutes the Chicano came back to talk to the prophet and it was obvious at this point that they were connecting in a very real and spiritual way. The essence of what they were saying was that God provides everything that we need when we need it and to worry about money or things is unnecessary. Such a simple concept was stated by two men who obviously did not have a lot but stated their belief in this concept with such profoundness. They talked back and forth for about thirty minutes. When the Chicano was approaching his destination, he stood and told the prophet that he was happy to have met him and would always remember what he said and would always try to follow what he knew to be God's teachings. And with that said, they gave each other a very warm hug in parting. Needless to say, I felt blessed to have witnessed such an encounter and it brightened my spirits and helped to remove my previous worries.

14 days and counting

Two weeks to go before the election. It is scary to think that this is an event that will change the course of not only American history, but world history. Because those on the right obviously want nothing less than world domination.