Is Bill Cosby Right?: Or Has the Black Middle Class Lost Its Mind?

Personal excuse making

Dyson does a good job of dissecting Bill Cosby's comments and pointing out flaws in those comments. However Cosby's comments, in my view, didn't deserve the full professorial attention Mr. Dyson has given it. After all, Bill Cosby was simply expressing his opinions. But Mr. Dyson seems to have taken those comments personally and feels a need to defend the culture of excuse making and victim posturing that is currently prevalent in 'American' society. I wanted to know more about the man who thought Cosby was all wrong. I wanted to know where his views orginated and what experiences affected his opinions. So here's what I found. Dyson grew up in a comfortable middle class family. He was a teenage father (part of the target audience Cosby was focused on) and was living off the welfare system for some small portion of his early adult years. He has been given many advantages in life, a fine education, achieved many accomplishements, so why is he saying poor black people are victims and we can't expect more of them? Mr. Dyson views are at once surprising and confusing. He should go back and study the writings of Martin Luther King or the Frederick Douglas. At no time, did either of these venerable men make excuses for African Americans. They fought against injustice but did not use that injustice as a reason for not doing better. Really Mr. Dyson....shame on you.

5 out of 5 people found this review helpful.

Yes!! Bill Cosby is Right

Professor Dyson is missing the point when dubbs Bill Cosby's efforts as 'Blame-the-Poor-Tour.' We have to stop making excuses for not training our childen. Bill Cosby is like a general giving marching orders, encouraging and challenging us as individuals and communities to go to battle to recapture and secure our 'TOUR OF DUTY' of being effective parents. Cosby's alleged past mistakes in no way diminishes the importance of what he saying about our people and the need to do better. Our Children's future is at stake. Dyson says his aim is 'simply to provoke black folk into serious self-examination.' That is great! but there is no need to 'bash' Bill. Bill Cosby is 'Right'!!!

4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

Please....

What a sad excuse for a book. Having read this book, I can tell you it's main idea: excuses, excuses, excuses. What a sad shame. I am a proud Democrat and civil rights supporter, and lifelong Urban League and NAACP member, but I find this book to be confusing. How in the world can the author excuse such behavior! Go to any special education classroom, Mr. Dyson, for just 2 days, and then we'll see how you and your wine sipping, european car driving, pearly gates loving self feels! For shame. Go Bill Cosby!

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Black on Black

Michael Eric Dyson has taken Bill Cosby to task for his comments regarding African-American families of the rap/hip-hop era. Dyson believes that rather than lambast at-risk African-American families, Cosby should help uplift rather than downgrade them. If nothing else, Cosby, in Dyson's opinion, has crossed that invisible line in which blacks do not denigrate other blacks in public, in the mainstream society, i.e. white society. Cosby by virture of this public chastising is a race traitor even though these same African-American families have helped support his career for several decades. Who is right? Who is wrong? Race will continue to be a topic that haunts our nation even as we watch our first mixed race African-American president demonstrate that the American dream can hold true for all of our children, regardless of their race, creed, color, ethnicity, religion, or economic status in life.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Nothing But Excuses

I am sick and tire of African Americans blaming the white society for their bad choices. They are many who made it out of crime and poverty by doing something positive. It is called CHOICE. I came from a poor family and choose to do something positive by doing well in school and graduating from college. WAKE UP AND SMELL THE COFFEE! We are the ones who can teach young African Americans that they can do better by using their heads. I am doing it now. We are their role models. DO SOMETHING POSITIVE!

1 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

I don't think some of you got it....

Admittedly, I did not read the book in its entirety, just the first third or so 'and that was almost a year ago'. However, as I was reading it quickly became clear to me that Dyson¿s book is not about making excuses for black people who don¿t help themselves. Rather, it is an attempt to explain to readers how much harder it is for many African Americans 'or black people, or whatever term you care to use' to succeed in life than it is for white Americans. Essentially, he is trying to get readers to see that it takes an extraordinary black person to execute a bootstrap-lift, and that the fact that society is in such a state should be taken into consideration before anyone lays full blame for lack of success at the feet of those who didn¿t succeed. I am, however, slightly disappointed that he 'from what I read' confined the issue mostly to black people. The disadvantaged state he describes applies to people of all races simply because its cause is inherited poverty and poverty doesn¿t see race. However, this fact is highly forgivable in light of the nature of the book 'a response to an attack on black youth'.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

We just don't get it, do we?

First of all let me say that I admire Dr. Cosby for his very positive depiction of blacks in his work as a comedian and actor. When I first heard excerpts of his speech last year, I was one who was beating his drums saying, ¿say it Mr. Cosby, it¿s about time some of these knuckleheads are told the truth¿. So when I first got this book, I read it with a slight degree of trepidation, because I was scared I was going to read another dissertation on how ¿everything wrong with black people is due to some form of institutional racism¿. If it were not for the fact that I admire and respect Dr. Dyson¿s work, I would not have picked it up in the first place (although, I must say the title did amuse me). But slowly, however, as I read the book, I realized that the problem with my cries of self-righteousness upon first hearing excerpts of Dr. Cosby¿s speech was that I had not heard the whole speech and had not put his words in the right context of reality. Unless you read the book in its entirety, you will not get the point that Dyson is trying to make. It is somewhat hypocritical for Cosby to heap all this blame on working and poor black families in light of his own struggles growing up, and considering many of the social constraints that make it challenging to raise a black child in today¿s America. At first glance, you would think that Dyson is trying to give an excuse for all irrational behavior by black youth and their parents, but this is not the case at all. He goes through a lot of research to present facts that make you think and at least have more empathy before giving the ¿I-made-it-from-nothing-to-something, so-why-can¿t-you¿ speech. I find it very troubling that in America today, there seem to be two broad schools of thought in the political arena, without room for compromise: first, there is the let-the-government-solve-all-you-problems-for-you-because-you-are-a-vi ctim-of-racism-or-cirscumstance school of thought, and then there is the pull-yourself-up-by-the-boostraps-because-I-did-with-only-a-fraction-o f-the-reseources-you-have school of thought. We often label these philosophies liberal and conservative respectively. But the truth of the matter (as Dr. Dyson suggests in his book) is that the solutions to the problem of bridging the socio-economic gap between the poor black community and the black middle class are not always as simple as getting your child ¿hooked on phonics¿. Yes, education is an essential part of the growing process, but there are several constraints within the education system within urban communities that must be addressed. Whether our kids are buying $500 tennis shoes (as Cosby suggests) or wearing their pants backwards, or have names like Shaneka, Lakwanda (etc) is a secondary issue and does not address the issues that contribute to the hopelessness of plaguing many of our poor communities. Do we ever examine facts like an aggressive capitalistic business empire would rather your kids buy those expensive tennis shoes as they pawn famous athletes (who are predominantly black) to be used as spokespeople for their communities to get more sales to those ¿poor communities¿? Can we blame our kids for wanting to have a piece of the American dream, when for many just having those tennis shoes is a symbols of making it when names like Iverson, Lebron or Garnett are on those shoes [they themselves being positive models of going from rags-to-riches]? Whatever your political affiliation, I would still suggest you read this book, if not for anything else, but the facts that Dyson raises about our school systems, Cosby¿s up-bringing and background, and how ironic it seems that a man like Cosby who has always tried to avoid being labeled a black-leader (in an attempt to be seen as a human being first, not a black comedian) now all of a sudden deems himself a spokesperson for issues concerning poor and working class black families and children. It just makes me wonder, after reading this book, if Cosby

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Uncle toms Beware

This excellent book my Mr. Dyson shows the self-hatred and elitism by upper middle class blacks. If you're an uncle tom then this book will show you about yourself.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Daring...

In this book, Dyson takes a daring stab at Cosbys allegations against the 'black poor'. He bodly defends those whom can not defend themselves in this manner and he highlights Bill Cosbys hypocrate like ways. Dyson informs black elites, that the problem is far more complex than the black lower class not knowing how to behave, spend their money properly or just being an out right embarassment of black America. The blame is shared equally among societal structures, lack of access to adequate resources and individual responsibility. However, the points can become a bit redundant.

Probably not worth reading

Ever watch Charlie Brown? Remember when the childen are in class and the teacher is talking? All the students hear is... waaa waaa waaa. That is exactly what this book is. What is wrote in this book could have been wrote by a college sophomore in a 3 page essay and quite possibly done a better job at it. Again, probably not worth your time

0 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Cosby's Money preceeds his mouth!

Mr. Cosby has earned the right to be critical of his own culture. For years now, he has blazed a career and opened doors for countless black actors. He is responsible for a very positive portrayal of the black family as a success. And he has given generously to HBCUs and the Negro College Fund throughout the years. His actions of support for the black community are numberous and unassailable, and came long before any words of criticism of the black community.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Aren't both right?

Sure, Mr. Dyson is right that some 'elite¿ blacks look down their noses at the 'rest of us'. He has HIS perspective. But, he is also only using a 'respected' figure to help sell his book. Clarence Thomas may have been a better figure to truly represent the kind of man who 'appears' to have abandoned his own people. But, then, speaking what seems obvious to everyone wouldn't sell as many books, would it? But, Bill Cosby is also right. All one has to do is see half-grown men brag about how many babies they have made (but don't care for) while they pull their pants 'down' around their knees, do nothing with their lives and complain about why they don't have anything. They are knuckleheads! Sure, racism is alive and well... it will put its foot on your neck and hold you down. But, is that an excuse for being a 'knuckle-head' and doing everything wrong yourself? I don't think so. If racism will keep you from achieving your potential, holding your OWN self back will make you hit rock-bottom a HECK of a lot quicker.

A Well Researched

excuse and justification for continuing failure. A total waste of time for anyone with intelligence enough to see through the excuse making lies and self justifying methods by which some keep others down by telling them it's okay to perform awfully. Maybe you could sell that line to white liberals but not other African Americans who threw that excuse making aside and made something of themselves!

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Is Bill Cosby Right?: Or Has the Black Middle Class Lost Its Mind?

Dyson articualtes the thoughts of the working class to the elites

Is Bill Cosby Right?: Or Has the Black Middle Class Lost Its Mind?

I am one of the people Cosby talked about. I wear baggy clothes, listen to hip-hop and occasionally speak in slang. I also am a 3.0 college student who volunteers. Cosby and the people like him have no connection to the urban youth. They try to understand us, but they never talk to us. They just sit around and preach to each other. Dyson is the voice of the hip-hop generation and he allows us to express ourselves and we do know about personal responsibilty, but nobody makes it on their own Everybody receives help along the way, but the black elite is too busy looking down their noses at us to lend a helping hand.

Is Bill Cosby Right?: Or Has the Black Middle Class Lost Its Mind?

The self-hate inside the black elite is exposed. The black elite has always snubbed their noses at the working class. Do they lend ahelping hand? No! They spit on us. Dyson exposes the hyprocrisy of Cosby and his followers.

Thought intensive

Those wanting a clear understanding of what went into Bill Cosby's NAACP remarks last year should read this book, if you agreed or not. The points raised in this book are not only accurate, but also give a startling insight into Black middleclass self-hatred.

Dyson profits off the attitude he helps prop up

People like Mr Dyson want to keep African Americans in a 'whoa is me' state of mind so they can feed off this attitude for their own benefit. Mr Dyson's books have sold fairly well over the years, which puts him in the financial stratosphere of the 'Afristocracy' whom he condems.

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