04-29-2008, 07:31 PM
[quote mattkime]>>because the author, young and "liberal,"
Yes, and its become a popular idea among conservatives that money is the reward for virtue which cosby is generally agreeing with.
Interesting that you'd characterize this as an exclusively conservative idea (money as a reward for virtue is quite the popular idea among affluent liberals too, money doesn't care what your political inclination is, bank accounts don't have party affiliations) or label Cosby a conservative because his ideas are contrary or unpopular. Is Cosby a conservative? (I don't think he is politically, but to be honest I'm not sure) Or is he just rich? The two aren't necessarily synonymous.
Actually I agree, I think Cosby's rant about names was misguided, it alienated some of the people who otherwise would be allies. There was a strong negative reaction to his statements about that, it obscured other parts of his message. But with respect to his generational point of view, he's not completely wrong, either.
I think if your neighbor named her son "bonehead", or her daughter "Koweshalamarama" you might question her judgement, and wonder how their potential might be limited by the unfortunate name choices. But would you dare challenge it directly? No, that would risk being discourteous, or disrespectful to their "culture" (even though they're American) I think a lot of successful young black people with screwy-sounding fake Africanized names have a right to object to Cosby's insult, they're the exception, their names didn't determine or inhibit their success.
I think Cosby is off-message here, confusing something he's personally offended by with something that's connected to his other concerns. His generation is old-school, their parents fought hard for equal opportunity for their kids, self-reliance, dignity, education, and assimilation was viewed the path to get there. As the author pointed out, one of the benefits of liberty and equality is the freedom to squander it how you wish, by being vulgar, or materialistic, or trivial, or fake afro-centric, or using slang words that were viewed as toxic by his generation, but are common currency now. Sometimes Cosby is like a proud warrior, taking an unpopular stance, other times he's just an angry old guy, and the two sometimes contradict each other.
Also, when a guy named Scooter Libby makes it into the highest levels of the Executive branch, or a woman named Cokie Roberts becomes a Congressional correspondent and Senior News Analyst, it's hard to make the case that goofy name choices automatically cripple future career success!
Yes, and its become a popular idea among conservatives that money is the reward for virtue which cosby is generally agreeing with.
Interesting that you'd characterize this as an exclusively conservative idea (money as a reward for virtue is quite the popular idea among affluent liberals too, money doesn't care what your political inclination is, bank accounts don't have party affiliations) or label Cosby a conservative because his ideas are contrary or unpopular. Is Cosby a conservative? (I don't think he is politically, but to be honest I'm not sure) Or is he just rich? The two aren't necessarily synonymous.
Cosby's general message is very good and then he proceeds to destroy it in the details. there is simply no reason to insult the way people name their children.
Actually I agree, I think Cosby's rant about names was misguided, it alienated some of the people who otherwise would be allies. There was a strong negative reaction to his statements about that, it obscured other parts of his message. But with respect to his generational point of view, he's not completely wrong, either.
I think if your neighbor named her son "bonehead", or her daughter "Koweshalamarama" you might question her judgement, and wonder how their potential might be limited by the unfortunate name choices. But would you dare challenge it directly? No, that would risk being discourteous, or disrespectful to their "culture" (even though they're American) I think a lot of successful young black people with screwy-sounding fake Africanized names have a right to object to Cosby's insult, they're the exception, their names didn't determine or inhibit their success.
I think Cosby is off-message here, confusing something he's personally offended by with something that's connected to his other concerns. His generation is old-school, their parents fought hard for equal opportunity for their kids, self-reliance, dignity, education, and assimilation was viewed the path to get there. As the author pointed out, one of the benefits of liberty and equality is the freedom to squander it how you wish, by being vulgar, or materialistic, or trivial, or fake afro-centric, or using slang words that were viewed as toxic by his generation, but are common currency now. Sometimes Cosby is like a proud warrior, taking an unpopular stance, other times he's just an angry old guy, and the two sometimes contradict each other.
Also, when a guy named Scooter Libby makes it into the highest levels of the Executive branch, or a woman named Cokie Roberts becomes a Congressional correspondent and Senior News Analyst, it's hard to make the case that goofy name choices automatically cripple future career success!