ot: BiLL Cosbys Comment

[Duddits]

Originally posted by Nawledge:

Originally posted by Duddits:

that it's OK to tell black kids that they're just as good as white kids without saying at the same time that the man will keep you down.

then what would be the point of saying it. why would you feel the need to tell them that, most kids would wonder why.

So that black kids reeling from the poisons of dicrimination understand that they can spit out enough of it to get through grad school.

 

But by "telling" I don't mean simply expressing the phrase and leaving it at that. I mean doing what Cosby is doing, raising expectations (both schools and kids need to raise expectations for what kids are able to achieve), criticizing disengagement, and destroying every last episode of "Family Matters" which makes a smart, black, kid appear like a repulsive anomaly. What Cosby's saying is that the black kids on the street who have given up on themselves are the ones who should be Urkel-ized.

[Nawledge]

I know we all love cosby and the huckstibles (err spell) but I don't see how any of you could think bill cosbys comments about what black people name their children and other like statements is acceptable, if he was white it wouldn't be. Just because he's warmed our hearts

with is great comedy for ages doesn't give him the right either. for me it's easy to separate those statements from his constructive ones.

[Nawledge]

heres just part of it. trying to find the rest.

 

http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/195095p-168538c.html

[Nawledge]

the funniest thing is, I can't seem to find a copy of the whole transcript, no matter where I look all the people reporting are only printing the parts you folks are defending. the show on cnn anderson cooper 360 did report more than most of the others though. now why is this do you

think?, everybodys patting bill on the back for telling the bad black folk how it is, but the fact is that if you can find a complete transcript you'd see the statements that I find appauling.

 

paraphrasing: like talking about black people naming their children shaniqua and tanisha like names as if there's something wrong with it. this

was not joking (dave chapelle) this was a serious

angry person mad at how black people name their children. ...wtf?

[Nawledge]

ok not sure if this is all of it but most of it I think.

 

People marched and were hit in the face with rocks to get an education, and now we've got these knuckleheads walking around. . . . The lower economic people are not holding up their end in this deal. These people are not parenting."

 

"I am talking about these people who cry when their son is standing there in an orange suit. Where were you when he was 2? Where were you when he was 12? Where were you when he was 18 and how come you didn't know that he had a pistol? And where is the father?"

 

"People putting their clothes on backward: Isn't that a sign of something gone wrong? . . . People with their hats on backward, pants down around the crack, isn't that a sign of something, or are you waiting for Jesus to pull his pants up? Isn't it a sign of something when she has her dress all the way up . . . and got all type of needles (piercing) going through her body? What part of Africa did this come from? We are not Africans. Those people are not Africans; they don't know a . . . thing about Africa."

 

"With names like Shaniqua, Taliqua and Mohammed and all of that crap, and all of them are in jail. Brown versus the Board of Education is no longer the white person's problem. We have got to take the neighborhood back. . . . They are standing on the corner and they can't speak English."

 

"People used to be ashamed. . . . [Today] a woman has eight children with eight different 'husbands,' or men or whatever you call them now."

 

"The idea is to one day get out of the projects. You don't just stay there."

 

"We have millionaire football players who can't read. We have million-dollar basketball players who can't write two paragraphs."

 

"We as black folks have to do a better job. . . . Someone working at Wal-Mart with seven kids, you are hurting us. We have to start holding each other to a higher standard."

 

". . . We cannot blame white people. . . . ."

 

"The incarcerated? These are not political criminals. These are people going around stealing Coca-Cola. People getting shot in the back of the head over a piece of pound cake and then we run out and we are outraged, saying, 'The cops shouldn't have shot him.' What the hell was he doing with the pound cake in his hand?"

 

"

[Nawledge]

btw that came from

 

http://www.oregonlive.com/commentary/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/editorial/10854867683540.xml

 

for those of you that read that and only see him saying 'black people need to go to school, stop committing crimes, and be better parents'

 

all I'm saying is my eyes are not like yours, I see the stuff that for some reason you don't see, even though it was said at the same time by the same person and should hold the same validity

of at least coming out of his mouth. why most media outlets won't print what he said in its entirety is beyond me, if it was trent lott they would.

[Jeff Klopmeyer]

Here's an interesting side point: age.

 

Bill's comments are similar to many other folks who are getting older, regardless of race. Bill talks about kids who get pierced, wear weird clothes (in his perception), steal and such. Seems to me that a lot of that stuff (as someone suggested earlier) is a class issue rather than a race issue.

 

Nawledge, if Bill had been speaking more generally toward youth in general rather than black youth, would you feel his comments were more legitimate?

 

By the way, I'm neither defending him nor persecuting him. Making comments that generalize any group of people... the young, the old, black, white, Jewish, asian, whatever... is bound to rightfully raise the ire of folks that don't want to be defined in that way.

 

- Jeff

[henryrobinett]

Naw - I just read that last bit. I have to say I agree with him. The Shaniqua part, OK. That was funny. So, I think the names some of us come up with for our children is funny sometimes. Sometimes pathetic. But often colorful and original. You, Cosby and I can have a difference of opinion over some things. Isn't that OK?

 

But on point, I'm totally in agreement with his statement.

[meccajay]

I think his viewpoint is from the perspecive of education.. He's been one to harp on the values of it for the last 20 years or so.

True that the age divide has had a huge effect on him with regard to todays youth and what there doing etc.

I must say though, that where education is concerned, when you give away as many millions of dollars to black colleges as Bill does each year, then you can say whatever the hell you want about so called "black education".

 

In other words, his money is where his mouth is...Oprah's is too.

[Nawledge]

of course it's ok for us to disagree, I agree with most of what he said, just like I agree with farakhan when he says black people should not do drugs but I don't look at what anybody says in just a partial manner. the problem that I feel is always present in our society is this running thread of not taking things in their entirety, generalizing, no attention to details, with a problem such as these I think its imperative to leave nothing behind and no rock unturned. I'm a huge bill cosby fan, have several albums, and have watched all of his shows

almost religously since fat albert but that doesn't mean that I agree with everything he said

 

I don't think what he said about naming your children is funny, I don't like how he trivialised someone getting shot in the back of the head for a piece of pound cake, $500 dollar shoes just shows me how much out of touch he is with the lower income people that he's talking about because shoes don't cost that much and neither does hooked on phonics, I don't like the way he thinks people are foolish for wanting a connection with africa...now I'm not one of those

people who has an african name, or goes by african, I don't celebrate qwanza (uhoh!), and I've never worn a leather medallion with the symbol of the african continent on it, but I don't think there is anything wrong with people who do.

 

I think you have to be really dense not to understand why some black people feel drawn to africa (duh) not just because it's where they originated but also for how they got to end up here with these customs and names, not to mention some people just like to name their kids creatively. I just don't feel that Bill cosby has the right to tell anyone that they don't know nothin about africa. In my humble opinion they know enough! put all of these things together and I think it's easily offensive.

 

any of you who've been around for a while know that kids wear wearing their pants sagging back when bill cosby was a teenager, it didn't start in the last 30 yrs, and wearing your clothes backwards, whats that all about.

 

I totally see what you are saying Jeff, and that's why I think its vital that the public takes complete and concise stock of what is said

by people taking public platforms because its easy to distort things when you don't look at every 'i ota'.. Bill looks sounded like some old guy who can't relate to young people, also like a person frustrated with seeing negativity in the black community, and also someone who is out of touch with the black community and the adversity surrounding it. he's like someone who thinks blacks shouldn't have problem withs airport security because when he goes to the airport they don't give him any problem. so to answer your question if he had said those comments about youth in general I would still have the same opinion.

[Nawledge]

I agree with the phrase:

 

'when dealing with racial

injustice one cannot forget personal responsibility'

 

I'd agree more if the phrase was:

 

'when dealing with racial

injustice one cannot forget personal responsibility as well as ones reponsibility to not forget about racial injustice'

 

thats where i'm coming from, I know that for some

of you i'm just getting on your nerves, even for myself dealing with these issues is tedious at best but I know what I stand for and it's not every other word, theres just no good reason to sacrafice one truth for another, imho

[henryrobinett]

Naw - man. It's OK. We just disagree, that's all. Jeff was right on point I think. It's in large part an age thing. I'll be the first too admit I'm too old. I'm out of touch and that's seriously fine with me. I am around a lot of young people. Play with a lot of youthful folk. Work with them. My kids keep me in touch to a degree, but it's a different world. Different values.

 

BTW kids were NOT sagging in Bill's day. People who wore their pants backwards went to the mental hospital. Remember Bill's a comedian. His take is going to be funny and exaggeration. You're taking his $500 shoes comment literally.

 

I haven't read everything he's said but the sentiment I agree with. Kids ARE blowing their brains out over shoes. I've worked with some of them in prison. The shit has got to seriously change. That's what Billl saying. The shit is seriously fucked up and it's on us. We can't blame anyone else now. I hate to put this all out in the public, but that's the truth. I'm tired, I'm tired of hearing black folks talking about racism as if none of where we are has anything to do with the fucked up decisions we made in our lives (they made in their lives). It'sALL ABOUT RESPONSIBILTY. ALL OF IT!!!!

 

Yes there is racism. It's everywhere. Now that we know that what are we going to do about it? I know what I'm doing about it. I'm going to Disneyland. I'm going to stop making myself miserable about things other people did. They're fucked up and if they're not going to take responsibility, that's OK. They're fucked up. But I'm not going to lose any of my beauty sleep over it. I'll take responsibilty for myself. I'm going to Disneyland.

[Nawledge]

its cool henry you know I have alot of respect for you, jeff and george might not know it but I do for them as well.

i won't say we disagree cause thats not entirely correct, I disagree with some of your opinion. thats just me, I believe in looking at every situation individualy, just can't do it any other way, I am more tired of injustice than hearing people talk about it, I feel we are all connected and by that very fact are responsible for each other as well as ourselves and it doesn't make me miserable on the contrary it would make me miserable if I didn't act, speak up

or project whats in my heart. to each there own and I can relate to that cause thats what i'm doin. the more equality there is in our society the more likely we're able to see that we are all one, and the more likely we'll choose to stay

afloat together than sink into an abyss. I don't believe that white people are responsible for every problem, or that the devil is the source of all evil, or that president bush is responsible for everything wrong with this country when he's not the one who put himself in office. I just believe in the simplicity of reality. right now I'm helping a friend write a book about injustice that japanese women are facing in japan, now i'm not a woman and i'm not japanese but I also don't feel that excludes me from working for the betterment of people in that

situation, which is all of us really

[Nawledge]

I guess what i'm saying is that the most important thing for me is not getting over but getting together.

[Jedi]

My apologies for not having the time to read this entire thread.

 

What I observe is this paradox of who should be held accountable for the screwed up situations of many young black youth. Is it the racist institutions' fault or black folks?

 

From my perspective, these things cannot be seperated. I believe racism is a human problem and is not good for any of us. It is in everyone's best interest to resolve this problem and it is everyone's responsibility. Yes, young black boys enduring violent assault over shoes is EVERYBODY'S PROBLEM. And we should all attempt to apply ourselves as best we can to resolve this problem. I believe as long as we seperate ourselves as races, as long as we make that distinction amongst ourselves, we will always have racism. Reason being, the distinction is a figment of our imagination. There is only one race. There are many cultures for sure, but only one race. One. How does that make you feel?

 

Lincoln Ross

Dead Black Jedis

[Jeff Klopmeyer]

The respect is mutual.

 

I have trouble discussing racial issues, because I come from a pretty wide mix of racial and ethnic backgrounds myself. Some people would think that this fact would make me all the more objective toward the subject; rather, as a person whose neither totally white nor black, I don't necessarily feel I really relate to any specific racial group.

 

- Jeff

[CP]

Man, I don't know where to start on this one. Well, I'll start with saying Bill was out of line on this one. Not for what he was saying, but to the audience he was saying it to. To me, this was the equivalent of some one washing their dirty laundry in public.

 

As for some of the things he said, it hurts when someone so respected in the world would make such ignorant statements. Especially one who is respected so much in the Black community. How can anyone explain his trivialization of police brutality in the Black community? Or the poking fun at what Black people name their children. Henry, I didn't see anything funny in his statments railing against the names of Black children. Alot of Black parents have given their children African and Islamic names. Some have even made up names. Where's the joke?

 

Don't forget, a major part of slavery was the taking away of the Black family's name, language, and religion. There wasn't any Britneys or Marys or Peters or Williams walking around Africa, until the Europeans came over there. Think back to Roots, when a major part of the first series was when the slavemaster whipped Kunta Kinte unmercifully because Kunta didn't want to take the name Tobe.

 

Man this sh*t is too deep to go into here. I'm just upset that Mr. Cosby allowed his frustation to be expressed publicly. Alot of people here made good points. Blacks must do more, and society does have an obligation to help them do more. Not just do it for them.

 

By the way Henry, don't read anything personally into what I was saying. It was not meant to attack you.

 

Peace.

[nhcomp45aol.com]

Hi Guys, I'm not looking to argue so don't stone me. I know it seems like the right thing to teach our children about the wrongs that have been done to us, but it create's a situation that is not healthy. If my family of Jones teach our children at a young age about the terrible wrongs that were done to us by the ancestors of our neighbors the Johnsons, My children may grow up to hate the Johnsons living next to us before they even meet them. I know we can't just sweep it under the carpet but as long as we keep pouring gas on the fire it will never go out. I'm sorry to say I don't see anything changing for the better in the near future, Paul.

[CP]

Originally posted by nhcomp45@aol.com:

Hi Guys, I'm not looking to argue so don't stone me. I know it seems like the right thing to teach our children about the wrongs that have been done to us, but it create's a situation that is not healthy. If my family of Jones teach our children at a young age about the terrible wrongs that were done to us by the ancestors of our neighbors the Johnsons, My children may grow up to hate the Johnsons living next to us before they even meet them. I know we can't just sweep it under the carpet but as long as we keep pouring gas on the fire it will never go out. I'm sorry to say I don't see anything changing for the better in the near future, Paul.

So Paul, should the Jews forget the Holocaust? Or should Blacks just forget slavery? Should the Native Americans forget what was done to them. And so on, and so on. If you forget your past, then it is bound to repeat itself.

[nhcomp45aol.com]

Nobody wants history to repeat itself. The Jews will never forget but they don't hate the modern day germans. The Blacks do hate the modern day Whites,and I didn't say to forget about it is the right thing. I'm going through a similar situation with my mom right now. I'm sweeping all her past under the table so we can be friends in her last couple of years. I want to enjoy the present, live for today and let the past wounds heal,Sometimes there is no correct answer. I feel it's time for a different approach, Paul.

[deanmass]

Without hearing much of what Cosby said, I am commenting...

 

Bill Cosby is one of the most important comedians ever.

 

Bill Cosby has helped more black americans in so many ways ( education, television, supporting black role models) than any other black entertainer I can think of, with the possible exception of Sammy Davis.

 

The world has a long way to go re: racial equality, but I honestly think is will be 'bred out', i.e. more and more mixed race couples, then we are all a wonderful mocha color, end of racism.(ha!)

[Jode]

First of all - Henry, you rock.

 

I don't see a thing in the world wrong with Bill Cosby's comments. I see something wrong with a world where a man so gentle, funny, erudite, and eloquent is driven to such a tirade. And why did he say those things? Perhaps because you won't hear them from Kweisi Mfume, Al Sharpton, or Jesse Jackson. You damn sure won't hear them from Fiddy Cent, Ludacris, or my favorite rapper for his name alone, C-Murder.

 

Maybe Cos looks around, after living through the civil rights battles of the 60s, and sees the same thing I see, that I as a white man somehow don't have permission to comment on: how black America has adopted its most backward, most harmful, most antisocial elements as mainstream culture. My Christ, turn on BET after 11 PM and tell me what you see, and then put yourself in Bill Cosby's shoes, being asked to speak at a gala commemorating how far blacks have come in fifty years. No wonder he shouted that the emperor has no clothes. He apparently is angry that after the sacrifices of James Meredith, Autherine Lucy, Medgar Evers, Dr. Martin Luther King, Michael Schwerner, Andrew Goodman, and James Chaney, black youth reject education and perseverance for bling-bling and juice.

 

I'm mad too, Cos. Those people to whom you refer should be ashamed of themselves, but not half as ashamed as your fellow attendees that night, who have let it all come to pass without a peep.

[Nawledge]

please don't gloss over this issue, it deserves better.

 

I will only say this. not one person on this thread has said that everything Bill Cosby said was wrong, not one person. if you have a short attention span then just take one paragraph at a time or line by line if you have to of mr. cosbys comments, whatever it takes to get it all in.

 

.... oh fudge why not

paul it sounds like you think institutionalized racism is only an 'ancestrial occurence' but every organized agency that keeps numbers in america today begs to differ profoundly, it didn't end with the joneses and the johnsons and another thing i'm black and have no hatred for white people. Q: how did you not miss the modern day hatred you've seen blacks have for white people but somehow miss the modern day racism that exist?

when I'm talking to people about racism I'm talking about today. is your new hampshire in the same united states that i'm living in. and we're just talking about blacks and whites here please man wake up and smell the get off me. no stones my friend just tiny dirtrocks.

 

I won't belittle Bill Cosbys intelligence by saying that I think he's just to ignorant to understand baseball caps worn backwards...c'mon.

 

Henry, bout those sagging jeans, my father told me people were doing that way back in the fiftys and that it was nothing new, are you saying you never heard of it before gang culture/ youth culture?

[CP]

No, Jews don't hate Germans. But they still hate those responsible for the Holocaust, and those who benefitted from it.

 

Jode, what the hell are you talking about? Are you saying that Blacks as a people have adopted ignorance and immorality as a culture? Do you know me? Do you know what I believe in and practice. Have you listened to everything Jackson, Sharpton and Mfume have spoken about? You probably only heard the things the press decides to print or televise. So how the hell can you make those statements.

 

Lets not get into a "blame the victim" syndrome here. What's going on in the Black community has everything to do with race and economics. Go walk into a poor white community. The ones people like to refer to as "trailer park trash", or "white trash". They have some of the same problems that the inner cities has. Lack of jobs, education, alcohol and drug abuse, crime, etc. The only difference is they may have an easier time moving out of their situation than a Black would out of his. Is it impossible? No. Is it improbable? Yeah.

 

Like I said, this is too deep to discuss here.

 

Peace.

[henryrobinett]

Originally posted by CP:

Man, I don't know where to start on this one. Well, I'll start with saying Bill was out of line on this one. Not for what he was saying, but to the audience he was saying it to. To me, this was the equivalent of some one washing their dirty laundry in public.

I think the main problem you seem to have is that he aired our stuff right out there in the open. It's no secret man. Black people talk about these issues differently when it's just us and try and put on a face when white people are present. I won't do that any more. The BS had got to end.

 

BTW I don't take it as a personal attack. We can have different POVs on this.

As for some of the things he said, it hurts when someone so respected in the world would make such ignorant statements. Especially one who is respected so much in the Black community. How can anyone explain his trivialization of police brutality in the Black community?

Did I miss that? Where did he trivilize police brutality? I thought he was talking about black folks acting like fools and killing each other over expensive shoes. One is not necessarily the other. Of course police brutality exists, but to accuse every action involving every police officer and a black man police brutality is going WAY overboard. Then it minimizes the effects of true brutality.

 

Or the poking fun at what Black people name their children. Henry, I didn't see anything funny in his statments railing against the names of Black children.

I'm sorry. I thought it was funny. I guess he hit a senstive bone. I already stated how I thought many names are creative. I mean how boring is it to name your son "John" after all?

 

I had a babysitter many, many moons ago who changed her last name to "My Love" and named her daughters "Sugar Pie My Love" and another "Sweetie Pie My Love" and another, the oldest "Candy My Love". If anyone sees these girls let me know. I want to see how they're doing after all these years. But I still think it's funny.

 

I don't see anything funny about Muslim names BTW. But Cosby might be looking at personal historical perspective here too. Young kids who are just trying to be hip and put on the Muslim name thing because it's the current fad thing rather than going deep into it. Before long they're back to being Bob. I've seen this. More often than not it's real, but maybe he was looking at it HUMOROUSLY. Have you heard of it? Humor. It's when somebody says something that sometimes has a painful kernel of truth in such a way that causes a reaction called laughter. It's infectious with most people. Some of you guys need it, I think.

 

Don't forget, a major part of slavery was the taking away of the Black family's name, language, and religion.

Of course. Of course. I take it that was not really directed at me but maybe some other people who aren't aware of this fact?

 

Man this sh*t is too deep to go into here. I'm just upset that Mr. Cosby allowed his frustation to be expressed publicly. Alot of people here made good points. Blacks must do more, and society does have an obligation to help them do more. Not just do it for them.

I think this is all that's being said. But you seem particularly upset that this is being voiced PUBLICALLY

 

By the way Henry, don't read anything personally into what I was saying. It was not meant to attack you.

 

Peace.

Of course not. So much has bee written since I last peeked into this thread I may have to go down individually. It may take me a minute. I've got kind of a busy day.

[Jode]

Originally posted by CP:

Jode, what the hell are you talking about? Are you saying that Blacks as a people have adopted ignorance and immorality as a culture? Do you know me? Do you know what I believe in and practice. Have you listened to everything Jackson, Sharpton and Mfume have spoken about? You probably only heard the things the press decides to print or televise. So how the hell can you make those statements.

Like Bill Cosby, I can only call 'em as I see 'em. No, I don't think that all blacks are ghetto trash, but could you blame me if my only perspective came fom BET and MTV? Now, being more worldly than that, I know better, because I know that millions of black people live in two-parent families and rear their children to value education and achievment. However, I am absolutely saying that black pop culture, taken at large, is full of garbage. From the Harlem Renaissance to "Thass juss mah baby'daddy" in less than a century. It is all fucked up, and it is sadder than sad. As for where I get my information, I really hate to fall back on such a cliche as "some of my best friends are black," but they really are. Every year of my education was spent in an integrated school. I am no stranger to black people or their culture, but I have watched their popular culture decline steadily in my lifetime. It peaked with Roots when I was a child, and it has been on a rocket sled to hell ever since. I'm mad enough about it just being a mere honky - I can only imagine how sad or furious I'd be if I were black.

 

By the way, did you know that part of the rhythm track for Nelly's "Hot in Hrrrrrunhhhhh" was sampled from the sound of Duke Ellington doing somersaults in his grave?

[Jode]

Originally posted by Nawledge:

I will only say this. not one person on this thread has said that everything Bill Cosby said was wrong, not one person.

That's because he's absolutely right. The emperor has no clothes. Maybe he has no clothes because it's hot in herrrrrrrrrrrnnnnnnhhhhhhhhh.

[Groovepusher Sly]

Originally posted by fantasticsound:

I only wish I were in a position to ask. I can't imagine a letter from a fan will get his attention.

 

All you gotta do is try. And I think everybody here should send him an e-mail. I sent him one with the address to this thread, and invited him to comment. Let's see what happens.

 

Dr. Cosbys contact information:

 

Bill Cosby's agent is David Brokaw of "The Brokaw Company" in Los Angeles. Please find their street address, telephone number, fax number, and email address below.

 

THE BROKAW COMPANY

9255 Sunset Blvd., Suite 804

Los Angeles, CA 90069

Phone: (310)273-2060

FAX: (310)276-4037

E-Mail: brokawc@aol.com"

http://www.lourawls.com/contacts.html

 

"David Brokaw, who along with his brother Sanford make up the Brokaw Co., which represents Bill Cosby among others"

 

http://www.philadelphiaweekly.com/archives/article.asp?ArtID=4539]"Cosby\'s agent, David Brokaw, spoke on his client\'s behalf"

 

"His longtime agent, David Brokaw, knows the entertainer as well as anyone"

-----------------------------------------------------

 

Bill Cosby on Tavis Smiley Jan. 5, 2004

 

This transcript is not up yet,

Bill Cosby on Tavis Smiley May 26, 2004 .

 

Originally posted by henryrobinett:

I had a babysitter many, many moons ago who changed her last name to "My Love" and named her daughters "Sugar Pie My Love" and another "Sweetie Pie My Love" and another, the oldest "Candy My Love". If anyone sees these girls let me know. I want to see how they're doing after all these years. But I still think it's funny.

 

They're all probably doing porn movies. "Starring Sugar Pie Love, Sweetie Pie Love, and Candy Love"

Sly

[george costanza]

Two general points:

 

[1]On page 2 of this thread there develops the idea that some agree with part of what BC said but not with everything.

I suggest that for any of us with the ability to think for ourselves, there are very few with whom we totally agree about much. As may be clear from previous posts, I think the "problem" is that we allow such no-total agreement to get us bogged down in debating things that may be less significant than the things we agree upon & that diffuses the energy we might bring aginst whatever primary targets we might oppose.

 

[2]There's been some discussion of humorous elements in BC's speech. This is another dividing line, I think, since many find it suspect to mix silly & serious elements.

I know this gets me in trouble all the time; sometimes right here in these forums.

Sometimes when we see the things that get people at odds with one another, isn't it a question of laugh or cry?

 

To go back to the beginning, "My take is that there's so much bait & switch ...that it's ridiculous."

 

I just think that we can spend too much energy fileting each other when there's a larger enemy.

[henryrobinett]

Originally posted by nhcomp45@aol.com:

Hi Guys, I'm not looking to argue so don't stone me. I know it seems like the right thing to teach our children about the wrongs that have been done to us, but it create's a situation that is not healthy. If my family of Jones teach our children at a young age about the terrible wrongs that were done to us by the ancestors of our neighbors the Johnsons, My children may grow up to hate the Johnsons living next to us before they even meet them. I know we can't just sweep it under the carpet but as long as we keep pouring gas on the fire it will never go out. I'm sorry to say I don't see anything changing for the better in the near future, Paul.

You're right. You can't sweep it under the carpet, but you also can't raise your children to be ignorant dolts. You have to do what you can to protect them. Teach them that the Johnsons are symptomatic of a HUMAN condition of ignorance and stupidity. Teach them to look at the Johnsons and teach them to recognize what they see. Teach them to stamp it out whenever the see it, whether it happens in the Joneses or the Johanssons or the Williamses or in your mother or father or in yourself. That if they think it's an attribute of the Johnsons alone they've got it all wrong.