Bill Cosby on Gun Violence?

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Zen21Tao

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I caught the tail end of John Gibson’s Big Story today on Fox News and saw that he was talking a bit about a speech Bill Cosby made on the subject of gun violence.

I haven’t be able to find anything else on the Web about what Coz was saying in this particular speech but here is what I gathered from the few minutes I saw on Gibson’s show.

The Coz didn’t appear to blame the gun for gun violnce he blames family members that, through parental neglect, allow their kids to get guns illegally. He seemed to say that parents playing a bigger role in their child’s life and knowing what their child(ren) is/are doing would do wonders to reduce gun violence.

If I an right with this assessment I say good for The Coz, its about time community leaders like him talk about taking personal responsibility for these issues rather than passing the blame on to others (both animate and inanimate).

Does anyone else know what Cosby’s stance on gun violence and gun ownership is?
 
All I know is that this hit him real close. His son was murdered
by a creep while changing a tire out here in SoCal.

The creep mis-used a sidearm, just don't know what it was.The creep is in prison until I don't know how long.
 
Mr. Cosby is a gentleman for sure. I am not sure what his beliefs are as far as firearms are concerned, but I agree with what he has said about other issues.

I do know, however, that James Earl Jones is a gun person.
 
Cosby Scolds Idle Churchgoers
Comedian Says the Faithful Must Take Action in Communities

By Paul Schwartzman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, May 17, 2006; B03



Entertainer Bill Cosby yesterday chastised churchgoers who preach religion but fail to confront problems that plague their communities.

Speaking at the University of the District of Columbia, Cosby emphasized the importance of social responsibility and urged his audience to keep a vigilant eye on their children. The District is one stop on a nationwide speaking tour that has taken the controversial comedian to 18 cities over the past year and a half.

His appearance in Washington came almost two years to the day after he took the stage of Constitution Hall and triggered a contentious national debate when he criticized poor African Americans for speaking ungrammatically and failing to raise children properly.

Cosby made no mention of those remarks yesterday. But he continued his message that salvation lies within communities, rather than outside.

"I have no problem with Jesus or God," he said in the afternoon as he addressed an audience that included many foster parents and grandparents and social service providers. "I have a problem with people sitting there and saying that Jesus and God will find the way. I have a problem with Christian men who won't dress up and go down and confront the drug dealers."

"I got a problem," Cosby added, "with people not knowing where the gun is hid and that the child has one."

The two-hour afternoon appearance was largely subdued, except for the end, when a self-described community activist accused the comedian of hosting a "watered-down dialogue" and invoked the name of Michael Eric Dyson, an author who has derided Cosby's critique of low-income blacks.

"You don't deserve an audience with me," Cosby said, climbing down from the stage, walking over to the man, Chris Crowder, who was seated in a wheelchair, and looming over him.

"I'm not afraid of any Mr. Dyson," Cosby told Crowder before turning and returning to the stage. "Mr. Dyson is not a truthful man."

Cosby has taken his "Call Out" tour across the country, appearing in 18 cities, including New York, Milwaukee, Detroit, Cleveland and Baltimore.

His UDC appearance, which was sponsored by the Washington Association of Black Journalists, featured testimonials from social service officials, education leaders and a woman in recovery from alcoholism who became a foster parent.

During a second session last night, the panel included D.C. Police Chief Charles H. Ramsey, who warned of rising juvenile crime, and the District's chief coroner, who said that from 1982 to 2005, nearly 1,000 homicide victims were ages 16 to 19.

The coroner, Marie-Lydie Y. Pierre-Louis, issued a warning to teenagers who don't get their diploma: "There's one waiting for you at the office of the medical examiner. It's a death certificate."

Taking the microphone, Cosby told audience members that he encouraged Pierre-Louis to deliver the grim numbers so they "would understand that it has to be stopped."

To those who ignore their children, Cosby said: "I'm calling you out, and I'm holding you accountable. If you're having a problem, visit the Jesus in your heart."

© 2006 The Washington Post Company
 
Actually, Cosby has been taking SERIOUS flak over this tour, all becuase he's been endorsing ideas that most here agree with: that parents should take responsibility for their children, and start working to make things better. I know talk radio in Milwaukee was all astir because black community leaders were "very offended" at Cosby's remarks...

He may be "only a comedian", but he seems to have his head on straight...
 
I'm supposed to care what a comedian thinks?
Click to expand...

Not sure I look at what the Coz says as the words of a comedian. He is one of the only people confronting the African American Community about the problems they face and where the solutions of the problems lie. A lot of folks from the community don't like him due to his blunt force honesty. He is no Jesse "High" Jackson, as the great Savage would say. Unlike Mr. Jackson, the Coz feels that people need to be responsible for their own communities ( and quality of life) and stop blaming others. I think he speaks from the cuff and a lot of people don't like to hear it. I saw him speak once, and the basic message was....Quit complaining and do something about it....A lot of what he says is pretty much the truth, but then I guess people don't like to hear the truth.
 
Not sure I look at what the Coz says as the words of a comedian. He is one of the only people confronting the African American Community about the problems they face and where the solutions of the problems lie.

+1

Actually, this is part of an internal battle within black America. It isn't that Cosby called poor, drug dealing, scummy blacks on their activities, it's that he did it in a place that a bunch of white people would find out.

Cosby has moved past simply saying these comments to his friends, co-workers, and acquaintances, and done so on a public stage, therefore making enemies out of members of the black community who want to keep this debate within the walls of black subculture.

That being said, I understand why many of them are critical of Cosby. There are alot of stupid, racist white people who will here what he says and misinterpret it. That being said, while I understand it, I don't agree.

Blacks are a divided people in America. And 1/3 of all black males in this country have been in some phase of the correctiuonal system in their lives. (That is more black men in prison than majority black South Africa at the higest point of apartheid).

Someone needs to give real solutions to the problems plaguing black communities. (a hint folks) It ain't cheap stolen guns or drugs. It ain't broken homes (although that don't help). It is a government welfare system which perpetuates poverty, and which tells poor uneducted people their boys aren't important.

Republicans of course wish to dismantle this system,not 'cause they like blacks, it's bc they hate taxes (well the old guard of the Party)

Democrats want to continue the system (not 'cause they care about blacks or their plight, just bc offering those bread and circuses ensures blacks will forever vote Democrat)
 
Bah! This is sort of off topic but it was very exciting to me.

I finished my first year of college last week and one of my finals was to set up an experiment and here's how it went.

I interviewed people one-on-one, playing audio clips and asking questions dealing with racism. Along the lines of, what makes someone a racist? Do you think Chavez is a racist? Controversial celebrities, Etc. I also threw in Jesse Jackson.

Out of 40 people, only 2 said they considered Jesse Jackson a racist. The second part of the experiment was that I played audio clips and asked what inferences the subject could make about the person in the clip. The hidden treasure was this.

I took a mild Jesse Jackson speech and changed all the instances of "blacks" to "whites" and vice versa. I then had my friend, who has the thickest redneck East Texas drawl out of anyone I know, and recorded him reciting the modified speech in as close to the original tempo and style as he could.

When I played this, all 40 people indicated that he seemed like a racist. I got responses from "dumb racist redneck" to "hes probably one of those crazy white power people" to "I bet hes in the KKK."

Interesting to say the least.
 
...invoked the name of Michael Eric Dyson, an author who has derided Cosby's critique of low-income blacks.
Click to expand...

I heard a great quote from Dyson on the radio today [paraphrased] it went 'We don't want to get trapped in self responsibility'
 
I'm not sure about his position on firearms, but the man has real backbone to be doing what he's doing. He's making a lot of very powerful people *VERY* angry. If he's not packing, he'd better be. Making sure urban blacks keep aspiring to be pimps and dribblers is the rice bowl of a lot of really nasty fellows.
 
He's a comic w a PhD in education. When he talks, a lot of people hear it.
Click to expand...
His Ph.D. is an honorary one. Meaning it was granted to him by a university in exchange for donations.

This being said I respect the man and the things he says. He stands up for what he thinks and confronts something he sees as a true problem. I also happen to agree with alot of what he is saying.

He is not just a talking head like Rush, Hannity, or others and not just a hate-monger like Savage that do what they do only for effect and a paycheck. He has little to gain and alot to lose from his statements.

I am so sick of the "I am a loser because my dad was an alcoholic" mentallity. I want to see more of the "maybe you dad is an alcoholic because you are such a loser" type of responses. Noone these days wants to be responsible for what they do.

I do not find it hard to believe that Mr. Cosby is an intelligent enough man to understand that it is not the gun's fault when it is misused. He seems to like to place blame where it belongs.
 
Wrong. It's real. He went to Temple University on an athletic scholarship and graduated w a BA, earned his MA in 1972 and his PhD in 1977 from the University of Massachusetts.

He's a Navy vet too BTW. A hospital corpsman who played football and basketball on USMC and USN teams at Quantico and Bethesda... more than just a comic.
 
If all blacks were as intelligent , articulate , and honest as Mr. Cosby there wouldn't be a welfare system or Race Norming , and they might very well be running this country . As a matter of fact I wish some of our elected officials were half as intelligent and honest as he is , if they were this country wouldn't have near as many problems as it currently does .
 
Sadly this is not a gun problem but a black cultural one . It's a group that is about 14% of our population but is responsible for 50% of the crime . Much of that crime is against other blacks.About 50% of blacks fail to graduate high school !! Blacks who want to work hard in school and be successful are verbally and even physically abused by others.No HS education guarantees their failure in life . Others[blacks] have been mentioning this but no one has paid attention since they didn't have the entertainer status that Cosby has .
 
Joey 2, I understand your point, but think about it.... If not him, then who are we, or more appropriately in this case the black community, going to listen to? Politicians, social workers???? Nah, I don't think so; do you?
 
Race and the Hurricane Under audio click on Race and the Hurricane - there is a 54 minute of a speach Michal Eric Dyson recently gave in Minneapolis. (I haven't had time to listen to the whole thing, just caught the last 20 minutes of it) I know that link is off topic, but in that speach he touches on some of the things that Cosby has said. He has also written a book "Is Bill Cosby Right? Or Has the Black Middle Class Lost its Mind?" Seems like he has some issues with Cosby. My impression is that Dyson is glad that Cosby is speaking up on issues, but if Cosby were doing it differently, he could increase his effectiveness.
 
Broken Arrow is correct

Cosby is a trustee of Temple University, where he attended on an athletic scholarship and earned Bachelor of Arts degree.

Cosby then enrolled at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, where he earned a master's degree in 1972 and a doctoral degree in education in 1977. Cosby's dissertation was on the use of Fat Albert as a teaching aide.


Cosby’s Honorary Degrees:
Cosby received an honorary degree from Spelman College in 1986,

Cosby received an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Cincinnati during the 2001 graduation ceremony.

Cosby is an honorary Doctorate from West Chester University of Pennsylvania during the 2003 graduation ceremony.

Cosby received an Honorary Doctorate from Baylor University (September 4, 2003 "Spirit Rally").
 
Yes, his degrees are legitimate and additional honorary degrees are not unusual for someone with his level of gravitas and recognition.

I've never heard anyone claim that Bill Cosby was anti-gun at any time.
I have never heard/read of him making any statement directly on guns though. He has indirectly spoken supportively of responsible lawful firearms use and condemned irresponsible firearms use (just as he condemns any irresponsible behavior). He has been an advocate of responsible personal and community behavior over and over again and vocally condemns irresponsible behavior (much to the dismay of others who feed off of and profit from the victimization of the black community). He would make a valuable community leader, regardless of the community and if he were foolish enough to let himself be muzzled by politics would make an outstanding elected official.
 
I would hesitate to consider Cosby to be only a comedian.

Cosby is a citizen who has made sufficient public comment that he can be weighed on the content of his message and not merely on how he earned his living for a part of his life.

Our Lord and savior was "just" a carpenter.

Some of the most influential men in history were "just" fisherman.

Many truly heroic men in history were from humble backgrounds.

If a man has a good message delivered with truth, integrity, and conviction, then his message should be considered regardless of his background.

Michael Courtney
 
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