2nd July 2004, 10:00 PM
Always found Cosby hilarious. Honestly, I heard there was "controversy" over what he had said before about certain people like this talking in nearly unintelligable ways, but really, can you HONESTLY say that you wouldn't find someone walking up to you saying "shiiiiii wazzu wazzu wazzu can I hold 10 fo my twoie to homie?" someone unintelligent? Sure, one can very well BE intelligent and talk like that, but talking with a total disregard to sentence structure and so on certainly doesn't BELY intelligence. It's similar to how one who crawls might be CAPABLE of walking, could just be doing a psychiatry experiment in fact, but to look at just looks like someone who is either disabled or just too stupid to figure out how to walk.
Now it seems there's a LARGE amount of illiterate people among these down and out people. That's just sad. Sorry, but there's almost NOTHING a person can do to themselves to murder their own future than to not learn to read. School is provided everywhere, and even though the schools in the poor communities certainly are known for having terrible teachers, they will generally at LEAST make an effort to teach the kids how to read. If they aren't getting enough info there, there is no reason the parents can't teach the kids themselves unless they too don't know, and if THAT is the case, they need to just teach themselves. I'm sure even the poorest household can get ahold of a newspaper or a letter or some coupon somewhere with words on it so they can figure it out. Honestly, the only reason anyone is illiterate is because they just gave up on themselves.
Now, honestly I agree with everything Cosby is saying up there. Of COURSE it doesn't apply to the entire black community, or only the black community, but it DOES apply to some people, and a big enough amount to be tragic at that, so it MUST be fixed, and a part of this is for those who live in these poor communities to really put some effort into getting themselves out. Putting money into it won't fix it all, a lot has to be the right attitude. For example, there are generally some vacant lots in these areas. Rather than just saying "there goes the neighborhood", they COULD try obtaining that lot (likely being sold for a VERY low amount in such an area), and, as a community project, turn it into some sort of garden. Of COURSE what I just said is some cheesy plot from some after school special, but come on, can you honestly see any problems with putting effort into plans like this, or ANYTHING, if there's a decent chance it could pay off? When in a situation like that, the whole community owes it to themselves to try whatever they possibly can, such as trying to turn a bit of land there into something farmable, to get themselves out of it. What those on "the outside" can do to help is make it easier to allow them to do this, by for example LETTING them buy said land when they offer to.
Now it seems there's a LARGE amount of illiterate people among these down and out people. That's just sad. Sorry, but there's almost NOTHING a person can do to themselves to murder their own future than to not learn to read. School is provided everywhere, and even though the schools in the poor communities certainly are known for having terrible teachers, they will generally at LEAST make an effort to teach the kids how to read. If they aren't getting enough info there, there is no reason the parents can't teach the kids themselves unless they too don't know, and if THAT is the case, they need to just teach themselves. I'm sure even the poorest household can get ahold of a newspaper or a letter or some coupon somewhere with words on it so they can figure it out. Honestly, the only reason anyone is illiterate is because they just gave up on themselves.
Now, honestly I agree with everything Cosby is saying up there. Of COURSE it doesn't apply to the entire black community, or only the black community, but it DOES apply to some people, and a big enough amount to be tragic at that, so it MUST be fixed, and a part of this is for those who live in these poor communities to really put some effort into getting themselves out. Putting money into it won't fix it all, a lot has to be the right attitude. For example, there are generally some vacant lots in these areas. Rather than just saying "there goes the neighborhood", they COULD try obtaining that lot (likely being sold for a VERY low amount in such an area), and, as a community project, turn it into some sort of garden. Of COURSE what I just said is some cheesy plot from some after school special, but come on, can you honestly see any problems with putting effort into plans like this, or ANYTHING, if there's a decent chance it could pay off? When in a situation like that, the whole community owes it to themselves to try whatever they possibly can, such as trying to turn a bit of land there into something farmable, to get themselves out of it. What those on "the outside" can do to help is make it easier to allow them to do this, by for example LETTING them buy said land when they offer to.
"On two occasions, I have been asked [by members of Parliament], 'Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?' I am not able to rightly apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question." ~ Charles Babbage (1791-1871)