Cosby's rant

I went to see Bill Cosby perform last Friday and I must say, he's a comic genius.

I must also say, Mr. Cosby isn't just funny. Recently, he's spoken about African-Americans dropping the ball and playing into racial stereotypes. Instead of trying to aspire to greatness, many are happy to continue being victims -- you know what I'm talking about: "The man! The man is holding me back!"

Trust, we have our 'victims' in Canada, too.

But some people are irate that Mr. Cosby would 'air the Black community's dirty laundry.'

Heck, if he doesn't say it, who will? Many of the folks who maybe should be speaking up with Mr. Cosby are the same people who are making a mint off of glorifying the lifestyle that is helping keep some very impressionable young people right where they stand: uneducated, trying to bling and not doing a damn thing. Sometimes people with no life experience latch onto media -- music videos, movies, TV -- to build expectations and goals.

Silly, yes, but it does happen. Talk to a young person who has no worldview except for BET or MuchMusic and you'll see a warped image of reality. They are the ones who'll say that a young Black man going to the library to do a research paper is acting white. Ahh... I remember those days. I was going to the library to study only to be told that I "don't act Black enough."

Well, if getting my education and not having my mother dole out some lashes on my tail because I've flunked out of CEGEP is acting white, I guess I'll have to be a little white girl. For the record, people, being Black is NOT equal to being uneducated.

I think Mr. Cosby is speaking the truth. We all understand that Black people have been given the short end of the stick many times. We struggle and we have to work harder to succeed, but that isn't anything new. He is speaking it very bluntly and very boldly and that's rubbing people the wrong way. But there are no lies in his comments.

At some point, you have to take responsibility for your own actions and try to improve your own station in life. To expect the man to pull you up is pretty much saying, I'm going to be at the bottom for the rest of my life. It's not easy -- trust me, I went through six years of being a broke college and university student while people where working at the hospital making big bucks (well, big bucks when you're 19 isn't really big bucks when you're 29 -- it's all relative).

Most things in life that are worth having are hard to get and it's not guaranteed. But you have to aspire to something -- being a doctor, lawyer, pilot, artist, writer, whatever. Don't lie down and cry "Poor me! The man has done me wrong."

We know that. The system is built against us, but that doesn't mean that you can stop trying.

I think that is what Mr. Cosby is ranting about. It's too easy just to give up and let the streets take our Black children. Have you heard about all the violence in Toronto over the past month?

Even so-called professionals, who'll raise their noses in the air and say, 'that's why I got my education.' Well, that's good for you, so how are you going to help someone who didn't have the parents you have? Or the ambition? Or the dedication?

We all have a part to play, 'cause we're all part of this Black community and none of us should be left by the wayside. Granted, not everyone was cut out to be a doctor or an architect, but we should all desire to something. And it's up to all of us to help with the solutions.