You may not like Bill Cosby's method of giving the reality check but I don't think anyone can really say he hasn't essentially dedicated this stage of his life to resolving these issues, investing time, energy and money. I don't really see anyone coming up with an alternative solution. I question the effectiveness of his method but it's a hell of a lot better than doing nothing.

daria,

I agree. Bill is only telling it like he sees it. Everything that he bashes is true. The truth hurts sometimes. It hurts kind of like listening to 'The View' hurts my ears.

So taking an ineffective approach is better than doing nothing? So, um. Good to know.

On Clarence Thomas…I'm inclined to agree with the statement that he's not. I read his autobiography released last year just before reading the very good biography "Supreme Discomfort" by two black Washington Post reporters. Neither was flattering, and the Thomas in both books is a maddening one. But "sellout" might be too simplistic. He seems to have cultivated genuine affinity from the black people who've met him outside of the traditional Washington establishment. I'm reminded of a scene where the father of one of Thomas's black law clerks who didn't like Thomas finally met him, and the two spent hours talking trash and recreating Temptations routines in Thomas's chambers. Or another moment with another black law clerk who said how meeting finally meeting Thomas, who was so unlike his public image, had left her deeply confused.

"So taking an ineffective approach is better than doing nothing? So, um. Good to know."

THANK YOU, GD!

I've never liked his approach. Lecturing to people has never worked - in any instance. He comes off as holier than thou, smug and irrelevant.

Preachy? Yes. The others? No. I don't know if it's effective. I said I "question" its effectiveness. I assume it's not but I'm sure if he (and he has a PhD is Education so chances are he understands this more) thought it was ineffective, he'd choose another method. Though I don't necessarily agree with him, I don't have a better strategy nor do most people who are supposedly addressing the issue.

Since you brought it up, can we talk about Dr. Cosby's Ph.D in education? Dr. Cosby — who criticizes folks for not valuing education even though he failed the tenth grade three times — went to Temple on a track scholarship and dropped out. After he became a major celebrity, Temple gave him his BA for 'life experience' or something like that. He then got his master's and doctorate from UMass (his doctoral dissertation was on integrating Fat Albert into elementary school curriculum).

Reports of this cat's academic bonafides have been *greatly* exaggerated. His degrees were obviously conferred onto him as a result of his celebrity and not academic merit. And that's fine. But he might want to stop high-horsin'.

Also, tons of people are addressing the issue. None of them are icons like Cosby, who managed to become a 'social critic' by preaching to the choir of folks who believe a little too eagerly in the dysfunctional pathologies and stereotypes of the black underclass.

^^great post, GD.

I didn't know he failed the 10th grade 3x. Yikes.

Thanks for the link to NewsBusters.