Columnist Leonard Pitts on Bill Cosby's remarks:
"African Americans seldom publicly concede that some of the dysfunction suffered by the black underclass is self-inflicted for fear of giving aid and comfort to bigotry. So when analyzing racial progress or the lack thereof, black folk tend to emphasize racism.
Whites, on the other hand, are often loath to concede that racism remains the great ball and chain of African-American life for fear the admission will besmirch their benign self-image or be used to make them feel guilty. So they tend to emphasize dysfunction instead.
Blacks and whites have a way of talking past each other."
I posted similar thoughts yesterday on why remarks like Dr. Cosby's are so infrequent and so important. I agree with Pitts that Cosby said what needs to be said in mixed company, and that he, "reflected a willingness, rare in black people and white ones, to confront the obvious and raise issues that require more of us than the ability to feel put upon."
Now if we can just get white folks to be as candid about our racial bias we might all start pulling together again... or perhaps... for the first time.
5:01:56 AM 
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