Pudding Pops, Pusha T and Paramount Pictures - Bill Cosby? Not your Father.

I went to a Hannibal Buress show earlier this year. I knew him as an SNL writer, and a supporting character on the show 'Broad City' I rave about. Buress is my kind of comedian - he's in the know.  Well read, but not removed from urban culture. In a crowd that mostly early 30's white men and women, I was one of the few reciting the Pusha T songs that played during the pre show. You can't control your audience, but you can control what you give them. In a post Dave Chappelle world, it was nice to have a comedian that operates in a space similar to mine.


The show was really, really good. He covered a wide range of topics - music, sex, race, violence, drugs... all the things we laugh about, cry about, and stay up at night contemplating. That, coupled with the fact that we brought in a few flasks, made for a fantastic experience. Months later, Buress did what lots of comedians do - he took a very real situation, deadpanned it, and waited for the crowd to react. Bill Cosby, famous TV dad, legendary comedian and crotchety old Black guy, spent YEARS stressing that, in many cases, we as young Black people were our own worst enemies. "pull up your pants, use your suffixes, turn your hat around" the whole nine. I've had this argument with parents, kids, teachers, hell, strangers, about the validity of such a statement. I could write an entire post on the intricacies of who's at fault there, but that's for another time. Before I talk about Bill Cosby being the scum of the earth, I want to explain to you my adoration of Bill Cosby. I'm a 28 year old Black Man from the east coast with a college degree. I fucking love Bill Cosby. I love Bill Cosby for the Huxtable family. This was a Black family of Doctors, Lawyers, Teachers, and dedicated students. They weren't "holier than thou" people. They made being educated seem NORMAL, like that's the way things were supposed to be. Even when light skinned Elvin decided showed up to lead Sondra astray, Elvin came from an educated family, so even if his common sense was gone, he had the tools to help people out in the world.

No funny quips here... except "jammin' on the one!"  Loved that.

Even heavier than that, 'A Different World' was, and still is, mandatory viewing for children Black, white, and in between. I've seen every single episode front to back, and they still hold up. I've never seen LIFE on screen the way Hillman was given to us. The place was alive, teeming with ideas, hunger, fear... it was what I wanted from adulthood before I even knew what adulthood was. Looking back on it as a person older than those characters now, you see the ignorance the apprehension, the desire for understanding. It was a look at life after high school, but before the world really begins, that hasn't been replicated since.

When being smart became being awesome!

So Bill Cosby, or Heathcliff Huxtable, or Debbie Allen, or Carmen Finestra, someone, was definitely a surrogate parent for me. But arrogant ass that I am, when people start talking crazy, I start separating the characters from the men behind them. BILL COSBY HAS BEEN ACCUSED OF RAPE FIFTEEN TIMES MAN. Now, I knew that, Weez and Travis probably knew that (hey guys) I'm certain Miles knew that, and Bradford and Chad knew that, because they know everything. I'm at the barbershop Wednesday, like I typically am on Wednesdays, and we started talking Cosby after the story came across the HLN ticker. I'll tell you something about Black people, if you weren't aware - we are VERY SLOW to condemn our successful individuals. Because we claim them as our own successes, it's very hard for us to throw them away. I had a spirited discussion which ended with me being called a coon because I choose not to listen to Michael Jackson anymore. Without getting into too much detail, MJ's catalogue is great, and I'd never tell anyone else they shouldn't partake... but I'm cool over here. So the first reaction from a woman in the shop was "that's a shame, someone trying to get Bill Cosby." In a very even tone I responded "this is the 15th time he's been accused of rape or sexual abuse." The two barbers nodded their heads, and that was the extent of the conversation. You damn near have to kill a Black baby while entering a white woman to have the Black community turn against you!

How Black folks treat Black celebrities with "issues".

So understand my shift in feelings if you will - Bill Cosby, who told us to "act" a certain way for years and years, had access to channels other Black actors/ artists never did, because of the wholesome image he portrayed. Here's where it gets a little dark. How does a Black man, albeit a world renowned one, get accused of rape that many times, and most folks NEVER EVEN HEARD ABOUT IT?  Because that's an image organizations work hard to maintain, because they can make a fucking MINT off that image. There are people who do bad, bad things that you'll never know about, because they mean too much to someone in power for that information to be as widespread as it should.

Hold up... YOU want ME to pull up MY pants???

Who knows what'll happen from here - maybe Bill Cosby's life finishes out in prison, maybe he goes broke paying off lawsuits, maybe he "gets away with it" and spends his remaining days in a big house on a pile of money. Just be aware that the things we grew up on, the things that shaped us, were at least in part put out there to turn a profit. Don't let Bill Cosby ruin Heathcliff Huxtable. Or 'Ghost Dad'. That guy was a Saint.

HOW WAS THIS EVEN A THING?

Bonus - Me at the Hannibal Buress Show - Gibberish Rap x Ballerinas

A (Small) Bit about a Bully, A Prom, and the Black vs. Mexican War.

I can remember getting picked on by a kid once.  I was in the 7th grade, and I lived down the street fro ma kid named Colin.  Colin was much taller than me, and if I remember right, I was probably 5'4 and under 90 lbs.  Soaking wet.  With work boots on.  One day, after riding the bus home, i was walking down my street, and Colin, who lived a street over, started following me and pushing me in me back.  he pushed me the entire way home, but for the life of me, I can't remember what he was saying.  I lean toward it being something racial, because he proudly displayed a confederate flag on his faux letter jacket.  So I ran in the house, and told my step dad what had happened, and 10 minutes later, we walked down to his house, my dad had a conversation with his dad, and from that day this now, I've never had a problem with Colin.  I'm not sure what was said, but it clearly made a strong impression.  Outside of that instance, I can't think of a time I thought I was being bullied.  And from the first time i saw "Carrie"

I knew I'd leave people the fuck alone, cuz i'm not going up in flames.  It just never made sense to me, "picking" on people. But that doesn't make me "superkid" or anything... my mom is still looking for my 8th grade report card (tossed that shit in the trash after hiding it for months, cuz if she found it, i'd accept the punishment).  So I come across this story about the little boy with the "My Little Pony" backpack getting picked on, beaten up, and called out his name, and I feel for him.  I was never victim to, or a party to, the gang mentality of seeing a different kid and attacking him from all angles.  From 7th grade till graduation, I was to high school in San Antonio, TX, and while I can think of instances kids were hounded, it wasn't prevalent to the point that kids left schools, or kids were suspended, or parents came up to the school.  We just weren't wired that way.  You never heard about "jocks picking on nerds" or "popular kids ganging up on losers" because it didn't happen.  There was that whole "Black vs. Mexican" War, but that was niggas being niggas, nigga standing in for "jackass of any ethnicity or gender".

Grayson Bruce decided to rock his MLP backpack, and was harrassed for it being "girly".  Ya know.... My little Pony is girly as hell.  Girly to the point that if I saw a kid right now with a My Little Pony backpack, I'd think "THAT SHIT IS GIRLY!"  If my son wanted the same strap... I don't know if i'd buy it.  But if i did, I'd let him know that kids will have opinions, so he may have to deal with criticism.  But criticism aside, if anyone touches him over his personal taste, he have every right to touch them back.  And if you aren't comfortable with that... Your Dad can have a talk with any other kid's Dad. Fro mthe Looks of it, people are showing their support for the little guy.

Have an opinion on The plight of Grayson Bruce, or bullying in general? we can talk about it here and here.  Thanks.

Black, White, Asian, Eskimo - Whatever.

Video shows a Boca Raton, FL resident fed up with her neighbors that fly a Klan flag in their yard. She takes Steve Stoute's message to heart. Also - wait till you get a look at the couple. Also, the only reason I know "Boca Raton" means "The Rat's Mouth" is because I used Florida Atlantic (word to Alfred Morris)a few years back in NCAA Football's Dynasty Mode. lololololololololololol