Quote:
Originally posted by bebanovich
I did read the article about Bill Cosby and I'm glad he cares about these issues and chooses to speak his mind. I agree with him on some things and disagree with him on more.
I just want to say two things in response:
Being White and middle-class does not disqualify you from having meaningful conversations about race.
Being Black or Latino (for example) does not make you an expert on race.
Being who you are makes you an expert on being who you are. Some have chosen to think, talk and study more about these issues than others and have different levels of experience and exposure They should be fairly granted varying levels of credibilty. But it is my opinion that conversations about race should be free of rhetoric and involve everyone (well almost everyone).
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Coach you are only right to a point. If someone is a member of any group, the people that are in that group say things to others in their own group than they do to people outside of that group. I never try to say I am an expert on race, but I tend to deal with enough Black people that I am very aware of the things they say to me and other Black people. My game tonight is a perfect example. I was working at a school that is all-Black and two of the three officials are Black. The conferences the host team (of the regional) has many teams in the conference that are either All-white or All-Black and the make up of the officials is an issue. Every time I go to this particular school the coaches, administrators or just fans comment about how rare it is they get to see two or more Black officials on a game. I will guess they do not say that to many coaches that are not Black. So you are right those kinds of experiences do not make me an expert, but it is something that many that are Black talk to me about and make sure they say those kinds of things to me outside of the ears of non-Black people. So when you comment about Bill Cosby, you clearly show me you are not aware of how many people of color do not care what Bill Cosby think or the issues he has raised. I realize you might think Bill is a good person to speak on such issues, but many Black people think guys like Jesse, Al or Farrakhan have more credibility on these issues. Remember, you think Black people are not aware how they have to act in regular settings outside of their community because they came from a violent area. So I will take you comments for what it is worth.
Peace