Clinton bats .600
The Center for American Progress posted an interview President Clinton on race issues today in three flavors: text, streaming Windows Media and downloadable MP3.
Let's be clear: one way to really annoy me is to call President Clinton "the first Black President." But also be clear his racial perspectives are in pretty close accord with those of the Black communities.
Patrick Berry emailed me the link with the subject "Clinton weighs in on Cosby Comments," so:
Q: The comedian Bill Cosby's recent remarks about personal responsibility in the African-American community have caused some controversy. Do you think such a discussion helps or hurts the broader discussion of race in America in its various complexities?
Silly question; indefinite question, actually. What controversy are we talking about? I only see one, and the conversation isn't addressing it directly. But I guess the question had to be asked.
President Clinton: Absolutely helps. It helps because it helps for two reasons. First of all because I think that whenever you're blaming other people for your problems - I know I've been there - whenever you're blaming other people for your problems, even if you're right, and in this case, non-blacks are responsible, or at least the history for a lot of the problems of the black community, you still have to be careful because it diverts your attention from what you can do to improve things. So what Cosby did was really good for the black community, because whether you agree with exactly how he said it or not, he said, okay, suppose we got a lot of problems that are other peoples' fault, what about what we can do to fulfill our responsibilities, so it was a big plus.
The second reason it was a plus is it is good politics because it removes an excuse from the members of the white community, who might not want to do more for black children, or for black economic development, who say, well they're not trying to help themselves. Cosby takes the excuse away. So it was good in two ways. Cosby did a service to black America and to all Americans by doing that, by focusing black Americans on what they can do for their future and reminding white Americans that most black people are doing the very best they can to do everything they can and therefore we all ought to be working to overcome these disparities.
This is so very much the right thing to say. But.
Dr. Cosby did shock a bunch of people, but the surprise wasn't that he thought it, it's that he said it. He's added nothing to the discussion on the Black side of the veil; that's why the responses to his second speech was so much more timely and precise. They were ready this time.
Meanwhile, on the white side of the veil, folks are watching to see Black people's reactions and THAT'S a problem…what was it President Clinton said:
I think that whenever you're blaming other people for your problems…it diverts your attention from what you can do to improve things.
This is a precise description of the attitude of each side of the veil from the perspective of the other side.
You want to know when we start making progress? When white people take George Carlin as seriously as Black people take Bill Cosby.
