IN THE past few weeks, two influential African-American icons have made inflammatory remarks that have caught the media's attention and deserve a brief examination. Whoopi Goldberg and Bill Cosby, both highly esteemed figures, spouted controversial and divisive comments at recent events. Their statements shed light onto the mixed state of affairs in the African-American community and the political atmosphere at large, as well as their own personal character.
On July 1, comedian Bill Cosby was anything but joking when he admonished the audience at Jesse Jackson's Rainbow PUSH Coalition & Citizenship Education Fund's annual conference. Cosby reproached parents who set a poor example for their children, which leads to many of the problems he addressed, including a deficiency in the English language, a lack of quality education and very few marketable job skills. "One of the most difficult things is to accept the problem," Cosby said, labeling this dilemma"your dirty laundry." While his tirade was heated and passionate, his criticism was peppered with solid, truthful and constructive advice.
African-American Juan Williams of National Public Radio, generally liberal, opined, "You just can't have enough praise, in my book, for Bill Cosby. He's finally saying hey, listen. You've got to understand, if you don't do your part, you can't start pointing fingers. There's no white person in America telling your kid not to learn how to read."
Cosby is not standing on a pedestal looking down at his brethren. Rather, he is taking the opportunity to open up a serious discussion on such a critical issue that is not just relevant for the African-American community, but for our culture at large: personal responsibility.
A week after Cosby's remarks, Whoopi Goldberg, on the other hand, bashed President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney at a Democratic fundraiser in New York at Radio City Music Hall that garnered $7.5 million. Making light of Bush's last name and Cheney's first name, Goldberg spewed a steady stream of expletives, sexual references and suggestive body language, while flailing a bottle of wine. Some of it was so inappropriate it was deemed unfit to print verbatim by most publications, and the Kerry campaign refuses to release a video of her routine.
Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., dubbed the evening's performances as representative of the "heart and soul of our country." He continued, "They're here to join in making this a better country, and we are so grateful to each and every one of them for what they've done tonight." Vice-presidential nominee Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., proclaimed, "This campaign will be a celebration of real American values."
If Kerry truly believes that Hollywood actors and actresses who cuss profusely, utter crude jokes and call the president a "liar," "thug" and "killer" are the proud crux of middle America, then either he is in for a rude awakening or our nation is headed for a downward moral spiral.
Even some members of Hollywood thought Goldberg's act was out of line. On the O'Reilly Factor, Democratic actor Ron Silver stated, "I'm very disappointed that the party is letting it get out of hand to the extent that it has. There's an obsessive demeaning caricature of the president and of the policies."
About a week later, John Edwards attempted to distance himself from Goldberg's performance. He clarified in an interview with Fox News, "The people who spoke were speaking for themselves. They weren't speaking for me, and they weren't speaking for John Kerry." Talk about a day late and a dollar short. How can these people not speak for Kerry or Edwards, but supposedly represent their constituency?
After Goldberg's episode, she was dumped by one of her advertisers, Slim-Fast, and then proceeded to blame it on -- who else? -- those rascally Republicans. Goldberg's publicist stated, "I only wish that the Republican re-election committee would spend as much time working on the economy as they seem to be spending trying to harm my pocketbook."
I have a hard time believing that a political organ could coerce a profit-maximizing company to drop a lucrative sponsor that was well received by its customers. As evidenced by Slim-Fast's apology to its clientele for Goldberg's remarks, a significant portion of the public, the true "heart and soul" of America, disapproved of her outrageous behavior. Slim-Fast must have received a voluminous amount of complaints to consider dropping a famous actress from its payroll.
Goldberg's performance completely flew in the face of Bill Cosby's lecture. She didn't exercise restraint in her word choice, provided a horrible standard of conduct and then proceeded to evade responsibility and place the onus of blame on another entity.
Cosby is making a positive impact in his community. He is a role model for American's youth; well educated with a Ph.D. in education, successful and generous. His actions are consistent with his words. He is even paying the college tuition of two students who succeeded in high school despite the absence of a familial structure.
Goldberg is using her platform to spew tactless rhetoric that didn't contribute in any meaningful way. If anything, it detracted from her purpose of rallying support for the Democratic campaign. She certainly didn't persuade a large chunk of Slim-Fast's customers.
Goldberg's thoughtless conduct spurred an outrage and cost her a few million. Cosby's laudable efforts spawned a valuable discourse that will hopefully foster a sense of personal responsibility among all Americans. Well, I guess you reap what you sow.
Whitney Blake is a Cavalier Daily associate editor. She can be reached at wblake@cavalierdaily.com.
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