Thanks for the comment AOL. I was probably a bit hasty in my post by not clarifying to whom Dr. Cosby is referring. I had assumed it would be clear, given Cosby's history. Considering that Cosby ran a decade-long iconic television show situated around an upper middle class black family in which the father was a doctor, the mother was a lawyer, and the children went to top-notch universities, I doubt that he needs a lecture on the differences between inner city blacks living in crime infested neighborhoods and the great number of successful black families living in America.

I'll attempt to clarify my own words in an edit to the post, but Cosby knows to whom he is speaking and I believe those listening to him speak know whether they're the intended target.

I'll say also, that I'm pretty sure you could discern from Cosby's speech to whom he was addressing his comments. There's a pretty large elephant in the living room here, and I think it's a bit dangerous to nitpick. Does Bill Cosby, a black American whose Philadelphia up-bringing didn't include silver spoons, really need to clarify: "THAT elephant"? Does he need to preface his remarks by stating the obvious?
 

None taken. Apologies for being a bit abrupt in my response.

I very much understand what you're saying. But, I also feel that oversensitivity on the part of some has been hindering progress to some extent. While I'm sympathetic to people who don't want to be painted with Cosby's broad brush, I think that yelling foul about words that were clearly not intended for them is counterproductive to the ultimate objective we should all share: ending the chronic poverty, crime, violence, fatherless families etc. that has existed in our inner cities for decades.

What Cosby is saying is important. Rather than acknowledge this, and working with him to push solutions, people are being reflexively defensive where no offense was intended. This undermines his efforts, and in doing so risks derailing them. I don't see that anyone benefits from that.
 

Strong work Nomad. Maybe he can save the Democratic party from itself. The great thing is that he is not a conservative politically and he speaks the truth, so maybe the liberals will listen to him.

Monday one of us should post something in honor of MLK day. Flaws and all, he was a great American. If I have some time, I'll work on it.