Bill Cosby on black America

[mburbank]

Bill Cosby doesn't own Black comedy any more than Woody Allen owns Jewish comedy. If the Cos (who's early stand up work ranks among my absolute favorite stuff) wants to package roll model and comedian as a bundel, fine. I think the two jobs are ill suited, but I wouldn't presume to judge that.

His political commentary is fine with me. But when he lords it over other comics, that's kingly and I think it's way out of line. It's mostly over now, but a few decades back there was a lot of talk in the entertainment community about which Jewish writers and comedians were 'good for the Jews'. Lenny Bruce, Phillip Roth and even Woody Allen and Mel Brooks got a fair helping of shit about it.

You want to fight the fight? If you're a comedian, do it with jokes. Chris Rock has a joke (I'm paraphrasing) "If a kid calls his Grandma 'mom' and his mom 'Pam', that kid is going to jail." I think that's painful, sharp, funny and to the point.

AND think Sykes' own work IS smart. But that's subjective.