Cosby Talks "Huxtable Effect"

puffdebi, I am curious about your take on this article.

As an intelligent white female (I like to think I am intelligent atleast.) I realize that the Huxtables were a fictional family, that their life is not the reality of most families, whether black or white for that matter. However, I think the show did open up the possibility to many in the white community that all blacks are not the monsters that (mainly white media) society has made them out to be. For many white people whose only contact with the black community is on the 6 o'clock news, it opened their mind to other possibilities; as sad as that might sound.
I am a lesbian, I grew up being told that all gay people were drug addicts, protestutes and child molesters. When I first realized that "Oh my god, I'm gay." I spent the first year or so just waiting to turn into a drug addict, a prostitute or a child molester (to the point that I would not baby sit my nieces or nephews because I was afraid I would "snap" or something and hurt them.) Coming out and being able to see other gay people who were not all the things I was told they were helped me to know who I was. I know this sounds like a tangent but I think I can make this work.
For white America to see a black family on tv that does not look like the 6 o'clock news, it did make a difference. It dropped our guard and opened our eyes. It was also a show that kids could watch. Kids who were of an age that their own opinions were still in formative stages. They liked this family, they liked these characters, and the comedy and the writing didn't focus you on the color of skin, but on the punchline. This was a family that whether black or white, they were your family, or you wished they were your family.
Do I think that we need to get off the couch and go meet our neighbors and see who they really are? Absolutely! Do I think that tv is a poor substitute for reality? Absolutely. Do I think that tv can be used as a bridge to get us where we need to be? Absolutely!

I thought MLK said it wasn't about race but what was in a man's heart. I also thought Obama was half African-American.

I've been hearing these rumors circulating and it is nice to hear from Cosby himself what he thinks about it.

The Cosby Show! The Huxtables is the black family, and the black family doesn't get any attention on t.v. So that is all I have to say about that.

I miss that show.

As a black woman I found the Karl Rove comment offensive. But I didn't take it to heart because as a human being I find Karl Rove offensive. So his ignorance was expected. What people need to understand is that the Cosby Show was a comedy program on television. And it does not reflect most black folks in the world. I mean it's was fiction. I find it strange that people think this is a legitimate conversation. I mean people, go outside and talk to some black folks that's the only way to understand how we really live, and what it feels like to live with white supremacy in America. Don't ever let your television be your teacher. If it is you should throw it away and go outside for a while.