U.S.: Thomas Sowell speaks out on Bill Cosby at the NAACP

Bill Cosby and the black "leadership" represent two long-standing differences about how to deal with the problems of the black community. The "leaders" are concerned with protecting the image of blacks, while Cosby is trying to protect the future of blacks, especially those of the younger generation.

 Far from just bashing blacks, Cosby has given generously to promote black education. But he is still old-fashioned enough to think that others need to take some responsibility for using the opportunities that were gained for them by "people who marched and were hit in the face with rocks to get an education."

 Now, in too many black communities, dedicating yourself to getting an education is called "acting white."
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There are still whites out there who think that blacks are innately incapable of achievement -- and some of them support affirmative action for that reason. But there is plenty of evidence that innate ability, or even developed mental skills, are not the big problem.
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The differences among all these groups are in one four-letter word that you are still not supposed to say: work.

 Anyone who has taught black, white, and Asian students will know that they do not work equally. Studies show it but you don't need studies. Just go into a university library on a Saturday night and see who is there and who is not there.

 In some places, you might think it was an all-Asian university, judging by the students in the library on Saturday night.

 How surprised should you be when you go into a classroom on Monday morning and find out who is on top of the work and who is struggling to keep up?

What Bill Cosby said was no laughing matter. It is closer to being something to cry about.

High time black kids out here began beating serious book. Both Sowell and Cosby are right that the issue is one of work ethic rather than ability. As long as black kids aren't willing to beat book, they should expect neither academic success nor demand university admission based on some twisted and demeaning affirmative action** policy. There's no crime in doing things the old-fashioned way ... earn it.

If the NAACP and other black "leaders" are offended by Cosby, then they need to get their priorities in order. The true offense is under-performing black kids, teachers, schools.

The true offense is beating up peers who study hard and want something other than a punk ghettoized lifestyle or a basketball.

The true offense is expecting to receive special treatment for under-performing and so tainting those who do genuinely hard work.

The true offense is teachers who are so academically ill-prepared that they can't even pass a licensing exam unless the exam is radically altered to accommodate their ignorance.

The true offense is parents who don't demand achievement from the kids, but who are ready to beat up teachers who demand performance and standards.

Don't expect the NAACP and any black "leader" to admit any of this in public.

**The original intent of affirmative action was equality of access. As long as a person was qualified, the law guaranteed that he could have the same access rights to education as anybody else. Gradually equal access became warped into quotas, and the need for hard work to meet the equal access standard became entitlement because of color.