Matt: found your blog thanks to the link posted at the bottom of your NRO article. You've hit several different nails, and all of them smack on the head.

The fact that white folks don't dare speak the truths Cosby spoke...

The fact that thanks to blogs, major news sources are becoming increasingly irrelevant...

Nice article.

Jeff, thanks very much. Glad you liked the NRO piece and found your way over here to Rosenblog. Do come back and visit often, and feel free to add comments.

About time.
Tired. Beyond tired, of the whole 'ism crowd. Black male, did my time fighting the NOI and the Rainbows in college.
I've said it before. Equality of situation, no! Equality of opportunity, yes!.
In the fight between W.E.B. Dubois and Booker T...I'm a Booker T man.
Thanks for the article.

Great article, Matt. Keep up the good work. This is a long struggle worth fighting.

BTW, it isn't only a racial issue. The Appalachian rural population is virtually all white, and beset by many of the same problems as Cosby describes. The debate over cause and cure is equally polarized, and along many of the same lines as in the blog comments you referenced.

Great article! I have often wondered what made the opinion of the guy on the editorial page so much more important than the opinion of, say, my next door neighbor. Now, thanks to weblogs and rss feeds, my neighbor's opinion is much more accessible.

Good article, but Cosby isn't the 1st prominent black comedian to talk about this, though he is the 1st to get serious attention for it. Chris Rock has a 10 minute routine called "Niggas v. Black People", funny as hell, that he did at least 10 years ago.
The blogosphere and alternate news sources on the internet have changed the way folks get news and are slowly changing old line news media. They cannot ignore stories as easily as in the past.

It is not just Appalachia where poor white folks have the same problems as poor black folks. I grew up in SW Washington state and the problems that Cosby describes were as bad and as prevalent in that all-white population (actually, there was one black family in my town...the parents were both professionals and their oldest son was an eagle scout...a far cry from the 50% drop out rate in my high school class), and this was all 20 years ago. I suspect every poor populations struggles with the issues Cosby raised.

One thing I noticed is that something that I have always respected about African American culture seems to also be keeping the status quo in place. Black people stick together. It sounds like from one of the comments above that black people do talk about this amongst themselves, but as far as the white population knows (I know I don't and I try really hard to pay attention) there are no equivalent terms to our "Redneck" or "Trailer Trash". I really hope that the black community is able to address their problems, and that the discussion can move into the larger culture so that other races with those same problems can benefit as well, without derogatory terms that are directed specifically at poor blacks moving into popular culture and being used as easily as white people use "trailer trash" to dismiss and sneer at poor whites.

And just a last note, maybe it is because I grew up around white poverty so I notice it more, but has anyone else noticed how little the liberal elite care about poor whites?

It is not just Appalachia where poor white folks have the same problems as poor black folks. I grew up in SW Washington state and the problems that Cosby describes were as bad and as prevalent in that all-white population (actually, there was one black family in my town...the parents were both professionals and their oldest son was an eagle scout...a far cry from the 50% drop out rate in my high school class), and this was all 20 years ago. I suspect every poor populations struggles with the issues Cosby raised.

One thing I noticed is that something that I have always respected about African American culture seems to also be keeping the status quo in place. Black people stick together. It sounds like from one of the comments above that black people do talk about this amongst themselves, but as far as the white population knows (I know I don't and I try really hard to pay attention) there are no equivalent terms to our "Redneck" or "Trailer Trash". I really hope that the black community is able to address their problems, and that the discussion can move into the larger culture so that other races with those same problems can benefit as well, without derogatory terms that are directed specifically at poor blacks moving into popular culture and being used as easily as white people use "trailer trash" to dismiss and sneer at poor whites.

And just a last note, maybe it is because I grew up around white poverty so I notice it more, but has anyone else noticed how little the liberal elite care about poor whites?

Congratulations, Matt, for the national publication.

Matt, an outstanding piece of work. The links and lines of thought you open up just overwhelm me. I will have to put the Rosenblog on diet or I will never get any work done.

Well Troy, I think that the liberal elite actually just care about themselves, the paycheck, and fame. They do not seem to champion the poor white, but then again... not long ago the Dem's said that the poverty level should be set at the household income of $100,000.00 per year or less! They don't even know who the poor are! They complain about jobs, yet pushed through NAFTA, nearly killing my hometown as the factories moved to Mexico!

Consider that Kerry talks extensively about the environment, yet owns 4 or 5 (?) mansions around the country... houses that use resources for heating and cooling while the only ones there are his servants. (Not to mention the spotted oils that were dislplaced when trees were cut to build the homes) Or, the air polluting fleet of SUV's he has. What about the large Jet that was just purchased for him to travel around the campaign trail? How can a man with that lifestyle convince anyone that he cares about the environment? Yet the sheep believe he does!

Go ahead, say it's his wife's property... it's still his lifestyle! Sorry for the digression...

The thing is Troy, Cosby made some fine points, that apply across the board. You are absolutely correct that it isn't just a black problem, or an Appalachian one. I'd like to see the race equation removed and the issues addressed.

But the AA's and the status quo comment? I've seen major dissention in the ranks. Of course, it was immediately blamed on whitey... house slaves vs field slaves? Heard that one?
Then by talking amoungst themselves, they can never actually effect change. The subject has to be brought to light for all to view. If whitey is the problem, whitey has to be convinced. If poor are perpetuating the problems, then it should be exposed. People, not just poor people, are perpetuating the attitude that Cosby spoke of. Cosby just ran it up the flagpole, let's see who salutes!

A man in a wheelchair who called himself "cripple" once said to me...

"If you hide what is considered offensive in order not to offend, but do nothing about its context, you empower that thing to be much more than it ever was. It’s like using a racial epithet. It’s not the word itself that's majorly offensive, it’s the racist a**hole that’s using it."

Congratulations on being published on NRO. The next step is to be invited as a guest speaker on the cruise that they are hosting in November.

Keep up the great work.

Re: trailer trash, the closest term I've heard a black person use for another black person is "triflin'".

Mr. Rosenberg,

Excellent article. I think we should all take Coz's words to heart. I wish there were more folks in the World willing to speak an unpopular truth rather than pandering to the crowd.

Wouldn't it be lovely if our world leaders behaved in such a manner? (thats not a political crack, I think decision 2004 is a suckfest)

Anyway, thanks for your time and please forgive my poor grammer and sentence structure.