Monday, May 31, 2004
Oh, now this is rich.
Despite my better judgment I've always liked Clarence Page. The long-time commentator and columnist with the Chicago Trib, though a true lib (as opposed to a mouth-breathing, Hate-America-First Lefty), nevertheless shows occasional insight. And he even gets it right from time to time.
But sometimes I think Mr. Page feels the inherent tension between the liberal views he espouses and the common sense he occasionally issues. And here's the part that disappointed me about his recent column speaking to Bill Cosby's hammer-blows at the NAACP's black-tie event remembering the Brown vs. Board of Education Supreme Court decision.
I'll leave it to you to find the text of what Mr. Cosby said, it really is worth a look, but my comment is about what Page did when confronted with the chasm between his agreement with Cosby and his reflexive liberalism.
First, here's the link: (free subscription required) http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/columnists/chi-0405230500may23,1,5765943.column?coll=chi-news-col
Now the quote that had me rolling my eyes (again):
Cosby's view, by contrast, offers a side of black life that seldom is seen on the news, a self-reliance liberalism. Right-wing ideologues pretend that self-reliance liberalism does not exist. But most successful African-Americans are intimately familiar with it. The message, as Cosby might say, is simple: Those of us who have made it need to help those who have not, but poor black folks need to "hold up their end in this deal," too.
Paaaleeezze. "Self-reliance liberalism"? Isn't that a little like sunshiny midnight?
Clarence is going to need some muscle ointment after a stretch like that.
Despite my better judgment I've always liked Clarence Page. The long-time commentator and columnist with the Chicago Trib, though a true lib (as opposed to a mouth-breathing, Hate-America-First Lefty), nevertheless shows occasional insight. And he even gets it right from time to time.
But sometimes I think Mr. Page feels the inherent tension between the liberal views he espouses and the common sense he occasionally issues. And here's the part that disappointed me about his recent column speaking to Bill Cosby's hammer-blows at the NAACP's black-tie event remembering the Brown vs. Board of Education Supreme Court decision.
I'll leave it to you to find the text of what Mr. Cosby said, it really is worth a look, but my comment is about what Page did when confronted with the chasm between his agreement with Cosby and his reflexive liberalism.
First, here's the link: (free subscription required) http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/columnists/chi-0405230500may23,1,5765943.column?coll=chi-news-col
Now the quote that had me rolling my eyes (again):
Cosby's view, by contrast, offers a side of black life that seldom is seen on the news, a self-reliance liberalism. Right-wing ideologues pretend that self-reliance liberalism does not exist. But most successful African-Americans are intimately familiar with it. The message, as Cosby might say, is simple: Those of us who have made it need to help those who have not, but poor black folks need to "hold up their end in this deal," too.
Paaaleeezze. "Self-reliance liberalism"? Isn't that a little like sunshiny midnight?
Clarence is going to need some muscle ointment after a stretch like that.
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