For Goldfish Funerals

A few folks e-mailed me on my appearance on The Takeaway to talk about the Cosby Show. And a couple posters wondered why I didn't put it up:

Mr. Coates (I decided to show you much respect after your New Yorker article), you did not seem to have much to add to the discussion. You almost seemed disengaged, or perhaps, tired.

Moreover, it struck me as interesting that for the first two questions, your answer was "I don't know...." It was almost as if you did not want to give the questions any thought or analysis. I was surprised since you are such a deep thinker and offer such prolific opinions on so many other issues.

Overall, my take-a-away was that you truly do not view the Cosby Show as the cultural or sociological touchstone that so many others -- in the MSM and academia -- consider it to be.

Growing up in a low-income family in public housing, raised by my grandmother, the Cosby Show had a strong impact on me when I watched it. Up the that point, TV had never had a show about an upper-middle class black family. And one where neither of the parents (both professionals), nor the children (all in school) were dysfunctional (ok..Densie, the Lisa Bonet character, was a bit flaky. But nothing too extreme, like drug use, etc.).

Yeah, well, here's the thing. I didn't put it up because I was ashamed. I promised myself, when I came here, that I'd only talk publicly when I had something to contribute. I've done a decent job at keeping that promise, but sometimes I fuck up.

The fact is that I'm a pretty bad pick to split a eight minute segment. My thoughts tend to stretch a little bit, and at times, I ramble. More than that, I'm a pretty bad pick to assess the sociological impact of television, and particularly the Cosby Show.I never expected television executives in Los Angeles to accurately depict black life and all of it's complexity. (They barely get it right with white people.)

I didn't have a TV for the earliest part of my life. When we got one, it was used, and we had to turn the channels with a pair of pliers. Which isn't to say I didn't love the Cosby Show. I thought it was hilarious, in fact, and still do. But I'm not really qualified to assess its sociological implications.

Anyway, here's the link. I should have thrown it up last week. My bad. It's a good lesson, if an old one--Talk less. Listen more.