Bill Cosby was convicted yesterday. The charade is over and finally, the women he assaulted are getting some measure of justice. He’s not in jail yet, and who knows if he ever will be. I’m sure he’ll be free on appeal and his team of attorneys will start to bring the, “significant health issues” into play, but, it’s a start anyway. Now the world KNOWS, and whether he ever steps foot in a prison or not, his life is over, and is legacy is forever tainted.
I grew up listening to Bill Cosby’s comedy albums in the 1960’s and 70’s. They were a riot and resonated with young boys, black and white. Cosby had gained famed as a male lead in I-Spy on television in the 1960’s, then the Bill Cosby Show (teacher Chet Kincaid), and finally, achieving gold status with The Cosby Show. That series was such a badge of honor, not only for Cosby but for African Americans everywhere. The quality of the show and what it did to portray black families in a positive light was remarkable. Cosby was brilliant, there’s no doubt about that.
And now, like just about everything good, it’s been tainted. Forever. And there’s no doubt about that either.
Everyone wonders about circumstances such as these. You often hear, “Wasn’t he famous enough that he could have gotten hundreds of women to sleep with him, just from the fame standpoint?” That wasn’t the point. Cosby, like so many other men, wanted control. Control to do what he wanted, when he wanted to, in the manner he wanted to. Control over women. Because he COULD.
Most of these women were not given a choice…”Sleep with me or your career will be ruined”. They allowed themselves to be in situations where they eventually lost control and the ability to make decisions for themselves. They were preyed upon. And no one deserves that.
During this entire episode there was a part of the little boy in me who had hoped this wasn’t true. That perhaps it was just horseplay, and some women trying for fame, and trying to get rich. And perhaps that was a very small part of it. But yesterday’s decision leaves no doubt about the type of person Bill Cosby allowed himself to become. Nor what he did to so many women…all because he could.
It doesn’t matter whether it was one woman, or 25 women. Rape is rape. Fame played no part in this scenario, except that it enabled Cosby the opportunity to have access to more potential victims.
In today’s society, when something truly good happens, we now always wait for the other shoe to drop. Hardly anyone is famous, or becomes a hero, without some sort of blemish, or even worse…this.
A baseball player hits 50 home runs, we think, he must be on the juice.
A politician breaks barriers and is set for a promising career, oops, he took money he shouldn’t have.
A firefighter saves people from a burning building…only to find out he set the fire in the first place.
People, especially adoring followers, often forget, we are all human. And all capable of mistakes. We are all weak in some manner or another. Or, in a case like this, there is evil lurking behind a facade where we least expect it. When I hear these stories, I often ask myself, “How could they think they would not get caught?”
The answers may vary. Arrogance. Sickness. Delusion. Calculated control. Whatever the answer is, here’s another American hero who’s come crashing down. Right into a big bowl of Jello pudding.
Trapped in a Happy Life 