Posted on 12/04/2014 5:14:47 AM PST by lifeofgrace
Yesterday, I published an open letter to Bill Cosby, in which I encouraged him to speak the truth. I didn’t condemn the man as a rapist. Sixteen women have done that. Cosby’s response, over nearly 30 years of these accusations, which occur with the regularity of a drumbeat, has been to fight, litigate, settle, and mostly ignore them. His PR machine and attorneys do a fine job of giving him value for the dollar.
I have no argument with a longtime and loved celebrity striving to keep his image free from such smears, but the accusations are gaining traction. NBC has dropped a new Cosby comedy project, and TV Land has pulled old Cosby Show reruns. Huckster of Law Gloria Allred is even joining the chorus. This is evidence of what Hollywood and the TV execs believe. They think that Cosby is “damaged goods”.
My letter simply asked Mr. Cosby to tell the truth. If the accusations are false, he should face them. If they are true, in any way, no matter how minor, he should admit to it.
I know. If he admits anything at all happened with any of these women, his future is grim, his career is over, his name is “rapist”.
My advice was not based on what’s good for Mr. Cosby’s career, or his bank account, or his reputation. My advice was based on what’s good for Mr. Cosby’s soul, and his right standing with God.
I am very concerned with the reaction I’ve seen to this post. It's not like the post went viral (God help me) or anything, but much of the feedback had this “logic”:
None of the sixteen women could produce enough evidence to convince a prosecutor or grand jury to bring charges.There’s a dangerous air to these statements. For those who believe them, I have one question: how many women will it take before you stop thinking they are all liars?The sheer number of women coming out at the same time indicates that this must be a conspiracy to defame and ruin Bill Cosby.
Because Cosby has stood up for family values and personal responsibility, he’s being persecuted.
Those women slept with Cosby for years and are now using it to further their own celebrity.
It smells like a put-up, because I’ve seen too many false rape accusations.
Bill Clinton has always faced philandering accusations, with 11 women (not including his wife Hillary) coming out at various times. Some of the timing was inopportune (Gennifer Flowers make her statement just before the New Hampshire primary in 1992), but Bill managed to play these off very well. It was only after Monica Lewinsky produced “the dress” with indisputable physical evidence that Bill’s “I did not have sexual relations with that woman. Miss Lewinsky” came crashing into the horrendous lie folder.
Clinton’s defenders used all the same arguments: the women wanted something from Bill; they were promoting themselves; they were paid to damage Clinton’s reputation. What these arguments had in common was the assumption that the women themselves were liars. All of them.
When one woman make a sensational rape claim, it should be investigated, and if it’s got no basis in fact, discarded as a lie. Tawana Brawley fabricated a gang rape in 1987 to avoid being punished by her father for being out late. Crystal Gail Mangum falsely accused a group of Duke lacrosse players of a gang rape. She’s now a convicted murderer serving time in prison. These false charges happen, but that’s not a reason to discard every single allegation of rape, especially when directed at a celebrity or politician.
My God, do we want to give those people the feeling they are invincible? They’ve got big enough egos as it is. There’s plenty of reason for a gold digger to make a false rape or “I slept with” accusation against a celebrity. It, in fact, happens all the time, and keeps the Weekly World News and other tabloids in business. Celebrities have lawyers and PR firms to deal with these things, and when they are false, they can sue and win libel judgments (it’s not easy to do but it’s possible).
The same attitude of hero-worship and knee-jerk defense is what allowed sports cheaters like Lance Armstrong and Roger Clemens to get away with their performance enhancement for years. People knew, but nobody talked, and when anyone even whispered a hint of the “problem”, it was swept under the rug and dealt with quickly. Monster Jerry Sandusky relied on his fame and close relationship with football god Joe Paterno to hide his evil deeds. Celebrities are not above having secret lives filled with iniquitous passions.
Sixteen women (it’s now up to 20), over several decades, have come forward to accuse Mr. Cosby of drugging them, fondling them, forcing sex upon them, or outright raping them. These accusations are extremely serious. Taken one at a time, they can be parsed into various categories of insufficient evidence, tall tales, or misplaced motivations. Taken together, they paint a picture of a potentially deeply troubled man.
If Cosby is totally innocent, so be it. I am not accusing the man.
I just think that, as Josef Stalin said, quantity has a quality all its own. If sixteen people, who were unrelated to each other in every way, accused me of something, you would likely say I did it, not that someone paid them to say it. Unless some evidence shows up proving that these women are being paid to accuse Bill Cosby (I can’t imagine why, the man is not running for president, and it’s just TV), let’s give them the same benefit of the doubt they’d get if they were accusing me.
It’s simply dangerous not to.
People whose minds are destroyed by selfishness wouldn’t recognize the truth and can’t speak it to save their lives. oh and another thing, men accused of molestation probably think other dudes are envious, it’s all just insane.
***Hero-worship is a Dangerous Game***
Bill Cosby aside...
That is the one of the earliest lessons I pounded into my kids. Heroes often disappoint.
It is somewhat ironic if you think about it. I would go so far as to say... that if the Cosby show hadn't of happened, Obama would not have been elected president. The Cosby show helped white America feel comfortable with blacks, because it depicted a black family living basically as many white families do instead of in a state of chaos and crime.
A-friggin-men.
It happens here at FR all the time. Man-crushes, bromances, and slavish devotion to celebrities. Never once have they failed to dissapoint.
Same here. I respect NOBODY in the entertainment industry. I’ll admit that there are a few good people, but not worth wasting time drooling over. Same with college professors. Most are nothing but libs who fill gullible student’s heads with their loony extremist ideas.
“That is the one of the earliest lessons I pounded into my kids. Heroes often disappoint.”
Same here. So much of what this world offers is empty and soul killing. Our celebrity culture is one of the Enemy’s shiny apples.
I was on a committee to name some Army ranges after Army heroes.
One of the rules was we had to pick heroes who were deceased. Why? It would be an embarrassment if a living hero went out and committed some sort of crime, even a DUI.
“It happens here at FR all the time. Man-crushes, bromances, and slavish devotion to celebrities. Never once have they failed to dissapoint.”
I would include conservative politicians in that.
The Bible warns us.
“Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation.” (Psalm 146:3 ESV)
I think of that verse often. Even though I am a conservative, I try not to get too high on any conservative politician. I learned my lesson on that years ago.
I warned a liberal friend in 2008 that Obama would disappoint her. I even quoted that verse. She hated me for it. She thought I was saying it because he’s black and a Democrat. The truth is I would say the same to a white conservative who is over-the-top in their support of Palin or Cruz or Reagan reincarnated.
Says the guy who writes a blog and gives us his valuable opinions.
BWAAHAAHAAHAAA!
Absolutely.
Whether it’s Palin, West, Colon Bowell (that was a laugh-riot) or Paul and Son Of Paul.
Why is the freerepublc site being used for the allred shakedown of Cosby?
do you really think that people posting comments and articles at FR has anything impact on that case... I don’t
What is with the pic, is that Lee Sun-Shin or something
There is no ‘case’. This is a media attack.
So yes, the people driving the story are the once seeking to keep the story in the news and being discussed.
Freereupublic is being dragged down into the gutters of celebrity gossip rags.
Hmmm, there are All those democrats accusing the Republicans of being sexist racists...
Does that make the claim true?
Is guilt of a crime now based on how many independent people I can get/pay to accuse you?
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