Though I was born in 1984, I grew up watching re-runs of The Cosby Show. So, naturally, I grew up really liking Bill Cosby. I probably didn’t even know that his character had a different name back then. To me, the character and the person who played him were indistinguishable.
Over the last few months, as the scandals and accusations just kept piling up, one after another, I really grew more and more depressed about the sad reality of Bill Cosby. It made me wonder whether there was any possibility that Bill was somehow innocent. As each accuser came forward, it seemed more and more improbable. Months ago, I eventually accepted the reality that Bill Cosby was, in fact, very different from his Dr. Cliff Huxtable persona he so memorably portrayed on television. Bill Cosby, as was recently released, in 2005 admitted to obtaining prescriptions for quaaludes, a sedative which he also admits having given to people with the intent of having sex with them.
The Cosby case brings to mind a number of issues that deserve reflection. First, there is the serious injustice for the victims, his accusers who for decades have been almost entirely unheard. Those women, many of whom were introduced to Bill Cosby with some promise or hope of him advancing their careers, have been seriously wounded, physically and psychologically. They deserve to have their stories heard, and Mr. Cosby’s age or revered status in the African American community should not factor into the discussion of the events. Let’s not forget, Bill Cosby was incredibly powerful for many decades, and it appears he has used that power to abuse many vulnerable women. That is THE primary injustice and harm of this case. Above all, these women need prayers and people to listen to them and help try to heal them, in whatever way is possible at this late date, sometimes decades after the abuse occurred.
Another level is to consider the protection that Cosby was able to build up, utilizing his celebrity persona, his wealth, and his legal team. As has been widely publicized, it is expected that the statute of limitations will have expired in every case that has been reported. America is supposed to be a country where everyone has an equal standing before the law and when scores of abused women suffered at the hands of the same man, who is able to avoid any prosecution for decades, something clearly is wrong with the system.
There’s also a moral question that I imagine some may be asking themselves: is it okay to watch or listen to old Cosby tv shows or stand-up routines now that we have all but complete certainty that he was duplicitous? I would say that while it may not be outright sinful, it certainly doesn’t seem to be prudent. I loved The Cosby Show, and I am completely capable of making the important distinction between an actor and the character they play or a writer and the books they wrote. However, with that said, I don’t think I’ll likely find myself comfortably able to watch The Cosby Show anymore.
At the same time, while making clear that I find his past behavior reprehensible, I also think one ought to be able to distinguish a person from their behavior. And by that I mean we ought not condemn Bill Cosby today, or wish bad things upon him. If we’re Christian, we ought to pray for him and, of course, pray for his victims. One of the most consoling things about being a Christian, in times of moral evil that seems incapable of being rectified on human terms, is that we know there is another judgment and a more capable judge that we will all have to answer to. I certainly wish and hope for Mr. Cosby to make amends in whatever way he can, but I also know that he’s got bigger dues to pay than merely a TV apology.
Beyond these concerns, there is, for me, one final, painful level to the issue.
Hearing this wave of accusations, reports, and now some modest form of an admission of guilt in 2005, rings all too familiar for me. In the echo chamber of my mind, it sounds all so much like the abuse scandal that hit the US church in 2002, starting with the Diocese of Boston and later spread its way through many other dioceses, leading to lawsuits and a host of terrible finds.
There are some similarities to the cases. Both situations involve those in power taking advantage of people who looked up to them, admired them, and were understandably afraid of the power they wielded. Both cases also involved a lot of legal machinations employed to try and protect those in power. Both situations seem to involve limited, sometimes ineffective, communication with the authorities, motivated by a desire to avoid embarrassment and scandal. It should be stated that the naivete involved in sweeping sexual abuse under the rug sometimes fell on both sides of the situation. That is, both the accused (such as a priest, or Mr. Cosby) AND the law enforcement involved have, at different times, used this false logic, with terrible consequences.
One difference, though, is that in the Cosby case, there was just one individual involved, but he had a tremendous pull and financial resources to keep himself out of trouble. It should be easier to stop one single person than to end a scandal that involved complex webs of people at different administrative levels.
But, as wounding as the priest abuse scandal was, in the end, there’s been a dramatic change. Since 2002, there’s been a huge effort involving serious research and investigations into what not only caused the abuse scandal, but also what allowed it to happen for so long. The results are now making tremendous changes evident within the Catholic community.
If you’ve not read the John Jay Report on the sex abuse in the Catholic Church in the US, I highly recommend it. It’s painful, but it also was an open communication which allowed for the most thorough research possible. The dioceses involved handed over more paperwork than any other institution with well-known sexual abuse scandals ever has (I’m thinking here of public schools, for example). The result of the serious, third-party research conducted by the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, enabled dioceses to put into place programs which are based on best practices to curb the possibility of abuse.
Every diocese in America now requires its volunteers and employees who will have unsupervised contact with children to undergo abuse prevention training and background checks and every program running in a parish, from Vacation Bible School to Confirmation preparation classes, must follow certain protocols that nearly make it impossible for even the most hardened abuser to even have the opportunity to harm a child.
One final point on the Church cases. Any time a discussion involves the sex abuse scandal in the Catholic Church, I feel it’s important to emphatically state two things: terrible things did happen, and they were done by terrible people who should have been stopped, and should have been punished. Reassignment or a verbal warning should not have been considered sufficient, no matter what the police involved or psychiatrists consulted may have said. One child suffering is too many. Secondly, the Bishops who knowingly covered up for priests or shuffled them around from parish to parish failed miserably in their job to shepherd their flock.
With that said, I think this Cosby case reminds us that the media has a way of propping up certain people as good guys, others as bad guys, and we can never be too sure whether that’s reality or not. I would always caution against growing too infatuated with a particular celebrity, because they have ways of protecting themselves and keeping information out of the public view. Just as much, don’t assume every celebrity who makes headlines for all the wrong reasons is a total disaster.
Pax,
Luke
13 thoughts on “Thoughts on the Bill Cosby Scandal”
“As has been widely publicized, it is expected that the statute of limitations will have expired in every case that has been reported.” THIS certainly did not apply to MANY in the Church who were accused, which I could never understand.
Because children, not adults, were the victims.
Ah….. so I looked it up. It’s confusing, but I guess that’s how it went. Thank you Wardog00! http://angelroar.com/foradults/c-child-abuse-resources-adults/childabusestatuteoflimitationsbystate
Your are right about praying, that’s what needs to be done in the face of all things evil, faulty ,and immoral. Praying for the victims and well as the perpetrator, it certainly is the Christian and loving thing to do, and it is very healing.
I find it very odd that they all waited until the statute of limitations had expired. As in all of these types of accusation, at this time in history, the accused is automatically considered guilty and the accusers do not even have to prove anything. Just because there are a large number of accusers does not make it real. If you pay attention nothing has happened to the accusers but the accused is guilty and punished without a defense. What if someone accused you your reputation would be ruined even if you were innocent. Look at the Duggards he was very young, he admitted his wrong doing and went to the authorities and took care of his mistakes and yet he has been attacked and vilified as if no one has done things they are ashamed of in their life. This is what is called judging a person, you think you know the facts but you do not and to take for granted someone is guilty because a number of people say so(unrelated people) is wrong.
My heart also goes out to Bill Cosby’s family who stood by him in his claims of innocence and will now also suffer public shame as well as their own personal betrayal and devastation.
Aubreylover, I think that the scandals of the church were taken up by the media and escalated at a time which the rulers of our world found to be appropriate in order to discredit our church to the maximum. Yestheabuses occurred. I wonder if these ‘priests’ should be investigated for knowing one another and colluding with abuses. Many clearly did both. Perhaps we should look at other common demonniators such as memberships of societies?
A few points. First, the Church abuse “scandals.” Child sexual abuse was not considered a crime; it was considered a psychological disorder treatable by psychiatric counseling. This was the opinion of the American Psychiatric Society up until the mid 1980s. The U.S. bishops who had to deal with these “disordered” priest followed the approved procedures for the time. By mid 1980s, studies were finding the traditional psychiatric treatment was not resulting in offenders change of behavior. That is when organizations were formed to get laws passed making that behavior a crime. By 1990 all states had criminalized child molestation. The point is, the Church should not be accused of “protecting” these offending priest when they were just following society’s approved treatment before 1985. There was a transition period of 5 years to 1990 when society recognized this behavior was criminal. After 1990, all bishops should have acted properly and reported such cases to the police. If they didn’t, then they could be criticized
Now, about Bill Cosby and his “private” life. I heard a caller to a radio talk show claiming to have been a photographer for 10 years back at the time some of these accusations against Crosby are alleged to have taken place. He said it was common knowledge that there were Hollywood parties where quaalude was known to be available, he called them “quaalude parties.” He said the woman attending all knew that, implying it was consensual. He questioned the truthfulness of some of the accusers. That is one point.
Another point is the roll Cosby played on the screen, whether it was interviewing young children, or his family series, or was a stand up speech to a group of people. In all of his “performances,” he had an admiral message that did much good.
The question is: How do we deal with our image of him, now, knowing all of this? Last week, I came to a resolution – it came about thinking of King David. David was the greatest king Israel ever had. But there was a time he did something very bad; he lusted over a woman he saw. She was married, her husband a soldier. King David ordered the husband to the front lines of the fight going on where he would be killed. David had a child by this woman; the child died within a week. David repented. He had another child from his wife, a child that is said to be the wisest man who ever lived – Solomon.
I don’t know if Bill Cosby had a King David moment and repented for what he did, nobody does,. That’s between him and God. As for me, Bill Cosby’s public life, before audiences, has been inspiring and useful in raising children. I had five. So, I’ll take from Cosby the good he did, and hold him up as someone to learn from watching his programs and especially listening to his past speeches. And I’ll pray that he repents if hasn’t already.
I didn’t believe any of the acquisations until I read this article now saying he took and gave drugs for t his purpose. I am wondering if the women used him to get ahead in that profession??and knew what they were doing?.” AND I am wondering if these women are being “paid off” to accuse him because he is very outspoken in criticizing the way of life of the immorals of many leaders today. He is a very conservative thinker and “they” who are out to destroy this country and world will bring others to help them destroy the image of their opponents.
So did I miss Cosby’s trial? Or is this how it goes in 2015 AD? Guilty without trial.
YES! I can still watch the Cosby Show because they portrayed an of black family life that was for real. There were and are black professionals who were and married wiiwith families like those portrayed by the Huxtables. This is a hhypocrisy that serves justice in letting an aspect of black life be portrayed that got and still gets short shrift.
And, furthermore, he couldn’t have done it by himself. He needed the whole cast and crew. Who put together a great program that was not about promoting abuse but wholesome family life that should stand by itself.