Bill Cosby

[geonuc]

Bill Cosby occupied a significant part of my youth. I had several albums of his comedy that included most of his iconic skits. While I was never a big follower of his TV show, I always held a high regard for his brand of humor as I got older. It was sort of the antithesis of some of the other things out there - Richard Pryor, George Carlin, etc. (mind you, I embraced that humor, too).

Now? Not so much. I'm saddened, mostly.

[Sigma_Orionis]

Ditto.

[Cyborg Girl]

For reference:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morn ... ill-cosby/

The only thing I knew about Cosby was his name and reputation as a comedian. I'd never heard of this stuff. I guess fame gets to a man's head or something... Yech.

What's more shocking to me is how long it took for anyone to listen. I mean, at least fifteen people accused him of sexual assault, and it took 10 years for anything to come of it. I know we're biased and all, but WTF?

[SciFiFisher]

unfortunately, we may never know the truth because I am sure that as part of the settlement in 2006 Cosby's lawyers were sure to get a non-disclosure agreement. Which means that he gets to be tried in the court of public opinion. For the record I am not saying he did or didn't do these things. I am saying that, unfortunately, his accusers seem to have waited until the statue of limitations ran out before becoming very vocal about it. Which means there is no way to prove or disprove any of these allegations.

And because of my deep mistrust of the media I may be biased.

[Sigma_Orionis]

I really don't know what to think, but the whole thing stinks.

[geonuc]

Whatever the truth is, I am saddened. I'm always suspicious of settlements. In some cases, innocent people who have a lot of money settle to make it go away, but most of the time it's guilty people who want to limit the damage (and they get that non-disclosure agreement). The accuser agrees to a settlement to avoid a long litigation with an uncertain outcome.

[SciFiFisher]

I think that this might explain part of the issue when things like this come up.

The Science of Why We Don't Believe Science

A MAN WITH A CONVICTION is a hard man to change. Tell him you disagree and he turns away. Show him facts or figures and he questions your sources. Appeal to logic and he fails to see your point.” So wrote the celebrated Stanford University psychologist Leon Festinger

[Sigma_Orionis]

That's why it stinks, while there's no (legal) way to know. And, I am also suspicious of settlements, consider this:

One thing that can be reasonably inferred from was that Cosby had multiple affairs. That's a good enough reason for the NDA. That alone, could shatter his family-friendly image to pieces (justifiably or not, at this point that is irrelevant)

Why do I think that?
This rag, when discussing Cosby's interview at NPR had an interesting note:

Although Cosby remained silent, his wife of 50 years could be heard saying 'Thank you' twice.

So, at the very best, Cosby cheated on his wife systematically, and he could have have been held for blackmail by some unsavory characters. At worst, he's a serial rapist. Bottom Line: either way, or somewhere in between, it stinks.

[SciFiFisher]

And another one comes forward

What I find interesting is the fact that most of the current furor over Bill Cosby started with a rant from Hannibal Buress

'Bill Cosby has the f***ing smuggest old black man public persona that I hate,' Buress declared from the stage Thursday night at the Trocadero Theater in Cosby's hometown of Philadelphia.

[Cyborg Girl]

Maybe because having another dude say it openly made them feel like they might be believed.

Edit: but seriously, how screwed up is it that it takes a man ranting about it publicly before anyone pays attention? Even with 15 women saying the same thing?

[SciFiFisher]

Maybe because having another dude say it openly made them feel like they might be believed.

Edit: but seriously, how screwed up is it that it takes a man ranting about it publicly before anyone pays attention? Even with 15 women saying the same thing?

Actually that was mentioned in some of the articles I have read. Honestly, I have to wonder... Why is Buress bringing this up? He says he is outraged because he thinks Cosby is a hypocrite. But, it seems a little too coincidental that it also happens to be gaining him some publicity and buzz for his comedy act. But, maybe I am just a cynical person.

[Cyborg Girl]

I don't know anything about Buress, but I'm guessing he didn't expect this to explode the way it did.

Edit: actually it strikes me that he might have been himself emboldened to make the point by Jian Ghomeshi's outing as a rapist. People are starting to get a bit more aware of how this stuff works, I think.

[Parrothead]

Saddened by the stories, but like others recall listening to his albums in my youth. Featuring things like "Go-kart race", "Ice Cream" (getting tonsils out), etc.

[Parrothead]

Turns out the album I recalled was "Wonderfulness" from a live set recorded in the mid 60's. I ordered a copy (it was less than $10 ). "Tonsils" and "go-karts" is on it, I also got a kick-out of "Chicken Heart", a story of him getting scared while listening to radio horror stories from the "Lights Out" series. I've been listening to a bunch of OTR the past couple of years, once finding a local station that plays shows on weeknights.