Bill Cosby!
Don’t get me wrong. Like the rest of America, I grew up loving Bill Cosby and the Huxtables. At the time, four-year-old Raven Simone got her start on the show, and I’m still her fan. Theo, Claire. and the rest of the Huxtables were dinner-table conversation growing up. I am still a fan of Phylicia Rashad (please don’t quibble; I checked that spelling twice) who played Cosby’s onscreen wife. I became such a fan as a result of the show’s success that I followed all the actors, including Cosby, throughout their careers.
However, my husband taught me an expression, “Where there’s smoke, there’s fire.” He also taught me, “If it walks like a duck, and talks like a duck, it’s a duck.” This week, while listening to the news, I have reviewed the actions of four men that support this belief. First and foremost is Bill Cosby. This morning, KNX1070 reported that the eighth woman came out against Bill Cosby and accused him of sexual abuse. At the time of this writing, there are ten women who have accused him of drugging and sexually assaulting them. Cosby has not been arrested or charged with anything that I know. Do I want to believe these charges? No. Do I believe them? Yes, because where there is smoke, there is fire.
I once wanted to be a lawyer like my father. I wanted to triumph the accused, you know, get them justice. Yet here I am–judge, jury, and executioner–and the man hasn’t been formally charged with anything. What has changed, you may ask? I now believe that where there’s smoke, there’s fire.
What bothered me was the “why now?”factor. Why keep silent for decades just to accuse him now? Are they networking? Are they trying to blackmail the comedian? I read that they were scared and embarrassed to come forward. Cosby had manipulated situations where they would be too frightened or humiliated to come forward or so I read. Therefore, the only missing piece of the puzzle that still left reasonable doubt in my mind was answered for me.
Cosby’s situation is not isolated. Many women came out against another Bill, Bill Clinton, when he was in office. This Bill was accused of sexually harassing women he worked with. The women had no motive in accusing him. On the contrary, there was a downside–public embarrassment. So again I believed, where there was smoke, there was fire. Clinton must have done what he was accused of doing.
Another celebrity I idolized for years was Bob Barker from TV’s “The Price is Right”. He was accused of sexually harassing a model on his show. He insists the affair took place, but that it was love, not a crime. I would foster a guess that some celebrities, due to the adoration fans give them, think they are above the law. However, we are not talking motive here. We are talking about whether they committed these crimes, not why they committed them.
Just yesterday, NASCAR champion Kurt Busch was accused of physically abusing his ex-girlfriend. The woman was severely battered, and Busch is currently under investigation for the incident. No charges have yet been filed. Do I believe that he, and these other men, probably did what they have been accused of? Well, where there is smoke, there is fire.
Readers, what do you believe? Do you believe Cosby is guilty of all charges or innocent until proven guilty in a court of law? Do tell. I look forward to your views.
Janice
