Bill Cosby

[CathyA]

Wasn't sure where to post this.

When so many women are coming forward about his sexual abuse of them and his drugging them, one can't help but think it might be true.

But......what if he did all those horrible things when he was much younger? Yes, it was all very horrible of him......but.....he's done so much good since then.
What if he came to realize how unbelievably awful it was of him and he has "repented" and moved on. We've all done things in our earlier lives that we are ashamed of now.

What do you think he should do? Should he admit to it publicly and beg for their forgiveness? It seems to me that he became a different person than he was in his earlier life.
Like I said, he has done so much good since then. What do you think of this?
I suppose you can't have real redemption without facing the people you've wronged. If he has, indeed, faced what he did back then, and tried to do good to make up for it, does it even count if he never included all those women in his attempts at redemption? I suppose he has had his fingers crossed all these many years that no one would ever bring it up again.

I'm not trying to just talk about celebrity here. His situation has made me think about "what ifs" in general.......and how one rights a wrong.

[Seven]

I think, if he did it, he should admit it and beg for forgiveness. Bad things in the past need to be cleared up, if one just buries them in the past, they will always linger.

[rodeosweetheart]

I thought Beverly Johnson's account was very convincing.

If he did all these things, yes, he should atone in some way, not sure how that looks.

There is private atonement and public atonement, of course.

[Packy]

Well, my perception is, he ran a scam that utilized what they call The Old Hollywood Casting Couch and then implemented it to satisfy his perversity. I know Victims Advocates would strongly disagree with me--actually, they'd shoot me--because Sexual Abuse is NEVER, EVER the victims' fault, right? But, it seems like these Cosby stories characteristically have the Victim exploiting their attractiveness, and going out to a nice cozy, intimate dinner date, having a glass of wine(or two or three or??), and then ending up in his townhouse rather late in the evening, and waking up the next morning with only a hazy recollection of what happened. It's incredible(or is it?) that lightning even struck multiple times for some of these women! Most females I ever heard of bail out immediately if they get spooked--over even the most minor faux pas. And what about the 15 year-old that went "out to dinner" with Cosby, to talk business? Where was her legal guardian, chaperone & business agent? The whole deal is about to be a collective money grab by unsuccessful show-biz wannabees that thought they could play the game and hold their own, using the casting couch, but they got taken by a shrewd sexual predator. They are coming forward en masse, decades after the fact! Time Limitations are Cosby's trump card, but his reputation is tarnished, to put it mildly. The reality is though-- when you are applying for a job, you've got to keep it all business. All there is to it. You can't honestly call yourself a victim, if you play to win at any cost, and lose.

[Gregg]

He should be subject to any penalty or recourse that I would be subject to. No idea what that is, but fame should not give him a pass and it should not be cause to inflict greater harm. I personally could not care less about anything that emanates from the cult of celebrity, but if these stories are true and give more women the courage to step out of the shadows and tell their own stories so we know just how widespread this problem is then it is probably a good thing in the end.

[pinkytoe]

I don't get why all these women waited until now. And why his wife put up with that nonsense all these years? I guess they thought no one would believe them?

[Weston]

He should be subject to any penalty or recourse that I would be subject to. No idea what that is, but fame should not give him a pass and it should not be cause to inflict greater harm.

Exactly what I wanted to say but Gregg said it better I was going to.

[JaneV2.0]

Andrew Luster got 124 years for doing the same thing. His sentence was later reduced to 50, which still seems excessive to me. The statute of limitations is Cosby's friend.

[Packy]

Mr Cosby can send me a couple million $$ in cash, say 3 Hail Mary's for Penance, do some charity benefits for womens' groups,and I will forgive him.

[CathyA]

Packy.........I wondered the same thing about the 15 year old that went with him. Where the heck were her parents?
It's hard to make sense of all this. But I don't think it's good for Cosby to not speak up, in his own defense.
All very strange. I hope at the very least, if he DID do these things, that he was tormented by it, and tried to make amends at least somehow....like through the good works that he's done.
Maybe by the time he realized how awful he'd acted, it was so much in the past and he hadn't heard from any of them, that he thought it was all over.

[rodeosweetheart]

Packy.........I wondered the same thing about the 15 year old that went with him. Where the heck were her parents?
It's hard to make sense of all this. But I don't think it's good for Cosby to not speak up, in his own defense.
All very strange. I hope at the very least, if he DID do these things, that he was tormented by it, and tried to make amends at least somehow....like through the good works that he's done.
Maybe by the time he realized how awful he'd acted, it was so much in the past and he hadn't heard from any of them, that he thought it was all over.

He had such an image, though. He was Dr. Huxtable, remember? He had a doctorate in education. He was trusted by everyone.

I think that a 15 year old who is at the playboy mansion is already a throwaway child.

Why do we put the blame on her for being in the wrong place?

If a seemingly friendly guy with a great reputation drugs your drink and then anally rapes you, gentlemen, do you think it's your fault for being in the wrong place? It's no different. Oh wait, as a culture, we think women are the property of men to abuse. Well, some people do, anyway.

Look at how the press shames these women, even now. Look at how we ask, why didn't his wife do something. She is a product of the same culture that empowers and excuses men like Cosby.

Well, if I were married to a serial rapist, what would I do? It sure seems like that was her situation.

As Jane says, the statute of limitations is this man's friend.

[bae]

But......what if he did all those horrible things when he was much younger? Yes, it was all very horrible of him......but.....he's done so much good since then.


If he in truth did these things to unconsenting people, he should be put down like a rabid dog.

[Packy]

When I was a youngster, prolly about 14 or 15, I received as a gift a copy of Bill Cosby's "Why Is There Air?" , which I enjoyed at the time. I may still have it, after nearly half a century. I was wondering though--now that he has been outed as an evil person, should I stage a demonstration, build a fire out of old tires & burn the comedy album, right out in the middle of the street? Then, stay up all night hollering and blocking traffic? Just Curious.

[Glo]

Packy: you seem to be blaming the victims. It was a different time and day back then. Cosby was a very handsome, rich celebrity. All those types did the same thing back then. Women were afraid to come forward. Afterall, who would believe such a thing? I'm glad it came out; I never doubted this was true from the get-go. Maybe young celebrities will think twice about doing such things. And what about Cosby's wife and daughters? He makes my skin crawl!

[Packy]

Packy: you seem to be blaming the victims. It was a different time and day back then. Cosby was a very handsome, rich celebrity. All those types did the same thing back then. Women were afraid to come forward. Afterall, who would believe such a thing? I'm glad it came out; I never doubted this was true from the get-go. Maybe young celebrities will think twice about doing such things. And what about Cosby's wife and daughters? He makes my skin crawl! Glo: You seem to be blaming littlebittymee, and I haven't been within 500 miles or more of any of these very ambitious women! At least I hope not. Please, just forget I ever wrote a word about it. Hope that helps you some.

[Teacher Terry]

I agree with Bae for once!

[pony mom]

I read an magazine article about this today (a few weeks old). Some of these woman came forward years ago as Jane Does, told their stories, and nothing happened. For those that didn't come forward, they were told that no one would believe them; he was like a God at that time.

[mtnlaurel]

Here is the link to the Beverly Johnson article in Vanity Fair.
http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2014/12/bill-cosby-beverly-johnson-story
Absolutely heinous.

[CathyA]

Here is the link to the Beverly Johnson article in Vanity Fair.
http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2014/12/bill-cosby-beverly-johnson-story
Absolutely heinous.

Very strange. Why did he send her away, instead of waiting for her to be unconscious and then raping her? Was it because he thought she might have the memory of realizing what he was doing, after she woke up?
Seems like he may have done this to other women........but he went through with it. I'm confused. If all this is true.....he was CRAZY!!
Yes, it was definitely a different time back then. I just find it absurd that no one in the legal system would pay any attention to their stories. This is all very confusing.

[Packy]

Has anyone interviewed Anita Hill about this one, yet? Just Curious. I had a crazy dream, and it went like this: Waay back in the early 90's, Bill invited Anita out to dinner and drinks, under the pretext that he was thinking about making her a cast member on his show, as the Affable and Charming Lady Law Professor Living Next Door. Hill accepts----because being a university faculty member pays GOOD money, while being on a successful TV show pays REAL money. So, she's dining on steak n' lobster, and the second she leaves for the powder room to check her hair and makeup, Ol' Bill serves her a Mickey Finn out of a special flask he brought. She drinks it, and on the way home she agrees to come up to his apartment to meet Fat Albert--an offer she cannot refuse. But, afterward they parted ways, because of their diverging views on black culture, feminism, and other issues. Does that sound at all plausible, or not?