People Like Me Might Be The Reason Bill Cosby Is A Free Man

I’ve by no means met him, however I nonetheless really feel like I do know him.

Invoice Cosby could also be a rapist.

That is one thing that I’m unable to grasp. Or relatively, I don’t need to grasp. I don’t need to comprehend it’s true, and I undoubtedly don’t need to know the small print. Why? As a result of deep down (nevertheless illogical it might be) Invoice Cosby willl all the time be Dr. Heathcliff Huxtable to me. I see him as an enthralling and humorous father of 5, a husband to the gorgeous Claire and all-round good man.

That is the person who bought me Jell-O within the 90s. The person who was capable of get younger youngsters to say the cutest, most darndest issues. The person who might make this hilariously humorous face and have me laughing for hours. Invoice Cosby, in a approach, epitomized my childhood. I grew up watching him (all of us did) and in some ways his comedy was my basis. Maybe that’s why I’ve such a tough time believing that he might (or would) sexually assault a lady who stated no, despite the fact that increasingly more stories are making it more durable to disclaim.

Perhaps it’s as a result of I used to be by no means sexually assaulted. I don’t know what it feels wish to be a sufferer, and subsequently it’s simpler for me to disregard the allegations. It’s so much simpler to make excuses for this man and keep away from his alleged sufferer’s story, as a result of I know him.

Is that this proper? It’s not. I do know it’s not proper in any respect, and I really feel terribly responsible for siding with a person I don’t truly know whereas deliberately ignoring info that would show that he was, certainly, a sexual predator. I do know that I don’t know him. Dr. Heathcliff Huxtable just isn’t my physician (or my dad), however I really feel such a robust bond to this fictional character he performed who doesn’t even exist.

(Sure, I understand how ridiculous this all sounds.)

And but, I nonetheless attempt to keep away from the headlines. I nonetheless look the opposite approach, as so many others have through the years. I don’t need to consider that these terrible issues might probably be true a few man who portrayed such an ideal dad on certainly one of our childhood exhibits. I don’t assume I’m alone in how I really feel about this example. I guess you’re avoiding this story too for the exact same causes with out even realizing it.

It’s time for all of us to cease ignoring the allegations. Extra victims are chatting with the press. Barbara Bowman, who says that Cosby raped her for years, has shared each element with MailOnline. Comic Hannibal Buress lately confessed that Cosby judged others based mostly on how low they wore their pants, however finally he’s worse as a result of he may be—you guessed it—a rapist. A easy Google seek for Invoice Cosby will garner information outcomes which are all about his shady previous relatively than about his legacy as a Hollywood icon.

The ruse is over. Vulture revealed a timeline of his assaults. Along with the darkish details, they word that Mark Whitaker utterly ignored Cosby’s sexual assaults in his new guide,Cosby: His Life And Occasions. He’s quoted as saying that he didn’t “need to print allegations [he] couldn’t affirm independently.”

I’m going to guess that he (like me) simply didn’t need to affirm the claims independently. As a result of, for all of us, it’s simply higher to go placed on our blinders and never consider that somebody you as soon as cherished and liked could possibly be able to such monstrous crimes. It’s simply simpler that approach.

And for that, I’m sorry.

I’m sorry for the victims who have been violated. I’m sorry for the victims who have been silenced. I’m sorry for the victims who’re nonetheless dwelling via the trauma. My solely hope is that they discover solace in talking their truths to the media.

However truthfully, I’m sorry for Invoice Cosby, too. As embarassing as it’s to confess, no matter all of the details, I nonetheless really feel like it may well’t be true. There have to be another rationalization. There have to be a mistake. Making excuses for him in my very own head may be the factor I’m sorry for probably the most.

By Diana Frustaci, from YourTango