Why Must Dr. Bill Cosby’s Legacy be Protected and Cherished by Americans at Large?
30 years or so ago, I arrived to an America in which there was a scarcity of Blacks on Television and in anything meaningful to be candid (even though there were GENIUS BLACKS working in the background)… There was what I called A LIST OF FIRSTS… (First Black Astronaut, First Black Secretary of State, First to do this and that and the other… you get the PICTURE)…
“Talking about PICTURES”… Television is essentially MOVING PICTURES… and for sure nothing seemed to have influenced American’s minds more than TV… and of course, for a long time, the presence of Blacks were so scarce on TV that whenever a Black person was seen on TV, it was either in a non-flattering way or surprising and elating to some… Either way, no one can argue that this was indeed the case. I’m first hand witness to it all.
NEEDLESS to say, if Richard Pryor made America realize the genius of Black Comedy, and if the Blacks that invented the light bulb, traffic light, and refrigeration impressed some Whites, no Black person affected the IMAGE of Blacks more than Dr. Bill Cosby did (not even Dr. MLK Jr.)… From his comedy, to the Cosby Show, to “Kids Say the Darndest Things”… long before there was an Oprah, Steve Harvey, Beyonce and Obama, there was THE COSBY SHOW… DR. HUXTABLE…
As a Caribbean kid who was raised by rather prestigious and classy parents, Dr. Cosby’s family image was rather refreshing. I had yet gotten to appreciate the genius of Hip Hop pioneers as it was new to me, thus, long before I understood America at large, I understood exactly the SUBLIMINAL MESSAGE that Dr. Cosby was sending to America. YES, this is a BLACK FAMILY, but there are many Black families like this one, a father who is a physician and a mother, who is a corporate lawyer… the latter should not imply that there are DUMB PROFESSIONS (i.e., that a family has to have high-end professionals to deserve respect), because that would include a great percentage of Americans of all colors, even those that got their jobs not on their merits, but rather on their “White Skin Privilege.”
I have kept my mouth shut about Dr. Cosby until now because I needed to process what was going on with the following questions:
1. What took people so long to bring their allegations (true or false)?
2. Did Dr. Cosby do anything that other men at his level (Black and White) don’t customarily do in the Hollywood circles?
3. Did Dr. Cosby’s ambition to take over TV networks and his ability to have done so frustrate some people who rather would prefer to see Black males in rather deplorable states?
Dr. Cosby seems to have been a lover of the opposite sex like many healthy heterosexual males. We have had many White American presidents (e.g., Kennedy, Clinton) who were nothing short of philandering bastards, yet no one ever dared to banish their legacy.
My questions to America are as follows…
WHY CAN WHITE MEN DO WHATEVER THE HECK THEY WANT TO DO AND GET AWAY WITH IT? (THUS, WHY SHOULD BLACK MEN BE TREATED DIFFERENTLY?)
Sure, I realize that White men still run the show. I have had many conversations with White male acquaintances about the same topic. Any reasonable White male to whom I spoke immediately admitted their “White Skin Privilege”. Thus, it is a KNOWN ISSUE!
There have been many Black Americans and Blacks at large who have been STUPID ENOUGH to join this NONSENSE. They worry more about Donald Trump’s presence, than they worry about the DESTRUCTION OF A LEGACY OF ONE OF THE FEW BLACK MEN who made a lasting impact on the most POTENT MEDIUM known to man until the arrival of the INTERNET.
It is arguable that, BUT FOR MR. COSBY, there might have not been a BET, and Blacks might have not gained access to MTV and other networks (at least not as quickly as they did.)
Dr. King once said, “In the end, we’ll remember the silence of our friends more than the character assassination of our enemies”.
Today, I tell America this. If you destroy the reputation of some of the FEW BLACK MEN that were GENIUS enough to ascend this tough ladder that only the SMARTESTS ONES OF US can climb, what kind of EFFING MESSAGE are you sending to our YOUNG BLACK MEN?
Should a man who worked so hard to please audiences of all walks of life have his legacy destroyed only because HE ERRED in one way or another?
LET US DEFINE “RAPE” Here!!!!
“Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without that person's consent.”
Any half-smart lawyer can argue that THESE WOMEN who went to Mr. Cosby (many of whom heard allegations of Date rapes about Mr. Cosby and other Hollywood legends) had given some form of IMPLIED CONSENT…
What kind of SCHMUCKS go to a married man’s house ALONE to drink without expecting that THIS HETEROSEXUAL MAN would perhaps want to DRILL THEIR BRAINS OUT…
COME ON NOW!
While I will not condone date rapes or any rapes because I, personally, would never do such a thing. I have two daughters and would prefer not to say what would happen to any man who attempts to do anything to them. I want any action with a woman to be willingly done or accepted/reciprocated; fun, engaging and rather earned or preferably mutual. But, a lot of men don’t really care about all that, and many of such men use drugs and other techniques to sleep with women with whom that they would have otherwise not had access (especially had they not been so affluent.)
As a child attending City College of CUNY, I recalled accidentally seeing Mr. Cosby as he was shooting a set right in Harlem. I saw this towering figure of a Black man, who was exquisitely dressed with suspenders and a tie. I immediately thought of my prestigious DAD and the image I used to have of a prestigious man. I immediately thought of the COSBY SHOW and the IMAGE it left on my mind about Black Americans (as opposed to the negative ones that WHITE MEDIA of those days were trying to promulgate subliminally).
Mr. Cosby’s legacy is not only a Black legacy, but also an American legacy. His contribution went beyond changing the image that Blacks had on TV, but long before there was a BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA or a MICHELLE OBAMA, there was a BILL COSBY as a PREDECESSOR TO ALL BLACK POSITIVE IMAGE.
If Black Americans accept the destruction of Dr. Cosby’s image, they should one day await that of the OBAMAS as well over any silly error. To err is human. No man /woman is consistently good or evil FOLKS.
Is Dr. Cosby a saint? Heck, NO!
Is anyone else out there a saint? NO effing way!
Should we destroy Trump’s legacy because of all his philandering ways?
Should we destroy Kennedy’s?
COME ON, NOW!
IF we assassinate Dr. Cosby’s legacy, then we NEED to go back and assassinate the legacy of ALL THE WHITE MEN who owned slaves and treated Blacks like animals for so long because of their beliefs that they were SUPERIOR.
OF COURSE, these men were not INHERENTLY/CONSISTENTLY EVIL, and therefore NEITHER IS DR. COSBY.
Let’s not be foolish folks! To wait for a man to become old and meek to attack his legacy is the perfect case of kicking a man while he is down, and the best example case of COWARDICE of my life.
A destruction of Dr. Cosby’s legacy is a destruction of the legacy of every Black male. And any Black male who begs to differ is FOOLISH AT BEST!
All Black achievement must be appreciated, even if it's just because it's so hard for (especially) Black males to break through. I don't care if the name is Supreme Court Justice CLARENCE THOMAS, Dr. Ben Carson, Jesse Jackson, Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan, Dr. Condoleeza Rice, Colin Powell, or even newbies like Dr. Lorins.
A failure to appreciate A SINGLE BLACK ACHIEVEMENT is an INSULT on BLACK EQUITY and ACHIEVEMENT AT LARGE. Don't be BAMBOOZLED and don't become EDUCATED FOOLS folks. While Comedians like Dave Chapelle might say funny things about Dr. Cosby to get laughters, many of them would not have been on TV at all, but for Dr. Cosby's legacy.
I see enough images of young Black males (i.e., Broken Black Boys) being senselessy destroyed by a penal system... I don't need to see that of a HERO as well. I REBUKE IT in ALMIGHTY GOD'S NAME!
CASE CLOSED!
LORINS.biz is a multi-industry consulting firm that provides the following types of services… Management of Law Firms, Medical Clinics, Businesses...Project Management, Sales, Marketing, & Leads Generation...Research & Engineering... It can be reached via www.LORINS.biz