Few people have ever met Bill Cosby, but most of America thought they knew him. After
all, he came into our households every Thursday night for nearly 8 years as Dr. Huxtable,
the patriarch of a likable, intelligent, and affluent African-American family. Cosby played a
man who had character, a strong moral compass, wisdom, and a great sense of humor.
Apparently, Cosby and Huxtable were about as different as Tiger Woods and Tim Tebow.
The number of woman coming out in real life accusing Cosby of drugging and sexually
assaulting them is on par with the waitresses, pin-ups, and porn stars who came out of the
wood work to say they slept with Tiger.
Cosby, like Tiger, isn't the man we thought he was. Is anybody?
Cosby, like Tiger, is just another celebrity who carved out and carefully crafted an image that
we all bought hook, line, and sinker. Remember when Tiger, through his management company,
sent out pictures with his wife, kids, and dog portraying him to be the ultimate family man?
How'd that turn out? As soon as the photographer said, "That's a wrap!". Tiger bolted out to
the nearest Perkins restaurant to get his Grand Slam breakfast with a waitress. Fraud.
Cosby was not only a comedian we admired, but a man respected because he stood for and
donated to many causes. When delicate but explosive subjects like socioeconomic status and
race came up, the media often went to Cosby for an opinion. Most thought he was honest,
direct, and willing to urge his own race to do a better job and take responsibility for their own
lives, "We have to start holding each other to a higher standard. We cannot blame the white
people any longer," Cosby once said.
The standard Cosby set for himself and the image he created has come down quicker than
a vacant building under a ton of explosives. The scandal he's drowning in has cost him his
reputation, income, shows, and even awards because nobody wants to be associated with
a man just accused, much less convicted of these deplorable allegations.
The court of public has already condemned Cosby without so much as hearing his side of the
story or getting all the facts, but that's what are society does. Forget about innocent until proven
guilty, it's guilty until you show proof you're not a dirt bag because a bunch of women say you
are.
What's more remarkable than the scandal itself, is the pure hate and vitriol America is spewing
Cosby's way. I just don't understand why people get so fired up and worried about a guy they
don't know or the women who are accusing him.What's in it for us? How are we affected by it?
Is it because we all got duped again? Are we embarrassed because we thought we knew Cosby just because we saw him smile, laugh, and give the world lessons about life, and now he appears to
be a fraud along the lines of Lance Armstrong? Is he the biggest philanderer we've ever heard of?
Sure sounds that way to me.
Remember Lance? Yep, we believed his story. He beat cancer, raised money for research,
and gave hope to people inflicted with the terrible disease. Armstrong won seven straight
Tour de France titles and American bought into Livestrong, donating millions to his foundation.
What happened? Armstrong wasn't the guy we thought he was. He was a liar, cheat, and now
regarded as the biggest fraud in U.S. sports history.
Is that what Cosby's legacy will be? I've heard and been involved in several arguments about
Cosby. 99 percent of this country probably wouldn't even take a selfie and post it on Facebook
with Cosby after all these allegations have come out. They call him everything from dirt bag to
scumbag and everything nasty in between. According to most, Cosby is one of the worst
people on the planet and they've only heard about what he's been accused of.
We should've known that Cosby was always just acting, after all, that's his craft and what he
got paid millions to do. He was NBC's golden goose for a while because he was so convincing
as Dr. Huxtable and America loved him.
Yes, perhaps, all the hate comes in part because America got duped by a celebrity again. We
thought he was a faithful, devoted, loving husband and then all these despicable allegations come
out and BOOM! The image is shattered.
He wasn't the person we thought he was and that was just based on seeing him smile, joke, and
laugh on television. That sure happens with America and a lot of athletes We see them smile for
the camera and sign an autograph on 'SportsCenter' and think they are 'great' guys. That blows up
when they appear on the police blotter the next day for knocking out their wife or get arrested
for DUI.
Sad, but true.
When will America stop deifying and glorifying these actors and athletes. They are not perfect
and have as many, if not more flaws, than your average Joe, or in Cosby's case, doctor.
0 comments:
Post a Comment