Cosby Show

[jwyblejr]

Reminds me of the recent stuff involving Stephen Collins. Up TV pulled 7th Heaven due to his behavior. What's going on with these "TV dads"? Who's next, Michael Gross or Dick Van Patten?

That didn't last. UP had a Thanksgiving episode of 7th Heaven on today.

[Gorn Captain]

I'm afraid it has been sad times since the dawn of man. Imagine living as a Neanderthal in the frozen tundra. A slave building the Giza pyramids, a Roman gladiator, a medieval peasant paying taxes to his lord or else, a slave in the southern states, all the constant wars throughout times, Black Plague, the Wild West, murders, rapes, thieving, deceits...today is no different...same thing over and over again, like clockwork, the only difference, we have flat screens, cars, and computers now, lol.

Thanks, Hector. I feel a lot better now....sob...sob....
You really...sob....cheered me up....

[Hector]

What is worrying, is how so many icons of virtue from TV have fallen lately.
Take the UK, for example. Kids TV presenters Saville and Harris have both been found guilty of being child molesters. Saville's sins came out just after he died (how convenient), Harris is now in prison. Man, we're living in sad time...

I'm afraid it has been sad times since the dawn of man. Imagine living as a Neanderthal in the frozen tundra. A slave building the Giza pyramids, a Roman gladiator, a medieval peasant paying taxes to his lord or else, a slave in the southern states, all the constant wars throughout times, Black Plague, the Wild West, murders, rapes, thieving, deceits...today is no different...same thing over and over again, like clockwork, the only difference, we have flat screens, cars, and computers now, lol.

[Marvelmania]

Very well said.

Agreed!

[Confessional]

It's wishful thinking to believe the judicial system can effectively wrap everything up for us with a nice bow on top, now or ever before. This truth lies in the countless victims who've never found nor have been granted *justice*, as well as those who have been falsely accused and grossly convicted, across our short American history. Not to mention those that seek fame and fortune at the degradation of others on each side of the proverbial fence.

As I understand it, there are now consistent (in similar recount) accusations spanning 30 years. Several of these women did in fact make attempts to bring their accounts to light, some even consulting with lawyers and law enforcement. Cosby also has a documented affair and private civic settlement in his track record. With several accounts coming from the late 1960's and '70's, it's easy for us to disconnect from the drug-laden partying and discrimination of the era. In addition, there seems to be significant accounts from inside of Hollywood elite, the Playboy Mansion and the comedic subculture who have known and have been snickering about his behavior for decades. This is supporting a summation, once in private, and now in the more public realm.

Sometimes the only way to seek and find justice is to influence the public opinion first, regardless of what the judiciary does or does not do. Often the only justice granted is shame and regret. Our American history and its popular culture is filled with such noble causes that did just this. Those moments are often ugly and uncomfortable for us to deal with, even in our modern [sic] era.

We'll all make up our own minds in due time, but it's unlikely to be an easy-to-read story that the public is addicted to.

Obviously there's a ton of media in the mix, here's but one interesting and content filled article that includes several interviews across a timeline: http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifest...3ef_story.html

… now back to something far more life-affirming, toys!

[Werewolf]

After watching this I can see how 18-ish year old girls could be manipulated and confused.

Before siding in with Coz, imagine it could be your daughter.

The whole "why now?" and "Why when others are coming forward" thing is absurd. That's the weakest line of logic ever. But studies show that women who are assaulted are afraid, embarrassed or unable to come forward for a myriad of reasons. Many DID come forward years ago. Some accepted a payoff, while others were ignored or pushed aside for trying to defame the great Bill Cosby.

No one would believe that America's TV dad, the sweetest, clean comedian, the guy who taught us to love Puddin' Pops, could possibly be raping women. It's like getting raped by Walt Disney. No one is going to believe you if you come forward.

It's more like 15-18 women by now. Totally disgusting.

The victim blaming in here is disheartening, but it's perfect evidence why women won't come forward when this kind of thing happens.

Very well said.

[MIB41]

I think something that should be clear is that many of these people have no specific "memory" of anything happening. So when folks start doing a count of supposed "victims", there needs to be some rationale as to who can confirm such a thing while others are just publicly speculating because of this popular cattle call from the media to uncover possible dirt on a story that has found traction. This suggestion that Bill Cosby has been using his public image to cover up some kind of sadistic sexual craving seems very hard to believe because such a disorder would find victims within the prosecution window. That's not a phase people grow out of. If he had truly spent decades using his image to conceal this kind of deviant behavior, he would be comfortable in his pattern and have scores of people within the prosecution window to bring him down. I'm not a big Cosby fan either. I watched Fat Albert when I was a kid; liked two of his comedy records as a teenager; but never watched his television show most people associate him with. I just believe this kind of serial behavior would be present in the past 20 years to prosecute him.

And yes, anytime someone comes forward to say, "I'm a victim", there should be some ownership to prove that. We're suppose to be a society that weighs the merits of evidence, not lean on stereotypes to determine justice. Am I suppose to stick my head in the sand and think Bill Cosby is "evil" because he is a popular male celebrity or because these victims are women? Is this about labels or about uncovering the truth? If it's THAT obvious, then evidence will be found in recent victims. The advantage is certainly in their favor to come forward. If that occurs, then it would at least play to that model of someone having a pattern of behavior. Then I would start to look at it as more feasible. But all of these people getting the spotlight to suggest they might have been compromised decades ago? I have a huge problem with that. If I truly thought something might have happen to me, I wouldn't wait 30 years to talk about it or come forward in the media to speculate on it if I'm not sure. That to me is someone looking to influence public opinion, not seek justice.

[Gorn Captain]

What is worrying, is how so many icons of virtue from TV have fallen lately.
Take the UK, for example. Kids TV presenters Saville and Harris have both been found guilty of being child molesters. Saville's sins came out just after he died (how convenient), Harris is now in prison. Man, we're living in sad time...

[MegoSteve]

It's more like 15-18 women by now. Totally disgusting.

The victim blaming in here is disheartening, but it's perfect evidence why women won't come forward when this kind of thing happens.

[ODBJBG]

The whole "why now?" and "Why when others are coming forward" thing is absurd. That's the weakest line of logic ever. But studies show that women who are assaulted are afraid, embarrassed or unable to come forward for a myriad of reasons. Many DID come forward years ago. Some accepted a payoff, while others were ignored or pushed aside for trying to defame the great Bill Cosby.

No one would believe that America's TV dad, the sweetest, clean comedian, the guy who taught us to love Puddin' Pops, could possibly be raping women. It's like getting raped by Walt Disney. No one is going to believe you if you come forward.

Thus, he thought he could get away with it forever.

But when the armor starts to crack, it opens the floodgates. These women aren't after money. They finally want some justice. It's not like this hasn't happened before in numerous other cases. Sure, it's possible that 1 or 2 will be fakes. But there's well over a dozen now. That's not people looking for money. You don't jump on the bandwagon looking for money, anyway. If you want money, you do it before it's public knowledge.

There's also quite a few women who've come forward now, reporting that Cosby TRIED inappropriate stuff with them. These women couldn't even get money. They're simply reporting that there was a pattern and that he definitely tried things, that very well could have led to what the others have accused him of.

I'm all for innocent until proven guilty, but if a dozen people come out of the woodwork from different areas, different walks of life and of all sorts of backgrounds and say you raped them, chances are you probably aren't innocent. Eventually the numbers don't lie.

[Mikey]

This recent AP interview shows how savvy and manipulative he could be.

After watching this I can see how 18-ish year old girls could be manipulated and confused.

Before siding in with Coz, imagine it could be your daughter.

[kingdom warrior]

Here's my thing with these women.....They knew he was married and yet they went to hotels and wherever he took them.
The whole he's big and powerful BS don't sell me...if he raped you...you should have said something. Staying quiet,either because of career or whatever the case is not a good thing. Thousands of Women battle this seeing someone stand up to an abuser may have saved lives.....staying quiet is a horrible option. The media loves scandals and nothing is better than throwing Mr.Pudding jello under the bus, especially during his hey day. Now it's their word vs his with no evidence. Don't know the man to pass judgement on him....I'll wait for a confession from Cosby if there is one. Other than that I have no interest.

Oh and who gives too Bleeps what TVland does....lol

[CrimsonGhost]

It has been an amazing turn of events. This whole thing got started because of a joke Hannibal Buress told that went viral and reframed the way people see Cosby.
That's the catalyst for all the accusers to speak up now...and in some cases, again.

I found this article interesting in that many of these women came out years before now, but no one noticed. They all have similar stories.
http://www.businessinsider.com/the-w...f-rape-2014-11

Anyway, I think in the end this is going to blow over Woody Allen style.

[HardyGirl]

AMEN! (and pass the biscuits). As I'm reading all these allegations, I can't help but think, "Why now? And why all at the same time?" I think someone (or a group of someones), is paying these women to take Cosby down. Who decided that NOW is the time that he isn't so powerful that we can just swoop down and jointly accuse him of all this? I'd be very interested to see how this turns out. Me? I'm rooting for Cos. If I'm wrong, I'll be unhappily surprised.

I'm a big believer in the philosophy your innocent until proven guilty. Our society seems to place the burden of guilt on the people accused instead of the folks pointing the finger. And the more heinous the allegation, the more people want to believe it's true. And we wonder why the National Inquirer stays in business? I think there's a unhealthy appetite by some to look for dirt just to watch people squirm under the pressure and then judge them by that reaction.

Personally I see no crime here with Cosby. Out of the blue a select few step up and make the same allegations against this man and we're suppose to believe them? Where have they been for the past 30 years? There's not anyone who is going to make me believe Cosby was a serial fondler/rapist who somehow kept it under wraps AND got over it by his own efforts without anyone knowing. I'm sorry but that kind of behavior is a mental illness that doesn't fix itself over time. If he had people from 30 years ago, then there would be someone from ten years ago, five years ago, and most likely in the past year. How convenient all of these people come out of the woodwork all at once and...ooops! All of them are past the prosecution stage. Rats! What were the chances of that? Sounds like an extortion attempt. Nothing more, nothing less. And for these studios to drop his programming is a disgrace. If I was Cosby, I would sue those people for making false allegations.

[Gorn Captain]

What bothers me is what people like Janice Dickinson said.
She claims he raped her.
If this happened, that's terrible and he should go to prison, no matter how long ago it is.
But she also said (as did several other women): "We went to my room, he gave me a pill and some wine, and I took it. I then fell asleep, and he raped me".
If I were a woman, and a man offered me some pill, I'd never take it.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not defending a possible criminal, but you can hardly call that responsible behavior on her part. And Janice Dickinson wasn't a teenager at the time.