The verdict came in earlier today. A jury found Bill Cosby guilty on three felony counts of aggravated indecent assault in a court in Norristown, Pennsylvania. Each count could bring him 10 years of prison. We shall see what the final sentencing brings.
I want to say it is a sad day. It is not. It is not a sad day when justice is served. With 50 plus women coming out with stories of being drugged and sexually assaulted, I already thought Cosby was guilty. It was just a matter of whether his fame and, presumably, excellent legal team that his wealth afforded would be able to maneuver his acquittal or getting off with a less severe verdict. It did not matter this time around.
I heard one of the victims on NPR that referred to him as a habitual predator. She called what he did a detestable hobby and that he was not a man. She talked about the valiant efforts of the plaintiff in this trial, Andrea Constand, of persevering ridicule, harassment, and humiliation over several years to bring Cosby to justice.
This was not her first trial accusing Cosby. There was another last year, which resulted in a deadlocked jury. What changed in a year? Some of the articles I have just read say it is the #MeToo movement. The #MeToo movement started with the revelation of Harvey Weinstein’s despicable behavior and his subsequent downfall. The articles are already claiming that all the buzz and coverage around the #MeToo movement may have swayed the jury. One article even said this was the first big win of the movement.
The contrast of the image Cosby had built for himself and revelation of his true character as revealed by these legal proceedings is indeed astonishing in a most disillusioning way. Cosby, through his humor and immensely successful sitcom, The Cosby Show, had built an image of himself as America’s Dad. He was a role model for that era as was the Ward Cleaver character a generation earlier. As a black man, Cosby was a role model of fatherhood across all races. That was something that was celebrated on a rather grand scale.
Cosby’s image was damaged in the Black community even before this. Before all of these accusation of drugging and sexual assault, Cosby had taken to accusing the Black community of using vernacular English, having too many single parent families, spending money on frivolities instead of necessities for their families, and not taking any responsibility for their actions, behaviors, and general condition. Many white people applauded him while many blacks viewed him as a traitor.
In 1996, he authored a nationwide bestseller, Fatherhood. I do believe I actually got a copy of that book on Father’s Day of that year. I read it. It was a quick read with some humorous passage that I recalled being moderately inspirational. How things have changed. How this image has been demolished.
I cannot feel sorry for him. I do feel sorry for his victims and hope that today’s conviction will bring some closure for them and their families.
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