Isn't this kind of like 'She was wearing a mini skirt so she deserved being raped' argument? Why is the onus of responsibility placed on victims simply to remove it from a perpetrator? We all make mistakes in life - some with devastating consequences - because, unfortunately, life doesn't come with a crystal ball. This is about a man in a position of power, someone who likely appeared helpful and generous, because as we know too well from too many cases - a predator purposely manipulates victims or else there simply wouldn't be any victims. How was anyone to know that he'd drug them? Please trust when I say that, if their stories are true, not only are they taking responsibility for having made a mistake and finding themselves a victim - they're also living in a hell too few understand. Every day. All day. Have a look sometime at the statistics of sexual abuse and assault victims. Find out what happens post-assault/abuse.
An emotive issue, obviously, for me. I was date raped at 15 because I put myself in a bad situation - alone with someone I trusted. I was young, naive, and stupid but I didn't deserve to be raped for it. And 23 years later I still wonder if there are others. Should I have spoken out? Could I have saved someone else going through what I did? My 14 year old niece was drugged and raped by my ex-husband. My ex-MIL to this day blames her for seducing him. A 14 year old kid, high to the moon, against a 43 year old adult male. So what should she have done differently? Not worn short shorts? Not hung out with her uncle? Not be a teenage girl who trusted someone else?
The responsibility for committing a crime is solely on the perpetrator. The victims have the luxury of a life sentence while many predators will never spend a minute in jail as sexual assault and abuse is still largely unreported, in part, because the victim experiences shame, guilt, and humiliation. They're told by society that their actions caused them to be raped. How is that fair?
Bravo, BritsKate. Great post.
http://www.nydailynews.com/entertai...essorship-suspended-spelman-article-1.2045472
A historically black, liberal arts women’s college in Atlanta is finally distancing itself from benefactor Bill Cosby.
Spelman College announced it was indefinitely suspending the William and Camille Olivia Hanks Cosby Endowed Professorship, which was funded by a $20 million gift by the Cosbys in 1987, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reported.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/opinion...des-behind-wife-race-card-20141215-story.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs...ays-he-expects-black-media-to-remain-neutral/
Some Twitter reactions in this post.
Does the repetition and reversal of word order add something to the statement? I don't get it.
http://www.musictimes.com/articles/...-scandal-plays-race-card-divert-attention.htm
Incl video of a discussion where someone says she still wants to watch the Cosby Show with her son as the spirit of the show is positive. Another person says there are lots of artists who he wouldn't want near his family but no one's pretending that R. Kelly's music is some kind of life instructions and that's how most of what Cosby has done has been pretended. Then they talk about what he should say and somebody answers, "I didn't do it".
Precisely. He's really never definitively said he never did it.
As to the repetition of his statements, I think I have learned that Mr. Cosby has always had an arrogant, wierd side to him, like many crooks and sexual assaulters who have a lot of money and power. So surrounded by yes men and fans, they begin to believe everything they say and do is golden and that their will is law. So in retrospect, I notice that Cosby's past interviews and guest spots show a person unwilling to give up any control, who dominates the pieces and doesn't let the interviewers do their spiels, and who believes that everyone will hang on his every word. People like that become disjointed and unreal, eventually in the way they speak, sometimes. I have seen it before. It's like they are completely unrealistic about how they are perceived.
One of the best twitter comments I've seen on the subject -
All these women got together, in a dark room, held flashlights up to their faces and said 'Let's take down Bill Cosby.'
This is such a great post. Bottom line, what the heck would the motivation be for most of these women who are not seeking money? It's ridiculous that they would want to destroy such a beloved icon.
It wouldn't be prudent for me to forget to lock my door before I go to sleep. Some might call that stupid or reckless. However, if someone trespasses into my private property and I'm robbed or physically assaulted or raped, it does not change the fact that the perpetrator is a criminal, it doesn't negate the legal or moral culpability of the person who enters my home without permission and commits robbery or violence, and his attorney doesn't get to blame the crime on me using any argument of "personal responsibility."
BAM. Exactly.
The statements made by Cosby and his wife this week is a carefully crafted PR move. (imo)
I doubt Cosby will do any in-depth interviews acknowledging anything that would jeopardize dismissing the California lawsuit. If it is dismissed, that would be a big statement all by itself. Could a dismissal hamper any future civil litigation? I don’t know.
What Beverly Johnson did successfully in her piece for Vanity Fair was expose BC's M.O. - especially with BC's invitation and meeting with her and her young daughter, thereby securing trust and admiration.
Bbms below: -But I think Beverly Johnson may have discredited herself in the interview on The View where she said she 'didn’t think Cosby raped her', yet remembers other very specific details while drugged.
If Goldberg's questions made her nervous, I wonder why? These inconsistencies will work in Cosby’s favor – (imo)
I watched the interview. What she stated she remembered all occurred prior to the taxi ride. She stated she has no idea if he raped her because she doesn't remember what happened a bit after she got into the taxi. By that I took her to mean Cosby could've come after her, followed her, etc. How would she know? The only thing she remembers after asking the taxi driver whether she had cursed at Cosby, is waking up the next day. I think she was clear that Cosby did not sexually assault her at his home. She called him an M-effer and he got her out of there, before anything like that happened. Apparently, her cursing made him think she may not be a compliant or quiet victim. Her cursing made him know she knew she had been drugged.
I believe her.
http://news-briefs.ew.com/2014/12/1.../?hootPostID=b3fd5222d2eb92f466a6bf54a5bcb81f
Somebody tweeted:
Rob Dixon ‏@dixon5000 10 min
#BillCosby Camille, leaving all rape allegations aside, the married father I knew on TV didn't frequent the Playboy Mansion.
Nor did he have various affairs with women, as he admits to.
Of course the statements are structured by their attys and pr people. This is a tough situation. If you pay people to take care of you, you follow their advice.
What I am most bothered about it is that I feel like the media has just thrown all the stories out there, and so more people come forward with the same story so how do we know they are telling the truth?
I don't know. I am still erring on fairness. Until there are charges Im not biting.
I think all of us who have listened and read the statements of the accused and determined that they are beleievable, are erring on the side of fairness as well.
The reasoning appears to be, "he's been kind to us so he couldn't be a rapist"
But I don't think those two rule each other out. I mean, allegedly he was kind to the 20+ women too, before he raped them. He'd have to have the ability to act decent to commit the kind of crimes he's said to have committed; if he behaved like a raging monster all the time he wouldn't have had the opportunity to mentor so many young women.
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/dec/16/bill-cosby-wife-camille-who-the-real-victim-is
Bill Cosby's wife wants to know who the real victim is. There are all too many options
People tell themselves the most outrageous stories, just so they can keep living their lives – even just to make it to the next day
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/act-four/wp/2014/12/16/camille-cosbys-sad-request-to-the-press/
http://onpoint.wbur.org/2014/12/16/bill-cosby-beverly-johnson-assault
Podcast with Beverly Johnson.
Cosby was invited to comment but his spokesman issued the statement: "the media have committed journalistic malpractice. they have not checked the facts, they have been grand jury and the court"
The truth is that people who do evil things aren't always 100% evil. Hitler loved and was great to his dogs. Cosby may not have been putting up a front all the time. Half of him (not the rapist part) may actually be a nice man. That's hard for many to accept or believe. It was for me at least. I went much of my life being a black and white, white and wrong thinker. But I've come to realize there are shades of grey.
Apparently, Trump has never heard of the Fifth Amendment. And this clown (Trump, not Cosby) wanted to be president!
I actually agree with the clown on this one. The fifth amendment has zero to do with human behavior, which is what profilers research and observe. In my experience, the innocent speak.
