# Bill Cosby: Rapo **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 10, 2005, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-cosby-rapo/289339 "2005-02-10T03:54:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2005, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-cosby-rapo/289339/41 "2005-02-10T13:46:31Z")
> [@Bryan Ekers](#): > > May as well keep silent on the money issue until the civil suit. Or the book deal is signed? Or rights to the movie of the week are negotiated? ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2005, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-cosby-rapo/289339/42 "2005-02-10T13:54:19Z")
> [@cricetus](#): > > Is “rapo” a word? I mean, even in slang? What the fuck are you people doing to my language? **Dio** should catch up on his James Ellroy–it’s more commonly written “rape-o,” which looks a bit clearer. Needless to say, Ellroy uses it a lot. Anyway, it is a “real” bit of slang, though. ---
**Author:** ![booka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e0b2c6/32.png) [@booka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/booka)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2005, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-cosby-rapo/289339/43 "2005-02-10T14:01:40Z")
**Dio** , I just finished reading your spew. Man, are you high, or maybe improperly medicated? This is beneath even your standards. I’d feel bad if I countered anything you’ve said - it’d be like beating up on an 8 year-old. I know you can do better. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![NothingMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b77776/32.png) [@NothingMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NothingMan)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2005, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-cosby-rapo/289339/44 "2005-02-10T14:07:42Z")
> [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > And why aren’t any of them asking for money? Oh its coming. Nothing helps along a huge civil suit settlement like a criminal conviction. Even if that conviction is purely in the court of public opinion. Mr. Cosby has sure made some enemies of late with his POV on young black males. I will be holding my judgement for further facts. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2005, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-cosby-rapo/289339/45 "2005-02-10T14:11:15Z")
If an accuser files a civil suit, does that prove she’s lying? Can somebody answer that for me? ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2005, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-cosby-rapo/289339/46 "2005-02-10T14:13:39Z")
> [@booka](#): > > I know you can do better. 😃 I dunno. I sense a pattern in these threads: Dio: I’m outraged at this latest outrageous outrage! Six or seven lukewarm responses later… Dio: I’m outraged that you people aren’t outraged at this latest outrageous outrage! And “rapo”, like “uncredible”, is a perfectly cromulent word. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2005, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-cosby-rapo/289339/47 "2005-02-10T14:18:28Z")
Have I expressed outrage that no one else is outraged? I don’t insist that anyone else be outraged, liar. “rape-o” is a real term. ---
**Author:** ![tnetennba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tnetennba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tnetennba)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2005, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-cosby-rapo/289339/48 "2005-02-10T14:34:36Z")
> [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > If an accuser files a civil suit, does that prove she’s lying? Does it prove the accused is guilty? ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2005, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-cosby-rapo/289339/49 "2005-02-10T14:38:51Z")
> [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > If an accuser files a civil suit, does that prove she’s lying? > > Can somebody answer that for me? Maybe Paula Jones could clear it up. > [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > Only one person ever accused Clinton of rape. Really? Which one did you never hear of - Kathleen Wiley, or Juanita Broadderick? Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Triskadecamus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b19c9b/32.png) [@Triskadecamus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Triskadecamus)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2005, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-cosby-rapo/289339/50 "2005-02-10T14:41:10Z")
Wow, talk about fighting ignorance, In this one thread I have learned that **Matt\_mcl** is from Esperantia, and likes turnips, and that **Diogenes the Cynic** has spent time in prison! And some people don’t think this place is worth fi dallah! ## Tris “We have met the enemy and it is us.” ~ Walt Kelly, **Pogo** ~ ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2005, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-cosby-rapo/289339/51 "2005-02-10T14:57:32Z")
> [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > Have I expressed outrage that no one else is outraged? I don’t insist that anyone else be outraged, liar. But it still floats your boat, right? ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2005, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-cosby-rapo/289339/52 "2005-02-10T15:08:04Z")
> [@cricetus](#): > > Does it prove the accused is guilty? Of course not. It proves nothing in itself. But I haven’t said that it DOES prove anything. I’ll ask the room again, does a civil suit prove the accuser is lying? **Shodan** , Wiley never accused Bill Clinton of rape. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2005, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-cosby-rapo/289339/53 "2005-02-10T15:09:13Z")
> [@Bryan Ekers](#): > > But it still floats your boat, right? What floats my boat? 😕 I have no idea what you’re accusing me of. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2005, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-cosby-rapo/289339/54 "2005-02-10T15:10:00Z")
> [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > I’ll ask the room again, does a civil suit prove the accuser is lying? Of course not, but nothing you’ve stated proves she’s telling the truth either, ya big ol’ outrage-aholic, you. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2005, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-cosby-rapo/289339/55 "2005-02-10T15:19:50Z")
OK, so can we quit talking about civil suits like they mean anything? I didn’t say anything after the first accusation or the second one, but when there is evidence that someone told people 30 years ago that he did this same thing to her I think it’s a little too much to be a coincidence. ---
**Author:** ![Harborwolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Harborwolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harborwolf)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2005, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-cosby-rapo/289339/56 "2005-02-10T15:27:36Z")
> [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > OK, so can we quit talking about civil suits like they mean anything? > > I didn’t say anything after the first accusation or the second one, but when there is evidence that someone told people 30 years ago that he did this same thing to her I think it’s a little too much to be a coincidence. Guess it must be enough for a conviction though huh? :rolleyes: Seriously, you’re citing fox news and the enquirer on this one; two cites you would scoff at if this were political. You said the thirty year old case was entirely independent even though the woman herself says she was moved to report it after the first report. And of course friends and family back her up. :rolleyes: When a police officer or a doctor from thirty years ago backs her story up, I’ll believe it. This he said/she said crap is not enough for me to decide Cos guilty of Rape-o (which sounds like a really unpleasant cereal) or of anything for that matter. **Dio** , maybe you should raise your standards a bit. ---
**Author:** ![tnetennba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tnetennba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tnetennba)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2005, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-cosby-rapo/289339/57 "2005-02-10T15:31:07Z")
> [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > I’ll ask the room again, does a civil suit prove the accuser is lying?. OK, the answer is “no.” The civil suit doesn’t prove the accuser is lying. Absolutely no determination can be made about the veracity of an accusation by the accuser’s potential to gain. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2005, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-cosby-rapo/289339/58 "2005-02-10T15:43:48Z")
But see, that’s the thing. If the accused has money then the accuser always has “potential to gain” which means it’s impossible even for real victims to ever be believed. What could a genuine victim do that would make her more credible than a gold digger? ---
**Author:** ![Amazon\_Floozy\_Goddess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/779978/32.png) [@Amazon\_Floozy\_Goddess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amazon_Floozy_Goddess)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2005, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-cosby-rapo/289339/59 "2005-02-10T15:49:05Z")
Oh, man. I hope these accusations aren’t true. I loved Cosby when I was a kid. He always seemed like a genuinely kind person. I’ve seen and read interviews with the other co-stars of the Cosby Show - they had nothing but good things to say. You’d think that if he was creepy in some way, it would have had to come out in some way to someone at some point during the years that the show was on the air…?? The idea that he would do what he’s being accused of makes me go ☹ . ---
**Author:** ![tnetennba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tnetennba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tnetennba)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2005, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-cosby-rapo/289339/60 "2005-02-10T15:52:17Z")
> [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > But see, that’s the thing. If the accused has money then the accuser always has “potential to gain” which means it’s impossible even for real victims to ever be believed. > > What could a genuine victim do that would make her more credible than a gold digger? I said what you wanted me to say, so relax. I agree. As a purely epistemological case, the accuser’s potential benefits are irrelevent. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-cosby-rapo/289339.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-cosby-rapo/289339.md?page=4)