# Can we talk about Bill Cosby? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 19, 2014, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-talk-about-bill-cosby/705075 "2014-11-19T15:24:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Showing post:** 460
**Author:** ![Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heffalump_and_roo/32/7691_2.png) [@Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heffalump_and_Roo)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2014, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-talk-about-bill-cosby/705075/460 "2014-11-27T01:15:24Z")
> [@Sarahfeena](#): > > This is really my argument, too. We made him what he was and he earned what he has based on a persona that may or may not be reality. I see no difference between that and people using the same judgment call they did before, based on new information. If all people are doing is just deciding on Bill Cosby’s reputation, they can do that without deciding whether he committed rape. They can decide on his reputation based on any number of things. IMO, Bill Cosby is an old, irrelevant comedian who wasn’t much in the spotlight before this. But people are using this case as the icon and lightning rod for generalizing on all rape cases as you can see in **even sven** ’s comment. Those two discussions are different, yet they’re being overlaid on each other as though they can’t be separated. > [@even\_sven](#): > > What I care about has to do with women and men who may find themselves in similar situations as the victims. > > I want them to feel able to speak out, to get help and to stand up for their rights, even if they are harmed by someone richer and more powerful than themselves. Even if they were not chaste and pure. I want them to recognize that being drugged and raped is not just a date gone wrong, or a casting couch gone a bit to far, but rather a very real crime that they have a right to seek justice for. > > I want it to be known that these acts are not normal, they are not just a part of everyday life or Hollywood socializing. They are abnormal. They are not okay. I want them to know these acts are not a slip up. They are not a date gone a bit off the rails. They are not just an isolated mistake.The people who perpetuate these acts are sick. And they will continue to hurt people until someone speaks out. They should not be forgiven or forgotten. They should be prevented from hurting others. > > I want them to know this isn’t their fault. It’s not their fault for falling for it. It’s not their fault for participating in the lead up. It’s not their fault for saying “yes” to the pill or for not fighting hard enough or for having wanted to have (consensual) sex with that person previously. > > And for rapists- and they are out there- I want them to know that time will not erase their crimes. Money will not protect them. I want them to live in terror, every day and every night, that their entire world could be pulled out from under them. I want them to know they will never rest until they make things right. I want them to own up. I want them to apologize. I want them to repent. Let’s say there’s a place on the internet where people could go and tell their stories and name their rapist on decades-old allegations. No one checks these stories. Then a national publication gathers up all the allegations on a periodic basis and prints them. If your name shows up in there, everyone can see it. Your reputation could be ruined and employers can fire you on that basis. There’s no way to defend yourself because the allegations can be vague and very old. Even if they’re pretty specific charges, you might not have the resources to investigate or prove anything. Would you be advocating that? Because I think that’s a possible extension of what you’re suggesting. I’m not seeing that as an improvement for women’s rights because it might make allegations of rape victims seem less serious when they can be made so casually but can inflict so much potential damage. --- _[View the full topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-talk-about-bill-cosby/705075)._