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niyad

(113,550 posts)
Fri Apr 27, 2018, 12:49 PM Apr 2018

Time's up, Bill Cosby

Time's up, Bill Cosby

By Anushay Hossain (video at link)

Updated 3:22 AM ET, Fri April 27, 2018
Cosby accuser: Women worthy of being believed




Source: CNN
Cosby accuser: Women worthy of being believed 01:42



(CNN)Bill Cosby's legal team attempted to use "Rape Culture 101" tactics to discredit his accuser in court, but the guilty verdict handed down Thursday demonstrates that the days of blaming women for the sexual violence and crimes of famous men are coming to a close. And the law seems to be on women's side. A previous trial ended in a hung jury, but the jury in Bill Cosby's retrial found the TV icon guilty of all three counts of aggravated indecent assault for drugging and sexually assaulting Andrea Constand in a Philadelphia suburb in 2004. The 80-year-old comedian faces up to 10 years in prison on each count.


Despite more than 50 women coming forth with their allegations against Cosby, the only criminal case that went to trial centered on the testimony of Constand, a former employee with the Temple University women's basketball team. She said that Cosby, a powerful trustee at Temple, initially mentored her and then, when she visited him for career advice, drugged and sexually assaulted her. The verdict is a major milestone that demonstrates not only how powerful and impactful the #MeToo movement has been, but it also shows that real women's stories bolstered by a pivotal cultural movement can and will hold up in a court of law.


Though the Cosby allegations predate the fall of Harvey Weinstein, Cosby's case shows that as a society we are finally done believing the denials of famous men over the words and stories of women. Time is indeed up. "He [Cosby] is nothing like the image that he plays on TV," prosecutor Kristen Feden said in court on Tuesday. "In fact, he utilized that image and cloaked himself so that he was able to gain the trust, gain the confidence of these young women so he could strip them of their ability to say no, administering an intoxicant the same way he administered an intoxicant to Andrea Constand."

There is still a long way to go before we reach the point as a culture where we stand with and believe all women, especially women who live and work without the money, spotlight and glamour of the Hollywood actresses who ignited the visibility of #MeToo. Women of color and poor women who work in low-income jobs also deserve access to justice, and to have their stories garner just as much attention.

. . . .



Cosby's case demonstrates it is possible.

https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/26/opinions/times-up-bill-cosby-hossain-opinion/index.html

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GWC58

(2,678 posts)
1. When Cosby called the DA
Fri Apr 27, 2018, 01:00 PM
Apr 2018

an “asshole” it really, I think, became personal to the DA. I don’t believe the judge was too happy about it, either.

niyad

(113,550 posts)
2. what do we know about the judge? I am concerned that he is basically letting the convicted
Fri Apr 27, 2018, 01:04 PM
Apr 2018

sexual predator run around free, because, in the judge's words, the guy is 80, and has shown up every day (only because he was sure he would get off, again)

does cosby, in fact, have a private plane?

malthaussen

(17,216 posts)
4. It's an iffy area.
Fri Apr 27, 2018, 01:16 PM
Apr 2018

He's not convicted (or accused) of a capital crime. Hell, the judge let O.J. out on OR after the indictment, which had me screaming at the time. Funny how the rich get to wait in comfort for their sentencing/trial, innit?

The whole Cosby thing is depressing (especially as I am an alumnus of Temple). Don't you hate it when people who seemed like pretty good people turn out to have been fucking snakes all along?

-- Mal

niyad

(113,550 posts)
6. I can understand all that, and that is why I worry. I am sorry that you have to be
Fri Apr 27, 2018, 01:19 PM
Apr 2018

connected that way (and I thought it was bad that lynn cheney and I are alums of the same college--shudder)

malthaussen

(17,216 posts)
7. Hey, I went to Penn State, too...
Fri Apr 27, 2018, 01:27 PM
Apr 2018

... I'm doubly damned.

People of Mr Cosby's age are usually not considered flight risks, and supposedly tend to stick around familiar surroundings. But the Daily Mail (sorry for the source) claims he does have a private plane, so... http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4570712/Late-life-sex-assault-trial-caps-Cosbys-life-legacy.html
Maybe he sold it for legal expenses, the article is a year old.

-- Mal

appalachiablue

(41,170 posts)
9. We have friends who attended Temple for grad school & I visited it
Fri Apr 27, 2018, 03:43 PM
Apr 2018

with a sister who was accepted and almost went there. Nice campus and our family has long ties to the area.
For years it made me wince to see Cosby (the creep) keep on referencing the school, over and over. I feel for you, yet people still know and regard Temple and Philly, a great American city regardless.

GWC58

(2,678 posts)
11. If that had been Joe EveryGuy
Sat Apr 28, 2018, 10:54 AM
Apr 2018

Joe would’ve had his bail revoked and sent to jail, awaiting his sentence to a correctional facility.

MyOwnPeace

(16,937 posts)
5. Really, I'm not worried...........
Fri Apr 27, 2018, 01:18 PM
Apr 2018

or care if he actually does "run!"

His life is shot.

He's an intelligent man that has to live with the verdict and the actions that brought him down from a "national treasure" to a savage beast that the world despises (well, there are probably some Trumpsters, including IQ45 himself, that still support him).

He's done - there's no reason to get up tomorrow - the story will still be the same.

Live with that, Cos!

LenaBaby61

(6,977 posts)
8. I just saw where the Cosby Show is being pulled off the air.
Fri Apr 27, 2018, 01:39 PM
Apr 2018

Which is understandable, because he was convicted.

However, after a brief hiatus away from television, I see that 7th Heaven is back on the air, and we know that Stephen Collins admitted to sexually abusing 3 under aged girls when he was in his 20's.

SMDH.

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