Race trumps Rape; Is Bill Cosby's image tarnished in Black History?

Every year, in America, on March 1st while our clocks strike 12:00 a.m. Black History Month is over. Just like the infamous fairy tale Cinderella, all the magic disappears at midnight. The euphoria vanishes and we, who believe in racial equality, struggle with the realization that the next 11 months transforms from being just like the regal horses and golden carriage in Cinderella, into four mice and a pumpkin; and for the next 364 days we emotionally search for a glass slipper of equality and inclusion.

What may be argued as being historic is that for the first time in over 30 years the image of an African-American icon, Bill Cosby, is tarnished with sexual assault and rape allegations by dozens of women. Once spoken of with reverence in the media and classrooms, for the first time, Mr. Cosby's image may have been deleted from classrooms. Prior to me being sexually assaulted by Bill Cosby, I would have never imagined that he would be excluded from the barrage of accolades given to famous Black folks during the short month of February. Quite frankly, if I was not sexually assaulted by Bill Cosby I would have a difficult time believing he was guilty just like many others.

Although I am not a fan of Black History Month, to argue it is irrelevant would be ridiculous. Clearly, there is always something new for children and adults with various skin colors to learn during this month of enlightenment. However, both Black History Month and The Cosby Show offers us fleeting moments of elation and disillusionment that racism has ceased. While many black folks are grieving the loss of Cosby's "legacy", it saddens me to say that it didn't stop Trayvon Martin or Eric Garner from being killed. Racism is still very much alive!

Model Beverly Johnson mentioned that one of the reasons why she didn't disclose her sexual assault by Bill Cosby immediately after it happened is because she didn't want to bring a black man down. We share this in common. It broke my heart knowing that my public statement about Bill Cosby sexually assaulting me would create a very deep wound in the heart of the black community. I share that pain. However, I have now come to realize that race shouldn't trump rape. Sharing the same parents, metaphorically speaking, both racism and sexism are siblings born out of fear and hatred in my opinion. We still live in a very segregated world saturated with hatred; the global populace failing to see the oneness of our existence.

Read more:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jewel-allison/rape-trumps-race-is-bill-cosbys-image-tarnished-in-black-history_b_6801154.html

Link please?

Please be patient on iPad and it take a while

Timeline: Abuse charges against Bill Cosby

November 2002
Andrea Constand, director of operations for Temple University’s women’s basketball team, allegedly met with Bill Cosby. Constand claims that Cosby, who had been a member of Temple’s track and field and football teams, assumed a role as her mentor.

January 2004
According to Constand, she visited Cosby at his Cheltenham, Pennsylvania, home to discuss career advice, and after allegedly (according to a civil lawsuit she would later file) giving her "herbal" pills to ease her anxiety, Cosby “touched her breasts and vaginal area, rubbed his penis against her hand, and digitally penetrated” her.

January 13, 2005
Constand, who had since moved near Toronto to study massage therapy, accuses Cosby of "inappropriate touching" — groping her breasts and placing her hand on his genitals — to Canadian authorities. Cosby’s lawyer calls her allegation "utterly preposterous" and "plainly bizarre.”

January 27, 2005
ABC News reports that the interaction between Constand and Cosby — who is at this point cooperating with the investigation — might have been consensual.

February 10, 2005
Tamara Green, a California lawyer, appears on the Today show and alleges that Cosby drugged and sexually assaulted her in the 1970s. Green tells Matt Lauer that Cosby, who had given her pills to combat a fever, drove her to her apartment and began “… groping me and kissing me and touching me and handling me and … taking off my clothes.” According to Green, Cosby left two $100 bills on her coffee table afterwards. Cosby’s lawyer issues a statement: “Miss Green’s allegations are absolutely false. Mr. Cosby does not know the name Tamara Green or Tamara Lucier [her maiden name], and the incident she describes did not happen. The fact that she may have repeated this story to others is not corroboration.”

February 17, 2005
Citing a lack of evidence, the investigating district attorney in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, announces he will not act on Constand’s accusation and bring criminal charges against Cosby.

March 8, 2005
Constand files a civil complaint against Cosby. The five-count lawsuit charges Cosby with battery and assault, and asks for at least $150,000 in damages. Thirteen women who allege similar experiences as Constand and Green are mentioned in court papers as Jane Doe witnesses.

May 2005
In Constand’s civil lawsuit, she alleges the comedian gave her three blue pills, which he said was herbal medication. Cosby’s lawyers, however, issue a court filing and attempt to clarify that the comedian merely gave Constand one and a half tablets of Benadryl.

June 2005
Jane Doe 5 goes public. Beth Ferrier claims she was in a relationship with Cosby in the mid-1980s, one that ended when he allegedly drugged her coffee and Ferrier woke in a car. “My clothes were a mess. My bra was undone. My top was untucked. And I'm sitting there going, 'Oh my God. Where am I?' What's going on? I was so out of it. It was just awful."

February 2006
While in the midst of her civil suit, Constand sues one of Cosby’s lawyers — and the National Enquirer — for defamation. Cosby had spoken to the tabloid the year before, and Constand claimed the interview defamed her as it “[intended] to or knowing it would injure” her.

June 2006*
Philadelphia magazine interviews another witness in Constand’s lawsuit, Barbara Bowman. “Cosby threw me on the bed and braced his forearm against my neck and attempted to disrobe me and himself,” she said in another Philadelphia interview later that year. “I can still remember him messing with his belt. And I was screaming and crying and yelling and begging him to stop.”

November 2006
Cosby settles with Constand. Terms are not disclosed, and none of the 13 other women testify.

December 2006
The following month, People magazine publishes Bowman's account of several assaults: "It was in a hotel in Reno, claims Bowman, that Cosby assaulted her one night in 1986. 'He took my hand and his hand over it, and he masturbated with his hand over my hand,' says Bowman, who, although terrified, kept quiet about the incident and continued as Cosby's protégé because, she says, 'Who's gonna believe this? He was a powerful man. He was like the president.' Before long she was alone with Cosby again in his Manhattan townhouse; she was given a glass of red wine, and "the next thing I know, I'm sick and I'm nauseous and I'm delusional and I'm limp and ... I can't think straight.... And I just came to, and I'm wearing a [men's] T-shirt that wasn't mine, and he was in a white robe.'"

That same People article reports that three of the Jane Does from the March 2005 case accepted cash from Cosby for years, and two others began consensual sexual relationships with Cosby.

February 2014
Katie Baker of Newsweek — Whitaker’s former employer — interviews both Green and Bowman about the alleged assaults. Bowman tells Baker she was disappointed in the settlement, and Green recounts running into and accosting Cosby in Las Vegas, yelling, “Rapist! Liar! Asshole!” While Cosby doesn’t issue a statement regarding Bowman’s claims, his publicist responds to Green, “This is a 10-year-old, discredited accusation that proved to be nothing at the time, and is still nothing.”

October 16, 2014
Comedian Hannibal Buress does an extended bit about the rape charges in Cosby's home town of Philadelphia. "Bill Cosby has the fucking smuggest old black man public persona that I hate," Buress says. "Pull your pants up, black people. I was on TV in the ’80s. I can talk down to you because I had a successful sitcom. Yeah, but you raped women, Bill Cosby. So, brings you down a couple notches." A clip of the set goes viral after being posted in Philadelphia magazine.

November 10,2014
To battle the bad press, Cosby's PR team launches an online meme generator. Twitter is immediately inundated with references to the rape claims.

November 13, 2014
Inspired by the reactions to Buress's bit, Bowman pens an op-ed in the Washington Post, titled "Bill Cosby raped me. Why did it take 30 years for people to believe my story?" She notes that "only after a man ... called Bill Cosby a rapist in a comedy act last month did the public outcry begin in earnest."

November 15, 2014
Cosby is asked about the various charges on NPR's "Weekend Edition" but stays silent. His lawyer later posts a statement saying Cosby "won't dignify these allegations with any response."

November 16, 2014
A new accuser, Joan Tarshis, alleges that Cosby drugged and assaulted her on two occasions in 1969. "As more and more of his rape victims have come forward, all telling similar stories," Tarshis says, "the time is right to join them."

November 17, 2014
Linda Joy Traitz, a former waitress at Cosby's Café Figaro, writes a lengthy Facebook post accusing the actor of trying to drug her in the early '70s. She says the incident occurred when Cosby drove her home one night: "He drove out to the beach and opened a briefcase filled with assorted drugs and kept offering me pills 'to relax,' which I declined. He began to get sexually aggressive and wouldn’t take ‘No’ for an answer. I freaked out and demanded to be taken home."

November 18, 2014
On Entertainment Tonight, supermodel Janice Dickinson becomes the next woman to accuse Cosby of sexual abuse, saying the comedian drugged and raped her in 1982. She recalls Cosby giving her wine and a pill, which he told her were for menstrual cramps: "Before I woke up in the morning, the last thing I remember was Bill Cosby in a patchwork robe, dropping his robe and getting on top of me. And I remember a lot of pain. The next morning I remember waking up with my pajamas off and there was semen in between my legs." Dickinson alluded to the event in her 2002 memoir, and later told Howard Stern she was asked to change the text to show Cosby in a better light.



http://www.vulture.com/2014/09/timeline-of-the-abuse-charges-against-cosby.html

Why would accusing Bill Cosby of rape create a deep wound in the black community?

Well if they have foregone doing something because of the race, then they make the problem of racism far worse.
It should not matter whether he is black if he is the suspect in a crime it should be reported.
Though I question whether it is more to do with his celebrity status, why there is a fear of not being believed like we have seen with the many cases in the uk?

Raggamuffin wrote:Why would accusing Bill Cosby of rape create a deep wound in the black community?

I am guessing it's becaeue of his huge status?
Did you see that long timeline????

Are ALL those women lying, do you think?

I think because Cosby is one they point to as a model.

He certainly is a fallen angel.

eddie wrote:

Raggamuffin wrote:Why would accusing Bill Cosby of rape create a deep wound in the black community?

I am guessing it's becaeue of his huge status?
Did you see that long timeline????

Are ALL those women lying, do you think?

I wouldn't like to say eddie - innocent until proved guilty and all that.

What is absurd is that someone didn't report an alleged rape because the alleged perpetrator is black!

Raggamuffin wrote:Why would accusing Bill Cosby of rape create a deep wound in the black community?

He'd achieved a certain iconic status as a cultural leader.

It's all very sad.

Raggamuffin wrote:

eddie wrote:

I am guessing it's becaeue of his huge status?
Did you see that long timeline????

Are ALL those women lying, do you think?

I wouldn't like to say eddie - innocent until proved guilty and all that.

What is absurd is that someone didn't report an alleged rape because the alleged perpetrator is black!

I don't think that was the message. It was because of his image, and the assumptions that created.

Concurrently, the black community pointed to him as a role model. But it's not necessarily the same causal dynamic.

Well nobody cared about pointing the finger at Rolf Harris or Jimmy Savile, and they were icons too.

Model Beverly Johnson mentioned that one of the reasons why she didn't disclose her sexual assault by Bill Cosby immediately after it happened is because she didn't want to bring a black man down. We share this in common. It broke my heart knowing that my public statement about Bill Cosby sexually assaulting me would create a very deep wound in the heart of the black community.

She didn't want to "bring a black man down"? This is a man who she claimed sexually assaulted her - why would she care about bringing him down?

Raggamuffin wrote:

Model Beverly Johnson mentioned that one of the reasons why she didn't disclose her sexual assault by Bill Cosby immediately after it happened is because she didn't want to bring a black man down. We share this in common. It broke my heart knowing that my public statement about Bill Cosby sexually assaulting me would create a very deep wound in the heart of the black community.

She didn't want to "bring a black man down"? This is a man who she claimed sexually assaulted her - why would she care about bringing him down?

It is absurd isn't it?
Is she saying she wouldn't have thought twice, had he been white?

eddie wrote:

Raggamuffin wrote:

She didn't want to "bring a black man down"? This is a man who she claimed sexually assaulted her - why would she care about bringing him down?

It is absurd isn't it?
Is she saying she wouldn't have thought twice, had he been white?

That's the implication, yes.

Raggamuffin wrote:Well nobody cared about pointing the finger at Rolf Harris or Jimmy Savile, and they were icons too.

Will answer this before I go.
Actually for years many did not point the finger at them and were silent because they believed they were protected because of their celebrity status. Many in fact went decades in silence.
Also you are homing in on just what one of the alleged victims has said and it would be prudent to know of the many other alleged victims to their reasons if they held back from disclosing what happened after the events. I am sure there are many reasons within all and why to center here on one does not present a full picture here.

Night

Cuchulain wrote:

Raggamuffin wrote:Well nobody cared about pointing the finger at Rolf Harris or Jimmy Savile, and they were icons too.

Will answer this before I go.
Actually for years many did not point the finger at them and were silent because they believed they were protected because of their celebrity status. Many in fact went decades in silence.
Also you are homing in on just what one of the alleged victims has said and it would be prudent to know of the many other alleged victims to their reasons if they held back from disclosing what happened after the events. I am sure there are many reasons within all and why to center here on one does not present a full picture here.

Night

It's what two of the alleged victims said actually. They both said that they didn't want to report him because he's black.

Raggamuffin wrote:

Cuchulain wrote:

Will answer this before I go.
Actually for years many did not point the finger at them and were silent because they believed they were protected because of their celebrity status. Many in fact went decades in silence.
Also you are homing in on just what one of the alleged victims has said and it would be prudent to know of the many other alleged victims to their reasons if they held back from disclosing what happened after the events. I am sure there are many reasons within all and why to center here on one does not present a full picture here.

Night

It's what two of the alleged victims said actually. They both said that they didn't want to report him because he's black.

No problem, my mistake, that is two then out of how many? 37 I am aware of.
Again going off some and not all cases only presents a partial picture of why the victims were restrained in coming forward.

Cuchulain wrote:

Raggamuffin wrote:

It's what two of the alleged victims said actually. They both said that they didn't want to report him because he's black.

No problem, my mistake, that is two then out of how many? 37 I am aware of.
Again going off some and not all cases only presents a partial picture of why the victims were restrained in coming forward.

I'm not claiming that's why the others didn't come forward. It's enough that one said it, let alone two or more.

Raggamuffin wrote:

Cuchulain wrote:

No problem, my mistake, that is two then out of how many? 37 I am aware of.
Again going off some and not all cases only presents a partial picture of why the victims were restrained in coming forward.

I'm not claiming that's why the others didn't come forward. It's enough that one said it, let alone two or more.

I agree its bad enough why at least two felt that way, but what is most important here to also learn if why others were restrained in coming forward and for what reasons. This is how we can learn to then help other victims be able to come forward, by learning where others felt they could not.

Well I shall give him the same benefit of the doubt I've given anyone who's been accused of historical abuse. I'm not going to assume he's guilty just because a lot of women have now come forward.

Raggamuffin wrote:Well I shall give him the same benefit of the doubt I've given anyone who's been accused of historical abuse. I'm not going to assume he's guilty just because a lot of women have now come forward.

Which is fair enough.

Raggamuffin wrote:Well I shall give him the same benefit of the doubt I've given anyone who's been accused of historical abuse. I'm not going to assume he's guilty just because a lot of women have now come forward.

Actually, Bill Cosby admitted the drugs for women part of the scandal.

CNN wrote: (CNN)Bill Cosby has admitted to getting prescription Quaaludes to give to women he wanted to have sex with, newly released documents show.

The documents, dating back to 2005, stem from a civil lawsuit filed by Andrea Constand -- one of the dozens of women who have publicly accused the comedian of sexual assault. The records were made public Monday after The Associated Press went to court to compel their release.

CNN has attempted to reach a lawyer and publicist for Cosby to respond to the revelations contained in the documents, without success. His longtime publicist, David Brokaw, said, "We have no plans to issue a statement."

In a sworn deposition, Cosby answered questions from Constand's attorney, Dolores Troiani.

"When you got the Quaaludes, was it in your mind that you were going to use these Quaaludes for young women that you wanted to have sex with?" Troiani asked.

"Yes," Cosby replied.

"Did you ever give any of those young women the Quaaludes without their knowledge?" Troiani asked.

Cosby's attorney objected and told him not to answer the question.

The deposition transcript was then sealed by the Court, as a part of a settlement.  However, the Court has unilaterally unsealed the deposition transcript as a gesture in response to Cosby's public denials.

http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/07/us/bill-cosby-quaaludes-sexual-assault-allegations/

It makes me sad.  I used to love Rolf Harris, look what it turned out he was, and I had a real thing for Bill Cosby in I Spy, I read of him admitting to the Quaaludes, not that he seemed to think there was anything wrong in it, with horror.   How did it come to that from what he was:

Am I missing something here?
Is he still on trial and if so, admitting to the Quaaludes, isn't that sort of putting a nail in his own coffin?

Very disappointing. I don't know what Whoopi Goldberg's playing at.

Sorry Lex, what has she said, haven't heard.

sassy wrote:Sorry Lex, what has she said, haven't heard.

Shes a staunch defender

http://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/whoopi-goldberg-sparks-outrage-continues-6031531

And has apparently gone ballistic lol

http://www.tvguide.com/news/whoopi-goldberg-bill-cosby-the-view/

Gotta say, I love her in the colour purple but can't stand the woman

Perhaps she thinks he is innocent, bit silly of her after he has admitted to drugging women.

sassy wrote:Perhaps she thinks he is innocent, bit silly of her after he has admitted to drugging women.

Well that's what I thought after I read an article yesterday (not the links I've given you as I can't find it now lol)
She's really putting her neck on the line tbh. Perhaps he's a a really good friend?
I don't know. I think I'd have to keep quiet if it were me.

eddie wrote:Am I missing something here?
Is he still on trial and if so, admitting to the Quaaludes, isn't that sort of putting a nail in his own coffin?

No, but his admission in that transcript might prompt a lot of prosecutors to think about bringing up charges...not for rape or drugs, but for perjury in past actions over those things. Apparently, there are some contradictions out there.

Whoopie is an old friend.  She's trying hard to hold to the standard of: innocent until proven guilty.  But it is hard for her when it's an admission under oath, taken down in a deposition transcript.  That may not be a verdict, but it's the next best thing.

sassy wrote:Perhaps she thinks he is innocent, bit silly of her after he has admitted to drugging women.

In the aftermath, CNN is emphasizing that they are not saying he actually drugged the women. The transcript just says that he intended to do that. CNN executives are worried about legal action, and keeping to the straight and narrow in what comes out of the transcript.

In retrospect, Cosby's lawyer should not have let him answer that question. Big mistake! It is not a complete admission of a crime, but the intent is an element partially making out a crime.

Original Quill wrote:

eddie wrote:Am I missing something here?
Is he still on trial and if so, admitting to the Quaaludes, isn't that sort of putting a nail in his own coffin?

No, but his admission in that transcript might prompt a lot of prosecutors to think about bringing up charges...not for rape or drugs, but for perjury in past actions over those things.  Apparently, there are some contradictions out there.

Whoopie is an old friend.  She's trying hard to hold to the standard of: innocent until proven guilty.  But it is hard for her when it's an admission under oath, taken down in a deposition transcript.  That may not be a verdict, but it's the next best thing.

Ah ok
Thanks for clearing that up.

So on that premise, he may walk, scot-free, as it were?

eddie wrote:

Original Quill wrote:

No, but his admission in that transcript might prompt a lot of prosecutors to think about bringing up charges...not for rape or drugs, but for perjury in past actions over those things.  Apparently, there are some contradictions out there.

Whoopie is an old friend.  She's trying hard to hold to the standard of: innocent until proven guilty.  But it is hard for her when it's an admission under oath, taken down in a deposition transcript.  That may not be a verdict, but it's the next best thing.

Ah ok
Thanks for clearing that up.

So on that premise, he may walk, scot-free, as it were?

Not if prosecutors find anything they can charge him on.

The problem with all of these crimes is they have limitation statutes.  For example, in California the statute of limitation (SOL) for rape of a non-minor is 10-years.  Cal. Penal Code § 801.1(a) and (b).  So the statute has run on many of the incidents in the Cosby matter.

However, the SOL can toll under certain circumstances.  One of those circumstances might be the discovery rule...the statute only starts running when you discover the incident. It also tolls when there is deliberate concealment.  Admittedly, it's pretty hard to say you didn't realize that you were raped, but with drugs in the picture you never know.

The other possibility is the aforementioned prosecution on perjury charges.  It is pretty clear that Cosby attempted to conceal the perjury, if any.  Does that toll a SOL?  Or, maybe there is no SOL problem.  The statute runs from the date of the perjury, not the underlying crime.  

Some states make it a crime to lie to police officers (the Feds do...lying to a Federal agent is a felony).  Does the admission in the deposition reveal that Cosby lied to a federal or state officer?  (That's the law that Martha Stewart got hung on.)  So there are lots of possibilities even if Cosby cannot be hung on the rape charges directly.

There are many other possibilities.  That's all I can think of right now.