William Henry Cosby Jr.
“Each time a woman stands up for herself without knowing it possibly, without claiming it, she stands up for all women.” —Maya Angelou
It is done. Bill Cosby has been sentenced to three to ten years in prison for sexual assault. I know that there will be backlash for my expressions on this outcome and that is OK. I am all for the #MeToo movement. I am all for the #timesup movement. I am a feminist, self-proclaimed and proud.
When God asks me what I want to come back to earth as for my next lifetime, I will tell him a black woman. I wouldn’t have it any other way. I love being Black with all that it comes with good and bad. I love being a woman with all it comes with good and bad.
Bill Cosby has been found guilty of sexual assault, so we will no longer say allegedly. Any man that abuses a woman in any way should be punished and should be punished to the fullest extent of the law. There are women who will do anything that a man wants them to do and then some, so drugging someone for a sexual favor is just crazy and in my opinion death worthy.
We know that people, especially people of color are found guilty of crimes that they did not commit. I wish I had more faith in the legal system, but it has failed me in so many instances until it has to earn my trust and respect.
Now, with that said I have to be honest. I am not sure if sending Bill Cosby to prison at this point helped anyone. I am speaking from my own perspective, and honestly, I am angry with the accusers. Not because Bill Cosby is in jail, but because if the first one had said something, there might not have been a second or a third or a tenth. If the third one had said something, there might not have been a forth. You get my point. All of the allegations are from years ago, so the fear of him being eighty-one and drugging and raping someone has ceased. If one person could have had the courage back then to do what they did right now, other lives could have been spared.
I know why women don’t come forward when things like this happen. The same way the justice system tries to criminalize the victims of police brutality the public along with the justice system criminalizes women of sexual assault. Because this happens we create a springboard for the offenders, and we give the words they often speak the power to live; “no one will believe you.” Until we unite as women and stand our ground and not allow these types of assaults to go unannounced, this will continue to happen. We have to be a better support system for each other.
Shame on Bill Cosby and anyone who knew about what he was doing and never said anything. We let Bill Cosby into our homes and our hearts, and we trusted his opinion on things from child rearing to education. We laughed at his jokes (the chicken heart was my favorite of all time), and we mocked his voice and his dance. We loved him and thanked him for changing how Black families were portrayed on television. We shed a tear when he passed the baton to Malcolm Jamal Warner on the last episode of the Cosby Show. I think a part of all of us didn’t want the accusations to be true, but another part of most of us had a fear that they were very real. Though the sentence is three to ten years, it is life for someone of his age. It is my personal opinion that Bill Cosby should be thanking God for all that he was given and all that he had the opportunity to enjoy in his life. Bill Cosby was blessed with five children, two who have preceded him in death, but whom he got to enjoy as adults in the free world. It would be great to hear Mr. Cosby ask for forgiveness although we know it is not likely.
The Writer
