Sunday, December 14, 2014

Mr. Cosby, rape, censorship, and the power of art


I suspect that slow moving, decrepit looking, 77 year old Bill Cosby is past his serial seduction, or if necessary, rape days. Never a big fan of his Cosby Show, I'm not distressed about missing reruns on TV Land as I never watched. But I am concerned about the rush to erase Cosby from our cultural landscape. His art, whether as a stand up (now sit down) comedian, or as primal force behind one of the most successful sit coms e...ver, one with an uplifting boost for the black community, should not be censored from our culture. If we applied that standard across the board, some of our greatest artists would vanish from sight and sound. Knowing what we now know about Dr. Huxtable and Mr. Cosby, it actually heightens our sense of his artistry, astounded he could conceal his predatory alter ego for half a century before the floodgates of condemnation began ending, not only his career, but the historical record of his magnificent talent. I've been laughing at his early stand up comedy for most of that last half century on WFMT's Midnight Special. I trust progressive WFMT will not follow the foolish and shortsighted action of TV Land to banish Cosby from his legion of fans, his distressing predilections, notwithstanding.

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