The reality is that all individuals are fallible. Even those that rise to the status of cultural icons like Bill Cosby. Like all actors, his job depended on being a convincing pretender and player of roles. Mr. Cosby's most famous depiction was Dr. Cliff Huxtable, “America's Dad” in the classic '80s sitcom “The Cosby Show.”
Ultimately, Mr. Cosby should not be faulted for not measuring up to that fictional persona. Yet, the consequences of his personal choices and alleged predatory sexual misbehavior are his own.
Sympathy should be extended to Mr. Cosby's dutiful, no doubt long-suffering and embarrassed wife as well as the dozens of targeted, drugged women of Mr. Cosby's 40 years of forced sexual escapades. However, this longtime pitchman for jello isn't so sweet. He had the world on a string and despite that couldn't temper his inner demons.
Mr. Cosby's likely criminal actions are not reflective of the rest of the black community. The symbol of his public disgrace is emblematic of the flip-side of Langston Hughes's poem “Harlem” (“What happens to a dream deferred”): long sought-after success finally achieved can cause deep-seeded moral collapse.
Due to his money and celebrity, Mr. Cosby mistakenly believed the same rules of decency wouldn't apply. His perp walk and criminal charges prove differently. His narrative should be a warning to anyone regardless of their station that the law applies to everyone.
