The chatter about Bill Cosby has not overwhelmed me.
It has encouraged me to state My Say,
I still value and respect the contributions Bill
Cosby have bestowed. He has done a lot. Actually, more than most black
preachers, athletes and entertainment celebrities who by the way have skeletal
remains in their closets.
It is not just his contributions to several
universities, he also became a positive alternative for television, The
Adventures of Fat Albert and The Cosby Show.
For once in decades of television a black man was
saying and doing The Right Thing. He was a husband, and not a gangster. He was
a black man giving advice to children of all walks of life...Bill Cosby became
a man worthy of respect.
Then after years of being a devoted father and
husband on TV, Bill Cosby became the black man that many blacks began to
despise. He went from a loved and admired black man to a black wealthy man who
aired the dirty laundry of African Americans...he simply told the truth about
our unconsciousable behavior that typically goes unaddressed because of our
Black Hypocrisy...because of our unwillingness to own our betrayal of those who
paved the way. Bill Cosby called a spade a spade. White people enjoyed his
frankness and blacks either ducked their heads in shame or began a campaign to
discredit him. The latter did not work. Bill is/was right about us.
And now, like so many other black men he is in need
of our support...he needs the adoration that was present when he was the voice
of Fat Albert and Dumb Donald...he needs the respect we gave when he was Mr.
Cliff Huxtable. He is in need.
That was evident when he was escorted by a female
lawyer into the courthouse. He looked frail...he looked caught up...he looked
as if he was carrying the Burden of Guilt.
He is defeated. Beaten by the past that he kept
under wraps. Destroyed by his demons.
I saw a man that once gave me hope that a black
family could exist without persistent dysfunction. I saw a man that shared
positive life values during a time when black men were often characterized as
(and were) fast-talking pimps, slick Jesus-loving ministers and brutal lawbreakers.
I saw a man that I cannot let go despite my
inclinations of his guilt.
I ALSO saw a Man...not a black man. A Man who used
drugs to disorient women. A Man who raped...not assaulted women.
I now see a Man. Not a black man.
Bill Cosby is the epitome of Man...the good, the bad
and the ugly. Sadly, he will depart from this life as what he shares with so
many: of his doing he has become The Ugly.
As I conclude this simple commentary and keeping in
mind that I too carry the good, the bad and the ugly, I am hoping that I will
be able to balance my Commendation with my Condemnation.
Bill Cosby Deserves Both.
Muata Nowe
