So is Bill Cosby going to jail or ...

[Clarence]

... seriously what happens now? I'm still floored by all the stuff that is coming out. Mr. Hukstable!!!!!!

[Wesley]

There is a statute of limitations on sexual crimes, and some of these happened long ago. However, they can still go to the media -- which they are doing -- and create a public stir which will have an effect on any trial that may be coming in the near future.

[Clarence]

The guy is like 80, right? There should be a statue of just damn it he's too old now

I really wish this came out after died if it had to come out at all.

It was horrible what he did but just ... I can't wrap my mind around all of this.

[chex]

Oh hell no! I'm glad it came out while he's still alive and has to face public backlash for what he did to those women. "If it had to come out at all?" Really? They should have had to continue suffering in silence while their rapist remains adored by the public as a warm father figure in endearingly ugly sweaters? At the very least, even if he can't go to prison because of the statute of limitations, at least he's around to deal with some form of consequence, no matter how small compared to his crimes.

[Clarence]

Sorry Chex, what I said came out horribly.

What I really mean is that he will never get punished properly for his crime.

I 100% don't condone what he did and thought it was terrible.

But smurf .. he's so old he's only going to be in jail for a week and then drop dead.

How can you properly punish the guy at this point due to his age?

That's what I was really trying to say.

[Clarence]

I guess the question I have is how do you punish someone at the end of their life?

[chex]

You can't. Honestly, even if he were younger, you couldn't. Raping a person... you take away a piece of them. Not like that horrid chewing gum analogy, but to force your way into someone's body... there is no punishment that truly brings justice because you can't undo that. But to do the best you can? Hit him where it hurts. The rest of his life in prison, however short it may be. His reputation as warm and fuzzy gone. Hit him financially. There were a LOT of victims. Court costs. Therapy bills. Not that he would have had much time left to enjoy that money anyway, but it's better than doing nothing because he's too old to feel the effects that a younger person would.

[Clarence]

Sorry Chex, I think I focused on one minor attribute of the situation without looking at the whole thing and posted faster then I was thinking.

I know I came off horribly in this topic...

[chex]

All good. Full disclaimer, I was raped a couple years ago. Not by a stranger, but it's still a huge violation. To this day, he doesn't even see it as rape (in his twisted world, "no, I'm tired, just let me sleep" means "do what you want as long as I can sleep through it." even as I'm trying to push his hands off me) and seeing him continue to be the golden boy in others' eyes is difficult. So it's an emotionally charged subject for me.

[Clarence]

I'm very sorry Chex

[chex]

He may not have been punished for it directly, but he definitely got his karmic jabberwocky slap. Which is why I'm all about stringing Cosby up in the court of public opinion, even if the statute of limitations has passed.

[Clarence]

I agree. I was just shocked because growing up he was like someone I took life lessons from in his silly show ... and one of the more shocking people to see has a secret horrible past. But what happens on TV means nothing. It's good that his legacy is destroyed but it happened so late, which is better than never. Not like any punishment would undo the damage but he should have more stuff happen to him, so his age, the statue of limitations and other things really suck.

[Wesley]

A crappy follow through of all this is going to be the sad fact that even though he is/was a sexual predator and kind of a monster, he did and does have really good ideas and opinions about class, race, and social issues which will now be discounted simply because of his penis.

[chex]

People acknowledge that Hitler was a genius, even though he was pure evil. I think that, given time, people will be able to do similar with Cosby.

Does that count as Godwin's Law?

[Beany]

Bill Cosby is now 78. One, that's younger than a lot of abusers. Two, he could still live at least ten more years. And many of his victims may still fear him because of what he did to them many years ago, some possibly reliving the experience regularly. PTSD for sexual assault is much higher than that for soldiers even. There have been two cases in the UK recently that have particularly struck me - Jimmy Savile (whose exposure encouraged so many more people to come forward), and Rolf Harris. Both were well-respected due to their work with children, and both abused their position of trust. JS wasn't exposed until after he died, so never paid for what he did. I'm not sure whether his victims received compensation, but they have managed to expose his true colours. Perhaps a bit sad for those who respected him, but it needed to be done. RH has recently been sent to prison (sickeningly, he made a short film once in order to help children 'avoid' being sexually assaulted and what to do if they were). I remember listening to a tape of his when I was younger and because of that, I used to think highly of him. But his tapes, TV shows, whatever, are a piece of work by him. They're not him himself, if that makes sense. There were some sexual assault allegations made against YouTubers last year and as someone pointed out then, you can't tell a celebrity's personality from their public profile - they'll show you what they want you to see.

If I remember correctly, JS assaulted a relative of his, and in an interview last year she mentioned how much she feared him being around her daughter. Whether or not he'd have done something, it's the fear that not reporting them might allow them to do the same to someone else. Not that it would have been the victim's fault for not coming forward, but guilt works in mysterious ways.

As Chex said, I hope they destroy his reputation and take away his money. Also imprison him for the safety thing. It's just a drop in the ocean, but it's something. And I hope it's dealt with properly, because cases like this are what determines whether other people come forward - they'll look at how other victims have been treated. Have to say, I also think they should chop his princess sophia off, seeing as he can't handle having one, but I have a feeling that's not going to happen.

"The world isn't split into good people and Death Eaters. We've all got both light and dark inside us. What matters is the part we choose to act on." I was going to say more about how this quote applies, but I think it stands for itself. Plus, I've been writing this for about an hour now.

[LaLou]

I do hope he gets punished, jail time and his money taken away and maybe even put towards causes to prevent rape.
It would give off a signal that rape will not be tolerated. If a VIP will go to jail for it, then hopefully less famous offenders think twice before they commit the crime.


Yeah, wishful thinking.

[Shay]

I don't give a shazam! how old you are, how well-liked you are, how well-off you are financially, what your political position is, I don't even care how severe the sexual assault crime may or may not be. If you've done the crime, you deserve to be castrated and publicly humiliated. You deserve to be punished and completely stripped of all dignity and humanity just as you have done to your victims. Personally I think you should be put down immediately, but that's a controversial topic I'll never win. So if we're going to allow them to live the rest of their existence among the rest of us, it damn well better put them in their place for the remainder of their lifetime.

[chex]

In my case (I certainly won't speak for anyone else with regard to something so personal!) I wouldn't want that at all. He may deserve it, but it would only hurt other innocent people more, and that's the last thing I'd want.

[Clarence]

This may sound morbid ... but I'm kind of curious to see how the media will play his death when it happens.

He's of course going to miss out on getting a glorified media coverage death with specials celebrating his life and accomplishments and being a respected comedian etc, right?

So will they talk about him a lot or just be like

"so ... Bill Cosby died.

.... and in other news"

[chex]

"Bill Cosby has died. Let's take a moment to reflect on what this means for the hundreds of survivors who he affected. When he raped them. We will now light a candle for each of them, in honor of their strength. Hey, NASA! Get a shot of this from up there, will ya!?"