The left in America, particularly African-Americans, are struggling to come to grips with Bill Cosby being charged with sexual assault, with some suggesting the mythical right-wing conspiracy is responsible for the level of support the iconic comedian has seen since charges began surfacing that he may be a serial abuser of women.
Support that would have allegedly been non-existent if he was a Black Lives Matter supporter.
MSNBC host Melissa Harris-Perry, subbing for Rachel Maddow, discussed the issue on Wednesday with Ebony Magazine senior editor Jamilah Lemieux and said people were interested in “preserving” Cosby’s image.
“We were ultimately more interested as a people, not just black folks, as Americans, in preserving this image,” she said. “This imagined notion of Bill Cosby, than in understanding actual women’s experiences and allegations.”
Lemieux pointed to what she called Cosby’s “respectability politics” — aka, being accountable for one’s actions — to question whether this was a factor in how willing people were to turn their backs on him.
“I can’t help but to wonder, say if Mr. Cosby didn’t have that sort of respectability politics, you know, heavy-handed against single mothers, and complicated-sounding names and wearing your pants low, and listening to hip hop … say that wasn’t who he was,” she said.
“Say that he was a supporter of the Black Lives Matter movement, right?” Lemieux continued. “Say that he was a leftist. Say that he was really on our side, quote unquote, politically. Would we be having this conversation? How willing would people be to turn their backs on him?”
Whether they agree with his politics or not, it’s proving to be a bitter pill for those who trade on the color of one’s skin to accept a black man of Cosby’s stature going down.
DONATE TO BIZPAC REVIEW
Please help us! If you are fed up with letting radical big tech execs, phony fact-checkers, tyrannical liberals and a lying mainstream media have unprecedented power over your news please consider making a donation to BPR to help us fight them. Now is the time. Truth has never been more critical!
[email protected]
The longest-tenured writer at BizPac Review, Tom grew up in Maryland before moving to Central Florida as a young teen. It is in the Sunshine State that he honed both his passion for politics and his writing skills.
Comment
We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.
BPR INSIDER COMMENTS
Scroll down for non-member comments or join our insider conversations by becoming a member. We'd love to have you!
Comments are closed.